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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9759
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/9759
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I can think of at least two ways to demonstrate your character's nationality and accent without having to mention it constantly or write the dialogue crazily:

**1) There is a difference between _accent_ and _dialect._**

_Accent_ is more or less the generally recognized version of the language, taught in textbooks, but with regional flavor to pronunciation. Maybe there's a lilt to the voice, or a drawl, or the Gs get dropped, or Rs added.

_Dialect_ is when vocabulary and grammar change along with accent.

**Examples:**

Accent: "I'm gonna do something about that."   
Dialect: "I'm fixin' to do somethin' 'bout that."

Accent: "Maybe something could happen."  
Dialect: "Somethin' might could happen."

Accent: "Should I call you in the morning?"  
Dialect: "Shall I knock you up in the morning, then?"  
Dialect: "You want I should come call f'you tomorrow morning?"

The upshot is that you want enough differences from General American/English Speech to indicate that your speaker is of Indian descent speaking English as a second language, but not so much that it's impossible to read his dialogue written down.

**2) When someone is learning English (or whatever) as second language, the speaker will often use the grammar of the native language, because s/he is still translating.**

**Example:**

Native speaker: "My hair is so straight."   
Native Italian, English ESL: "It's so straight, my hair."

Original score: 9