Hello Again! Glad to have you on board for this discussion.
Colloquialisms and regional vernacular - oh the grief these have caused me over the years! I lived in Europe almost twelve years and in Asia two years. I speak fairly fluent German and a good bit of Spanish and French. I'm now learning a new language - Southern! I've also lived in Washington, DC; Blackstone, VA; St. Louis, MO; Tulsa, OK; Denver, CO; San Antonio, TX and Bakersfield, CA. I lived in each of these places from three years to over twenty years. I'm originally from the Midwest but now live in Northern Alabama. And yep, sometimes it's like I'm in a different country as I listen to the locals converse! Of course that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it illustrates the theme of this discussion.
My wife is from Tennessee and has a smattering of what many folks would call a typical Southern accent. It's interesting for sure, but it adds a new dimension to our conversations. I'm pretty neutral as far as accents are concerned. But it angers me when I hear non-Southerners suggest people with a strong Southern accent come across as stupid and uneducated. If you're a defendant in an important legal issue, who would you want defending you - a perfect grammarian of a lawyer but has shown to be inept in previous cases; or a Southern attorney with a slow, labored drawl who has an impeccable track record? And I hear those assumptions, based on accent, quite often. In contrast, it also upsets me when Southerners opine Northerners (those damn Yankees like me) as cold and rude. Speech, customs and attitudes are essential to a region's character and identity.
Here in Alabama, I often hear an expression I'd never heard in the Midwest or anywhere other than South. Day before yesterday, my wife said, "I'm a fixin' to change the bed linens. Can you give me a hand?" When I lived in San Antonio, Texas (are you listening, Ann Everett?), an expression I often heard was "might near". Here's an example: My step-son was from San Antonio and died in a motorcycle accident there. But he was the epitome of what I refer to as Texas Talk. One day when it was 102 degrees he commented, "It's might near hot out there today." And I heard it from several other folks, too.
My former mother-in-law was from Richmond, Virginia. When I stopped in to visit her on my way to Europe, she asked me, "Do you think you can carry me to the store in a little while?" Of course she was asking, "Can you take me to the store?" At first I was dumbfounded, but I figured it out after a minute or two. But it's a perfectly natural thing to say in that area.
In the Midwest, we often say "at all" at the end of a sentence to punctuate our strong feelings about what we just said, i.e., "I don't like that man; I don't like him at all." I had a reviewer pummel me on that endlessly saying that it made no sense to him and it was just plain silly and stupid. Of course, he always wrote in proper grammar, never using slang or other conversational deviations from technically correct grammar. After three exchanges, I ceased replying to him.
It's my opinion that using colloquialisms adds "flavor" and character to the writing. It ingratiates both the character and an introspective feel for the location. If it's something the rest of the country may not fully understand, simply find a way to to make the meaning obvious by subsequent actions or conversation. In fact, it's my supposition that the author, if he/she avoids using them, is cheating readers from an area where colloquialisms are well-established and are part of the daily conversation.
Now, more about regional accents as far as presenting them in writing. I find it usually ends up awkward when an author tries to write a character in accent. What I do is write the character's words "correctly" and then find a way to depict the character's accent. I most often see authors trying to emulate one of the New England accents more than any other, with the exception of foreign accents. Regardless of the area, I submit it's probably best not to literally write the accent into the character's dialogue unless you have demonstrated an unusually good ability to do so. There are always exceptions, but that's the general rule I employee in such circumstances.
I find these vernaculars in regional locations interesting and a pleasant variation from the so-called "normal" or neutral. I analogize it to preparing a particular food dish. Where some folks add black pepper, others might use paprika. Some cooks might add a pinch of sugar to something where others find that totally out of the question. I could go on, but I think you get the idea. Different isn't intrinsically wrong or bad. It's more a matter of comfortable fit with familiarity and tradition. Although, as I have stated, it's probably a good idea to avoid writing in regional accent, I suggest staying true to the regional vernacular when characters indigenous to the area are speaking. It keeps it real and interesting, in my opinion.
These are my thoughts. What are yours?
Wishing you and your muse the very best. Keep writing - there is no force greater than the power of words.
Tai