Dunmer Aren't British. : V - Skyrim

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:19 pm

They should have made all the voice acting neutral american. That way, threads like this wouldn't exist. Let's just say the voice acting part was played by a British accented person.

American? I hate the use of American accents in anything that is of this ilk. The accent is far to modern for any Elder Scrolls game. I HATE american whiny accents.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 5:29 pm

obviously all dunmer must sound the same, all of them must soind like they're having some serious lung diseases, and make them hard to voice any other emotion than contempt.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:27 am

No, it's not cockney nor is it English and definately NOT British.

it sounds like New Zealand to me

Wha...? /boggle

Annoying outlanders.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:15 pm

American? I hate the use of American accents in anything that is of this ilk. The accent is far to modern for any Elder Scrolls game. I HATE american whiny accents.

Except that many scholars believe that the British dialect of the Renaissance era was much closer to American Southern than to any modern British dialect, and any medieval dialect would have sounded closer to grunting.

The only reason that people think of American accents as too "modern" for a fantasy setting is the Hollywood tradition of voicing any generic period piece with British accents.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:30 pm

No, it's not cockney nor is it English and definately NOT British.

it sounds like New Zealand to me

It's a dike Van Dyke Corr Blimey Cockernee accent.
Is what it is.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:13 pm

Except that many scholars believe that the British dialect of the Renaissance era was much closer to American Southern than to any modern British dialect, and any medieval dialect would have sounded closer to grunting.

The only reason that people think of American accents as too "modern" for a fantasy setting is the Hollywood tradition of voicing any generic period piece with British accents.

But American accents, like Australian or South African are all rather 'new' culturally. They have all developed in settlements that have recently flourished, historically speaking, and that didn't exist previously.
That said, I would 100% prefer the Dunmer voices from Morrowind. Not sure what the accent is, but after having lived with it for years, it's perfect.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:51 am

Interesting. It does indeed sound like a Brit. But what is this text anyway? Just some guys's fanfiction or from an in-game book?

It was, I believe, a Morrowind prerelease teaser from Bethesda.

And I have to say, the Dunmer sound pretty much like many real cockneys. I don't think they sound like an American pretending to be cockney.

Except that many scholars believe that the British dialect of the Renaissance era was much closer to American Southern than to any modern British dialect,

Ooh, that's always been one of my pet theories. I've noticed similarities in dialect and pronunciation between the Americans and the north of England.

(we both know what pants are, for example, and we know that bath does not have an "R" in it)

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:27 pm

Except that many scholars believe that the British dialect of the Renaissance era was much closer to American Southern than to any modern British dialect, and any medieval dialect would have sounded closer to grunting.

The only reason that people think of American accents as too "modern" for a fantasy setting is the Hollywood tradition of voicing any generic period piece with British accents.

The only connection to american southern is the Texas Renaissance Festival where texans dress up in medieval gear and drink from flaggons speaking with a teribble english accent.

The reason for it being too modern is because it actually is too modern Henry VIII probably didn't say things like 'hey y'all, i'ma behead me a 'lil female thang!'

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 4:04 pm

Wha...? /boggle

Annoying outlanders.

Please elaborate.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:48 am

It's a dike Van Dyke Corr Blimey Cockernee accent.
Is what it is.

This.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:22 pm

The only connection to american southern is the Texas Renaissance Festival where texans dress up in medieval gear and drink from flaggons speaking with a teribble english accent.

The reason for it being too modern is because it actually is too modern Henry VIII probably didn't say things like 'hey y'all, i'ma behead me a 'lil female thang!'

LOL.
However, I have never heard anyone in Skyrim say this.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 6:07 pm

LOL.
However, I have never heard anyone in Skyrim say this.

You're right, i should have said this:

'hey y'all, i used to be a [censored] adventurer like y'all, but then i took a [censored] arrow to ma knee maaaan'

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 10:55 pm

Please elaborate.

There are no Kiwi accents in Skyrim, trust me.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:23 am

The only connection to american southern is the Texas Renaissance Festival where texans dress up in medieval gear and drink from flaggons speaking with a teribble english accent.

The reason for it being too modern is because it actually is too modern Henry VIII probably didn't say things like 'hey y'all, i'ma behead me a 'lil female thang!'

Hey there. Quick lesson in Renaissance pronunciation:

http://www.netplaces.com/shakespeare/how-to-understand-elizabethan-english/elizabethan-english.htm

Shakespearean English did not sound British, and please don't be dense and pretend that anyone was saying that they adopted regional idioms that only came about in the last century or so.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:14 pm

obviously all dunmer must sound the same, all of them must soind like they're having some serious lung diseases, and make them hard to voice any other emotion than contempt.

It is possible to sound different within that accent you know? Personally I would be happy if just a fair amount of Dunmer had those raspy accents. I don't want all of them to have them. Then with that accent they actually have quite a bit of room for variation and emotion. Just need ti nail it right. They have already done that in Morrowind to some extent. Why does something have to be human sounding but really anything would have sounded better on the Dunmer other than a cockney accent. It just is like the last accent I think most people would ever have picked for a Dunmer.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:44 am

OK, i guessing you're a kiwi then,since you're hailing from 'back in middle earth'. Although if anyone's hailing from middle earth it will be me. As i live in the area Tolkien based his books on and live a mile from his childhood home.......outlander.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:59 pm

Shakespearean English did not sound British, and please don't be dense and pretend that anyone was saying that they adopted regional idioms that only came about in the last century or so.

But people from the Outer Banks don't sound like anyone from any other part of America... You cannot possibly stretch that to include what most people would think of if you say 'American accent'.

@Eloheem. No I'm not a Kiwi, just working in Middle Earth for a bit. The 'annoying outlander' quote is just something that is said so often in Morrowind by the male Dunmer voice the OP is talking about, that it is ubiquitous.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 7:31 pm

Bring back the Rasp! It blows my mnind that they would change that. I don't think it should have anything to do with being near red mountain. All Dunmer spoke this way in Morrowind. Even the ones in Mournhold. So :yuck:

!

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:30 am

It is possible to sound different within that accent you know? Personally I would be happy if just a fair amount of Dunmer had those raspy accents. I don't want all of them to have them. Then with that accent they actually have quite a bit of room for variation and emotion. Just need ti nail it right. They have already done that in Morrowind to some extent. Why does something have to be human sounding but really anything would have sounded better on the Dunmer other than a cockney accent. It just is like the last accent I think most people would ever have picked for a Dunmer.

does it matter what accent they have?

They still have a growling voice, except this time they don't sound like they need to stop talking and go to the nearest hospital.

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 2:32 am

But people from the Outer Banks don't sound like anyone from any other part of America... You cannot possibly stretch that to include what most people would think of if you say 'American accent'.

@Eloheem. No I'm not a Kiwi, just working in Middle Earth for a bit. The 'annoying outlander' quote is just something that is said so often in Morrowind by the male Dunmer voice the OP is talking about, that it is ubiquitous.

The point was more that a blanket dismissal of "American" (I agree, that's a broad term) as being too modern a dialect for a fantasy game (which, mind you, isn't the real world) is ludicrous.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 3:51 pm

The point was more that a blanket dismissal of "American" (I agree, that's a broad term) as being too modern a dialect for a fantasy game (which, mind you, isn't the real world) is ludicrous.

Yeah, I agree (I like hearing accents from Maine, myself), but the assumption is the paying public tend to associate fantasy with medieval, (we are already on shaky ground here) and medieval with English/Welsh/Irish/Scottish and a variety of European accents. *shrug*

What accent would you say the voice has that is used for most of the Dunmer males in Morrowind?

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 1:57 pm

But people from the Outer Banks don't sound like anyone from any other part of America... You cannot possibly stretch that to include what most people would think of if you say 'American accent'.

@Eloheem. No I'm not a Kiwi, just working in Middle Earth for a bit. The 'annoying outlander' quote is just something that is said so often in Morrowind by the male Dunmer voice the OP is talking about, that it is ubiquitous.

good word use!

» Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:45 am

Yeah, I agree (I like hearing accents from Maine, myself), but the assumption is the paying public tend to associate fantasy with medieval, (we are already on shaky ground here) and medieval with English/Welsh/Irish/Scottish and a variety of European accents. *shrug*

What accent would you say the voice has that is used for most of the Dunmer males in Morrowind?

I hear Cockney.

It should be noted that an actor shooting for a Cockney dialect is almost never going to try and duplicate a real regional dialect from England. Instead, there's a dialect that's considered "Cockney," which incorporates general characteristics of a broad Cockney pronunciation and placement, so that actors can sound consistent (instead of just sounding 100% regionally accurate).

Edit: Sorry, I just completely skipped over the word "Morrowind". They sound pretty much gravelly American to me.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 2:13 pm

nerevarine1138, on 30 March 2012 - 12:35 AM, said:
The point was more that a blanket dismissal of "American" (I agree, that's a broad term) as being too modern a dialect for a fantasy game (which, mind you, isn't the real world) is ludicrous.

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant this voice from Morrowind, which is the one I like. Not the accents in Skyrim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG8OjKiGAvE
I hear an American 'last', rather than English, but I think it's very effective at being a fantasy voice.

» Wed Jun 13, 2012 9:49 pm

Sorry, I should have been clearer. I meant this voice from Morrowind, which is the one I like. Not the accents in Skyrim. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jG8OjKiGAvE
I hear an American 'last', rather than English, but I think it's very effective at being a fantasy voice.

That's a great video.