Terrill,
Re your comment below:
> I'm with you on this one, John. I've always
thought
> the speech pattern thing
> was a little narrow in focus. Miker, as usual,
hit
> that one with the bright
> glare of innocent (and humorous) logic.
Even mute people have ways of expressing themselves, and the
way they express themselves will depend on their attitude,
and their worldview at least as much as their handicap.
"Colloquial" refers to a rude, rough-edged way of expressing
oneself. It's an essential component of hard-boiled, because
it's the way the hard-boiled attitude is expressed. What
distinguished Hammett and the rest was not plot (there were
just as many clues and classical puzzles), or, necessarily,
milieu (much of, say, THE DAIN CURSE and THE BIG SLEEP take
place in upper-class drawing room settings because the
heroes' clients are upper-class), or even the level of
violence (check out the climax of THE HOUND OF THE
BASKERVILLES for an expertly produced action scene). It was
the language, the language of tough, direct working men. The
way the character expresses himself, verbally or
non-verbally, is an essential component.
JIM DOHERTY
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