Dialect

This is going to be more of a reference for myself, but I needed to post it somewhere and I figured it would be interesting to some people.  Basically, I need an accent for my Tauren, and I've decided to give him a dialect similar to what you'd hear in northern Maine.  (Heavy New England accent, so to speak.)

So what I've started doing is compiling a list of common words that someone from Maine would pronounce just a little bit different.  

• And = An'
• Lots of = Lotta
• Yes = Ayuh
• Of = O'
• Yeah = Yuh
• To = Ta
• Fair = Fay-yuh
• Idiot = Ijit

Next, I've compiled a list of common words that they tend to throw into their sentences.  In some cases, I've provided the more common word or phrase in parenthesis.  Most of these I'd only use occasionally, as I wouldn't want someone to be completely unable to understand what my character is saying.

• Ah
• Y'know
• Bulkie (sandwich)
• Flatlander (foreigner)
• Gawmy (awkward)
• Middly (average)
• Notional (stubborn)
• Spleeny (overly sensitive)
• Finest kind (the very best)
• Scrid (a tiny piece)
• Wicked (Very, to a high degree.  Example:  "Wicked good!")

Also, in writing this dialect, there are a few rules to follow.  

• Never put a "g" at the end of a word.  (Mornin', Evenin', etc.)
• Some verbs get an "a" at the front of them.  (Instead of saying, "He is going to the store.", you would say, "He's a-goin' to the store."  Or, if you want to apply all the rules, it would be, "He's a-goin' ta the stah."
• Also, sometimes they do not pronounce the "r" in a word.  For example, instead of saying "culvert", you would say "cul-vet".  I would use this sparingly, as too much would make someone sound a bit too simple for my tastes.  
• Words that end in "ar" are pronounced "ah".  So instead of "far", it becomes "fah".  
• Sometimes, words ending in "a" are pronounced "er".  Rarely.  So, "idea" becomes "idear".  I'll probably never use this one.  

I hope to use all this compiled information as a guide to give my Tauren a nice way of speaking.  I don't want him to sound like an "ijit" or have the accent be so thick that no one will understand him, but I instead want him to sound unique and interesting to talk to.