In a story set in a fantasy version of 5th century Persia, I've been told by a beta reader that a boy wouldn't call his father "dad", (would use "father" instead), wouldn't say "no spoilers", etc.
I am somewhat confused by this: a boy in 5th century Persia wouldn't be speaking English, and wouldn't be speaking any language that would be understandable today. Why, then, is "pass me the figs" OK, but "no spoilers" not OK? I'm not talking here of modern concepts, like rockets (as discussed in this question), but of modern turns of phrase, that describe things that existed back then as much as they exist now.
Are such turns of phrase really jarring, considering the setting? What should guide me, in terms of word choice, so as not to create this jarring effect? That is, what makes a phrase "too modern" as opposed to "timeless/transparent"?
No comments:
Post a Comment