ABSTRACT
The representation of speech through written language is a major part of the novelist's craft. The author may indeed apostrophize the reader directly, a manner more assumed by the Victorian than by the modern novelists. With some knowledge of the social background of the novel, it is possible to make heuristic use of the spoken words alone. The novels of Thomas Hardy provide excellent material to illustrate the suggestions which have been developed. He was much concerned with the representation of dialect, at a time when social awareness of varieties of speech was increasing. One of the features of speech which go beyond neutrality is the use of dialect or other substandard pronunciation. A verbal message can of course be transmitted neutrally, without any addition to its semantic meaning, as in news bulletins and the issuing of formal instructions in a technical process.
