Eye dialect is when words are spelled the way they sound when people talk, instead of using the standard spelling. For example, a writer might use "gonna" instead of "going to," "wuz" instead of "was," or "sez" instead of "says." This technique helps make characters’ speech feel more real and gives readers a sense of their unique voice or background. For instance, if a character says, "I wuz gonna go," it shows their casual or regional way of talking.