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Why Are Fantasy World Accents British?
kodiaktau writes "An interesting article from the BBC News Magazine explores the reasons why most fantasy worlds use British as their primary accent. Citing specific examples from recent and upcoming shows and movies like Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit and Game of Thrones, the article concludes British accents are 'sufficiently exotic,' 'comprehensible' and have a 'splash of otherness.' It would be odd to think of a fantasy world having a New Jersey accent, or even a Mid-West accent, which tends to be the default for TV and movies in the U.S., but how do UK viewers feel about having British as a default? More specifically, what about the range of UK accents, like Scottish, Welsh, Cockney? The International Dialects of English Archive shows at least nine regional sounds, with dozens of sub-regional pronunciations in England alone. In the U.S., there have always been many regional accents that might be used in interesting ways. Filmmakers should consider looking at speech accents from other areas of the world to create more interesting dialects."
I have to agree with this article, I've always assumed it was just the American preconception of "old worlde". Different enough to be remote but still in the same language.
On the other hand as an Irishman I often find it hard to find escapism in Irish TV and to a lesser extent, film. The familiarity of it all doesn't work as well while on the other hand so much of our media is American that even when I visit the USA there is an element of otherworldliness about the whole experience.
I never get used to these constant resurrections
Lots of places have a north.
Mark Anthony Collins
Do we even need to be asking such an obvious question? British is the foreign language that Americans are most likely to understand...
For Americans, I would assume it's because we associate fantasy with the Old World because that's where most of our myths and legends originate. And they have castles. And among the Old World, England is our closest tie (as well as speaking the same language). The majority of fantasy settings are basically just medieval-Europe-plus-wizards-and-dragons even if a location isn't given (or it takes place on another world)
Of course the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit use British accents -- they're written by an English author and are fundamentally ABOUT England (a.k.a. the Shire).
It's a question of cultural depth - America is largely a cultural offshoot of the UK. So when you want a voice for a 'centuries old' sort of tale, you go British. Conversely, the American accent has an association with Modern.
Most fantasy settings are based in medieval times, and America didn't have English, let alone feudalism and other aspects common in fantasy novels. British accents just fit the real world time period we associate with fantasy settings.
Of course another main reason is that general fantasy is most closely linked with the European medieval period. In that period English speakers were generally going to be speaking with an accent from Great Britain. It would strike us as strange to hear someone in a historical medieval period using a NJ accent for much the same reason that it does in fantasy.
One does not merely walk into Parliament.
However, one can try to merely tunnel under Parliament with a good bit of gunpowder...
You wouldn't use terms such as "poofter" and "rodgering" unless you were a closest Brit. Admitting it would be the first step towards healing.
Imagine The Lord of the Rings where all the Hobbits had Brooklyn accents.
Other enough to be unusual but still understandable but evoking an entirely different genre (mafia crime drama).
Well, I know in Star Wars: The Old Republic, the British accent is to emphasize the Empire part of the Sith Empire. The Rebellion, or Republic, side uses an American accent. That, and the original Star Wars used a whole lot of British actors.
Any why are Dwarves always Scottish?
Have you ever *heard* a Scottish person talk? C'mon.
Karen Gillan = sexiest dwarf ever!
It might have something to do with the fact that the fictional country Game of Thrones is set in (at least in the TV show, not very subtly either) is based off of England. The politics and geography bears an extremely striking resemblance.
And Tolkien (British) created the Shire in The Hobbit and LotR based off British countryside. Fantasy, in particular, is almost universally set in a Middle-Age-England-type setting and is often based heavily off of their mythology. It almost wouldn't make sense not to have a British accent. Don't blame the Americans: the British were doing that a long time before Americans were (hell, before America was even a colony). And of course Narnia (by C.S. Lewis, British) is actually set partly in England as is Harry Potter (again, a British writer).
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Westeros is transparently (if not particularly faithfully) based on a fantastic reinterpretation of Britain, right down to the the Wall and the . And all the knights and chivalery (and non-chivalery) and so on are clearly Arthurian legend, which is unquestionably British even if it owes a big debt to France — which, speaking of, is of course right across the "narrow sea". Middle Earth is less literal with the geography, but Tolkien has said (were it not already obvious!) that the Shire is rural Britain in spirit, so of course the hobbits speak with the appropriate accent.
It's dangerous thinking such as that which lead to the atrocity known as Jar Jar Binks. In all seriousness, look at the accents of Watto, Yoda, the head honchos of the Trade Federation, Emperor Palpatine, Admiral Ackbar, Jango Fett, etc.
"Love heals scars love left." -- Henry Rollins
I'm not an advertising exec, but I bet you there is some study some where that Americans subconsciously associate British accents with greater trustworthiness and/ or authority
As for fantasy worlds: I disagree, the fantasy worlds cited are specifically medieval in quality, which conjures Europeanness, which conjures Britishness, as Americans don't deal well with foreign languages: no Flemish cave trolls or Hungarian dragons, for example (nevermind Cornish, Welsh, or Gaelic).
If we were talking FUTURE fantasy worlds, Avatar or Star Trek, for example, there is no association with Britishness. Although, Australian accents and actors figure heavily in that realm. Which is a whole other subject matter?:
Britain: the past, Australia: the future, from an American perspective.
(sorry Kiwis, Americans tend to group your accent with Australia, I don't want to step on any issues of national pride here)
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
Because We Scotch are manly dorfs who punch trees down...
There, I've corrected that for you.
That should be obvious. The target audience doesn't want to have to read. The accents keep reminding you that you are in a different country.
It's no different from the ridiculous computer programs that crime dramas use. They want to tell you what the computer is doing without either the actors explaining it, or having to read anything other than the word "Searching..." while faces pop up on a screen.
I think it's the best of both worlds - maintaining the culture as well as possible, but integrating the audience's native language. I would never watch a dubbed film, because I want the actor's natural expression to match physically and verbally.
The only time it sucks is when the accent is terribly done. Then it's a travesty.
Why are is the evil scientists always speaking with a German accent?
...Mid-West accent...
Wait, we have an accent?
I mean, there are jokes about California "valley girls" and Brooklyn accents, but those are stereotypes and most people from the coasts don't actually talk like that. So... if the universal average of the English language is the "Mid-West" accent... wouldn't that mean we don't have an accent?
Because there's no better fantasy shared by the common public than to escape to than one of rainy weather, bland food, a stifling bureaucracy, and one of the largest surveillance networks concieved of.
It's obviously a made-up world, with their shillings and their stones - one where cars wear boots... I mean, that's just pure insanity.
I can't wait to hear the answer from our British friends. As an American, I have an odd fascination for the British accent (and Australian accent too) and love hearing it. I even set my GPS to speak British English instead of American English. Seems I am certainly not alone in this, either.
How about it? Do the British (and even Australians) have any similar fascination with hearing American accents?
Ouch, that's pretty harsh on them thar Texans.
Anyone ever see that godawful film Alexander starring Colin Farrel as Alex the Great? They gave the Macedonians Irish accents! That was even more distracting than the constant jumping back and forth between three different time periods and creepy chemistry between Farrel and Angelina Jolie who was supposed to be his mom!
Drill baby drill - on Mars
Is it not just because the classic fantasy authors (Tolkien/Carol) are English? Just like American villains are always English due to the English being the baddies during the American civil war?
"Fantasy" themes are generally based on mythical creatures and legends that stem from the UK. Hell even today you can't scan through 8hrs of BBC without finding something that is based on Robin Hood, Arthur/Merlin, Druids, or Sherlock Holmes so apparently the UK associates the UK with these themes as well. They even continue to add to it, the latest popular addition being Harry Potter. Again tying sorcery with the UK.
Yes, and what does the US have to offer in the way of rich cultural brogue?
Jersey Shore.
No wonder people look elsewhere to try and put an emphasis on rich culture in fantasy. Needless to say, you're not going to get the same look at feel with a fat orange midget running around Hogwarts looking for the tanning salon.
Scotch adj; a largely obsolescent adjective meaning having to do with Scotland and usually now considered pejorative (unless related to food or drink).
I never get used to these constant resurrections
Strider sidles into the Prancing Pony, spurs jingling.
STRIDER:
Howdy, y'all!
BUTTERBUR:
Whatcha drankin', pardner?
WALSTIB!
I'll have what he's having, bartender.
Absolutely correct, and yet also so wrong. Yes, there are regional British accents, but when considered as a whole they are clearly distinct from American ones. Any fool can identify that someone from Cornwall or Glasgow is clearly not American, and if you take someone from New Jersey or Texas nobody is going to mistake them for someone from Yorkshire.
XML is a known as a key material required to create SMD: Software of Mass Destruction
One of my favorite fantasy movies was The Princess Bride. They had generic/American and Spanish accents. They worked really well for me.
-TheDawgLives suckitdown
I'm allowed - I are one. I don't live there now and haven't in more than a decade, but that's where my family's from and where I were born. Even though I mostly grew up elsewhere, "Howdy" and "y'all" are part of my regular lexicon. Although I'm not redneck enough to ever use the two together.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
"For Americans, I would assume it's because we associate fantasy with the Old World because that's where most of our myths and legends originate."
Yes, but we associate wrong because modern American English actually sounds more like old English than does modern British English.
Emma Peel, as played by Diana Rigg is the reason why all of my fantasies involve a British accent.
Oh, wait, did you mean something else?
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
"It would be odd to think of a fantasy world having a New Jersey accent" There's already a fantasy world based on that but its not one most people would want to visit or live in...Its called "Jersey Shore".
No. Nobody wants that.
That was my immediate response to this. Lord of the Rings is a book written by a British author, inspired by old English (i.e. Celtic/Norse/Germanic) mythology, set in a world that is based on England. Why would you not have English accents? It's not quite as bad as asking, "Why do do the characters in 'Gone With the Wind' seem like they're from the American South?" but it's close.
I'm not as familiar with Game of Thrones, but I assume it's based on similar stuff. Tolkien is the grand-daddy of a lot of this fantasy stuff, so it shouldn't be too weird that it's all vaguely British.
What's a little more interesting is all the other characters that end up being British. Whenever you see depictions of the Roman empire, they tend to be British. In Star Wars, the Empire is generally British while many of the Rebels are vaguely American. Someone else has already pointed out that we (Americans) use British accents in media to signify ancient societies, Empirical rule, and general authority figures.
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Reminds me of a story I heard on NPR years ago. The Scottish speaker said he was at an American dinner party when someone used the term "you Brits". He kept looking around until he realized she was referring to him. He didn't consider himself British, so to answer the question, "Who is British?" he told a story that went something like this:
As a young college student attending freshman orientation at Oxford, he met a nice fellow from Wales. They discovered that, if they both spoke slowly, they could just understand each other through their strong regional accents. They both needed a flatmate and so decided to room together. Finding a flat listed in the paper at a reasonable location and price, they set forth. The woman who answered the door spoke such a thick Irish brogue that neither of them could understand a word she said. So, she fetched a gentleman from down the hall to act as interpreter. But his cockney accent was so severe they couldn't understand him, either. Eventually, he pointed at the newspaper listing, she held out her open hand, and the two of them put in the first month's rent. So, which of them is British? His conclusion was that, technically, they all were, but in practice they were all something else. He supposed the Queen was authentically British, but if anyone asks, he's a Scotsman!
Arlen, Texas Accent:
Strider Hill: It's dangerous out there, I'll tell you what.
Butterboomhauer: Big ol' dang ol' um talkin' 'bout Nazgul, man.
- Free healthcare to all, at much cheaper rates than the US private healthcare system. I've tried both, and I'd take the NHS in a heart-beat.
The NHS has its ups and downs but we count ourselves very lucky for having it as well as private healthcare providers like Bupa.
- Significantly subsidized education. You don't come out of college desperate to find a job to pay off your immense loans.
Desperate to find a job, maybe, but our student loans aren't taken out privately - for the most part - so the repayments are actually quite reasonable. In fact, the first £15k (around the $23k mark) of your earnings are disregarded when it comes to calculating repayments.
- They're not currently at war with any chemicals, nouns, or indeed any nation-states as far as I'm aware.
Some chemicals are very much targeted, but punishments are nowhere near as harsh as those in the US. Words... well, so long as you aren't encouraging violence, intolerance, etc. you're pretty much free to say what you want, including insults directed towards the Royal Family (see point the First). As for nation-states that depends entirely on who the US is after at the moment :P, but suffice it to say we don't have it in for Cuba; it's 4,500 miles away.
- There's no gate-rape or sanctioned government-grope at the borders
Nope, free travel between EU nations in particular is a wonderful thing and we've learned to take the rough with the smooth. We have enough home-grown nutcases anyway.
- They don't have 1 in every 31 adults behind bars or on parole / being monitored. Think about that for a second. One in Thirty-one.
Amen to that. That statistic is quite saddening and I'm given to understand that many inmates are imprisoned for relatively minor drug offences.
- They live longer, and have less infant deaths
A double-edged sword, since we're careening towards the same pension crisis as many other nations. Infant mortality, however, is a bad thing however one looks at it.
- They have a genuine choice in politics - left, center, or right. As opposed to right and crazy-town here in the US.
LOL! Our choice is basically pro-business toffs (Tory - blue), pro-union spendaholics (Labour - red) and the Liberal Democrats, whose yellow ties should give some indication as to their character.
(I actually vote LD for their progressive social policies and attitude toward proportional representation... and partly because I'm curious to see how they would screw things up)
- Their police won't handcuff you, lie you on the floor, then shoot you dead on a subway train.
Generally, no they won't, and the fact that most of them don't carry firearms, but the ones that do have been known to shoot people before boarding a subway train. That was a dark day, but in our defence most of the nation was in uproar over it.
- No metal-detectors needed at schools. Schools, for $deity sake!
Not yet, thankfully, but we need to sort out the problem of knife crime, which is preferable to gun crime but still lethal.
- There's no software patents :)
Yes, but given that the blues are in charge and the reds seem keen on the idea too I think it's only a matter of time even without US pressure.
All told, the UK society seems to be functioning as well as any enlightened Western society should, unlike the USA. On th
If God forks the Universe every time you roll a die, he'd better have a damned good memory.
At the same time, characters with a Jersey accent sound arrogant and idiotic, a southern drawl makes them sound dumb, hick, and quite possibly inbred and crazy, and a Texan accent makes them sound all of the above.
FTFY :P
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
whilst there is a good analogy between the little British people (hobbits) kicking the stuff out of the evil empire of Sauron (Hitler), the entire world is based around anglo-saxon myths, so technically it includes Britain, and the northern Germanic and Scandinavian countries.
Dwarves come from the north part of Middle Earth, so it's natural they got Scottish accents, but they could so easily have been Norwegian instead.
The shire, BTW, is Warwickshire (that's wa-rick-shire), there's still a 'tolkien trail' around Hall Green in what is now a very-built-up Birmingham, not the green fields of Tolkien's youth, but the dark satanic mills of Saruman's industrial progress.
To be honest, as European, I wouldn't immediately associate a Southern Drawl with dumb, hick, inbred and crazy. It still can carry that antebellum aristocratic vibe, too. If refined enough, that is...
Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.