After finishing off Stephen King’s Dark Tower series last year, I was a equal parts annoyed and thrilled when I heard he had yet still another book in the series on the way. On the one hand, “Yes! Another tale of the weird post-apocalyptic fantasy western world of the Gunslinger!” On the other, “But I was finished! You were finished! Why can’t we just be done and get on with our lives?”
Now that I’m halfway through The Wind Through the Keyhole (book 197 in the never-ending Dark Tower series), I’m finding a new appreciation for Stephen King’s world-building. Specifically, I’m digging his use of language to help define the setting.
Folks in Mid-world say “thankee” for “thank you” and refer to people of respect as “sai” instead of “mister” or “miss.” While “yes” is used for affirmation, it’s just as often “yar.” And when you ask for forgiveness, you “cry pardon” and hope for leniency.
Now these aren’t crazy, gibberish-sounding made-up words. They’re slight variations on normal English, close enough that we don’t need them defined. You don’t have to keep flipping to a glossary in the back of the book to understand what people are saying. And yet, these simple changes are enough to convey the feel of a different world. It’s a little archaic, a little formal — not unlike Roland the Gunslinger himself.
There’s a lesson to be learned here. By swapping out a few common words and phrases for modified (but still accessible) version of the same, you can convey a sense of place and establish a tone for that place.
With just a few words, you can tell the audience we’ve left Kansas a few miles back. It’s nothing but Oz from on out.
Thankee, sai.
I’ve read most of Stephen King’s books but I haven’t gotten to the Dark Tower series yet. I suppose I better get to it… 🙂
It took me years to get started on it, and over a year, I think, to finish it. If you like King – or even if you just like good story-telling – you should definitely give them a read. Quick, before he adds another tome to the series!
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