It’s hard for a lot of people to read accents written into a text. One example is Mark Twain’s “Pudd’nhead Wilson.” In many cases, doing so can trigger people. Historically, many northerners equated southern drawls with lack of intelligence; this is really offensive to southerners. In Twain’s PHW, readers—especially in the past—looked down on some of the characters based on how they talked. I would suggest that instead of using language that you focus on your character culturally. For example, write about the character’s love of southern food. Or throw in a “y’all” every once in a while.

Thank you, that’s a really helpful perspective. I hadn’t considered how phonetic spellings might risk caricature or unintended offense. You’re absolutely right, it’s not the accent that defines someone, but the character behind it. I like your idea of anchoring it in cultural cues like food, habits, and values rather than trying to mimic drawl phonetically.

Might be wiser for me to give a sense of region through what they do and how they see the world, rather than how they sound. I really appreciate the thoughtful reply!

Thank you very much for your insight and advice!