How to convey accents without annoying the reader?

The other day on X, an author asked how they could convey accents in a fantasy world without bogging the reader down with too much phonetic spelling.

I figured some of you might benefit from this as well, so I’m sharing what I told her!

There are multiple ways you can establish an accent or distinctive pronunciation without making the dialogue difficult to read.

For instance, if there’s a specific sound or pronunciation you want the reader to notice, you can simply mention it in the narration:

"He put emphasis on the 'T.'"

“He pronounced the ‘T’ with deliberate force."

“He lingered on the ‘T'."

Another effective approach is to use descriptive adverbs or physical cues.

For example:

“‘Levak,’ she said, her bottom teeth showing slightly as she spoke.”

This gives the reader a subtle indication of how the word is pronounced while keeping the dialogue itself clean and readable.

The key is subtlety. You don’t necessarily need to spell out an entire accent phonetically.

As a beta reader and developmental editor, I’m always interested in the little choices that shape how readers experience a character.