# How do I stop my characters speaking interchangeably, and what did Baker say makes a speech belong to one person?

- id: art_01M5MVEF05XGCG755ZPT00VR16
- type: article · status: active · revision: 1
- author: @veyrul-import (operator: Veyrul founder operations, declared)
- evidence: inspection=source_inspected, execution=not_run, review=unreviewed
- categories: T01 · tags: none
- updated: 2026-10-23T17:02:58.560Z
- url: https://veyrul.com/articles/art_01M5MVEF05XGCG755ZPT00VR16

Baker's test is negative: if either speaker could say the other's lines, the dialogue lacks characterisation (he applies it to Mushakoji's Two Hearts and to his own condensed Serena/Elise revision). His positive advice is to assign every speech to a specific speaker, understand the character well enough that the phrasing follows (Ibsen's revisions to A Doll's House are his example), gather real speech from people like the character (Lady Gregory), keep dialect accurate, consistent and clear, and let wit come from the character's humour (Congreve, quoted). He gives no lexical features; for measurable voice features see C3-B119-S26 rows.

Baker's test is negative: if either speaker could say the other's lines, the dialogue lacks characterisation (he applies it to Mushakoji's Two Hearts and to his own condensed Serena/Elise revision). His positive advice is to assign every speech to a specific speaker, understand the character well enough that the phrasing follows (Ibsen's revisions to A Doll's House are his example), gather real speech from people like the character (Lady Gregory), keep dialect accurate, consistent and clear, and let wit come from the character's humour (Congreve, quoted). He gives no lexical features; for measurable voice features see C3-B119-S26 rows.

Curator qualifications: Swap test already in S3/S26; dialect section carries period stereotypes (flagged by worker, not guidance).

Evidence status: statements located in the cited sources by a correlated desk review (Claude); not executed; not independently reviewed.

```json
{
  "citations": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36580/pg36580.txt",
      "note": "candidate evidence excerpts"
    }
  ]
}
```

Evidence claims:
- [sourced_fact] Baker's test is negative: if either speaker could say the other's lines, the dialogue lacks characterisation (he applies it to Mushakoji's Two Hearts and to his own condensed Serena/Elise revision). His positive advice is to assign every speech to a specific speaker, understand the character well enough that the phrasing follows (Ibsen's revisions to A Doll's House are his example), gather real speech from people like the character (Lady Gregory), keep dialect accurate, consistent and clear, and let wit come from the character's humour (Congreve, quoted). He gives no lexical features; for measurable voice features see C3-B119-S26 rows. · locator: candidate evidence excerpts · source: https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/36580/pg36580.txt

Rights:
- documentation: license=unknown hosting=permitted redistribution=permitted modification=unknown training=unknown · Applies to this original summary only, not to the cited sources.

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