Sagwort 832 Popular Post Share Posted August 31, 2016 A Guide To Accents Based upon Watyll’s Languages of the Realm post, we can see that the world of LotC has almost two dozen languages, most of which exist for lore purposes and have never been spoken in-game. The language spoken most commonly in-game is Common, or our English. Now there are numerous other racial languages that are usually only spoken in ritual or tradition such as Elvish, Dwarvish, Flexio (Latin), etc… etc… However, perhaps the most distinct difference linguistically between races are accents or dialects. While it is clear that Dwarves speak in a quite pronounced Glasgow or Highlands Scottish accent (an old Fantasy trope), while the Orcs speak Blah which share many things with Common other than a handful of words (opposed to Old Blah which is an entirely different language) but has no real world equivalent, and the Kha speak similarly in another conspicuous accent which has no real world parallel. What this guide hopes to achieve is to show how to type various accents that I believe go unexplored but would most likely be spoken by a majority of the descendent races of LotC. Ideally, when someone reads back the dialogue using the accent rules below it would automatically have the sort of sound that is trying to be achieved. Granted, this is very difficult to achieve since people will most likely read them back in their own native accent so… Presently, everyone speaks in a form of neutral English that one would write casually and subtle accents are generally stated in the character bio. However, if you want to go that extra mile and SHOW your accent when your character speaks then read on as I believe it would be highly immersing for those you role play with, none of these accents are warped so much that you wouldn’t be able to understand it (unlike Blah, Kha, or some Dwarvish (Scottish) accents I see). Note that text can only go so far, so I am going to do some very basic dialects (I might add more later) where the differences are clearly seen. We could talk all day about Midlands British, Northern England English, West Country English, etc… but on text the differences would be difficult to detect so I’m leaving it to the most identifiable accents. Note: I believe it is fairly understood (as is with most Medieval Fantasy tropes) that there are no American accents since this trope generally takes place in a European or even British Isle inspired setting so the following dialects are taken from this idea. Note Note: And before you ask, Old Common I assume is the LotC equivalent of Old English which, contrary to popular belief, is an ENTIRELY different language than modern English. Old English is not the whole ye olde, thou art, thee, hither, thine, etc… that is Early Modern English or Elizabethan English or the language of Shakespeare. Old English is more like… Leornian bêga rihtl¯æcung bôc êow f¯ærbena. Which translates roughly to “Read a history book you peasant.” I don’t speak Old English so that is the translation according to the internet. But you get the idea, don’t think of Old English or Old Common as a different dialect of English as it is an unrecognisable language. Also, since no one in-game really speaks in Elizabethan English either I will not be covering that sort of dialect here today. However, if you want to add an old timey flare to your character, I will add a brief section of when to use such words as thee, thou, thine, etc… Received Pronunciation Received Pronunciation, Standard English, Queen’s English, or Oxford English has no particular geographic origin and was used by those of a high social class. In the world of LotC I would imagine Nobles, Aristocrats, and Academics would use this dialect. As far as sound goes, it sounds rather posh, upper class, and clear. A good fantasy example of such a “manufactured” accent would be High Elves from Lord of the Rings, Galadriel in particular. Thus, this would the accent an elf from LotC would most likely have, most notable the Mali’aheral. Similarly, numerous other examples of this sort of accent can be found in other fantasy movies, Game of Thrones for example. Accent: Non-rhoticity or dropping the “r” sound from the ends of words, so “mother” sounds like “mothuh”, and “farther” and “father” sound the same, being “fathuh”, or “fire” becomes “fiuh”. Trap-bath Split results in broad “a” so “bath” is “bahth”, and “cat” is “caht” or “tomahto”. Essentially “a” becomes “ah” in words. But “nation” remains the same. Unlike some other accents, the “h” sound at the beginning of words is NOT dropped. The “y” sound of “ee” sounds more like “eh” so “happy” and “sorry” which sound like “happee” and “sorree” become “happ-eh” and “sorr-eh” The “t” sound is always pronounced. To drop the “t” is considered lazy and informal. Dialect Dialect in the Received Pronunciation is quite simple or even nonexistent. Since Received Pronunciation is not geographically based it does not actually have a dialect since dialect is the regionally based on region. However, little to no slang is used and large, latin based words are used. So instead of “good” use “excellent” or “exemplary”. Examples: “Here is some pronunciation. Rahtion nevuh rhymes with nation, say prefuh, but preferahble, comfortahble, ahnd vegetahble.” “Get the cah from the hahbuh yahrd.” “In whaht othuh language do people recite aht a play and aht a recietal? We ship by truck but send cahrgo by ship. We have noses thaht run and feet thaht smell. We pahrk in a driveway ahnd drive in a pahrkway.” Here is an example of Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) speaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKaAXnP0pmo An example of Thranduil (Lee Pace) speaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h318jKI9uC0 A prime example of Received Pronunciation from who the accent is so named after: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMHseSSRxgQ Cockney The accent of the working class of Britain. While certainly not medieval in origin it still holds the same sort of dialect of the peasantry. Unlike Received Pronunciation, Cockney is generally full of slang and such. Note that Cockney is generally not what the Halflings would speak, Cockney is more exclusive to the race of humans at least in LotC, of course, there are always exceptions. However, Cockney does seem to be a more urban lower class accent. Accent: Glottal Stops or dropping the “t” from words. So “butter” sounds like “bu’uh” and “Scottish” sounds like “Sco’ish”. Perhaps iconically, “Don’t know” becomes “Don’ know”. Non-rhoticity or dropping the “r” sound from the ends of words, so “mother” sounds like “mothuh”, and “farther” and “father” sound the same, being “fathuh”, or “fire” becomes “fiuh” Trap-bath Split results in broad “a” so “bath” is “bahth”, and “cat” is “caht” or “tomahto”. Essentially “a” becomes “ah” in words. But “nation” remains the same. Drop the “h” from the beginning of words so “hopefully” becomes “‘opefully” and “house” becomes “‘ouse”. This also includes such things as “who” which would be “‘oo” The “y” sound of “ee” sounds more like “eh” so “happy” and “sorry” which sound like “happee” and “sorree” become “happ-eh” and “sorr-eh”. Th-Fronting is quite difficult and something that can only be done with practice. The “th” in words is replaced with a more forward consonant such as “d”, “f” or “v” so “something” becomes “somefing”, “this” becomes “dis” and “mother” becomes “muvuh”. A prime example of this would be "That guy over there" would become "Da' guy ovuh dare" The “l” in words is replaced with a “w” sound. So “milk” becomes “miwk” and “mail” becomes “maiw”. This can sometimes be difficult to actually pronounce. In the “ing” sound the “g” is dropped so “nothing” is “nofin’” Dialect: Use “ain’t”. Use doubles negatives such as “I didn’ see nofin'!” Use “me” instead of “my”. So “I’m going to walk me dog.” Similar to Blah it can be difficult to understand a Cockney accent with all the slang as well as the actual accent. While comprehension is important, sometime the effect you are trying to produce is obscurity. Instead of saying “we were” say “we was”. For instance, “When we was…” Examples: “‘ere is some pronuncia’ion. Rah'ion nevuh rhymes with na'ion, say prefuh, but prefe’ahbwe, comfor’ahbwe, ahnd vege’ahbwe.” “Ge’ the cah from the ‘ahbah yahd.” “In whah ovuh language do peopw reci’e ah' ah play ahnd ah' ah reci’aw We ship by truck bu’ send cahrgo by ship. We ‘ave noses da’ run ahnd fee' da’ smew. We pahk in ah driveway ahnd drive in ah pahkway.” Pretty solid Cockney accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGhHowLOrlg Another pretty solid Cockney accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvufHABS0Ng Northern Pretty self explanatory, the Northern, Midland English, or Yorkshire accent can be found all throughout the Game of Thrones, most notable by the… Northerners. Accent: The “uh” and “oh” sound in “cup”, “love”, and “stone” becomes “coop”, “loove” and “stoone”. This is a very rough phonetic spelling and not exact. Non-rhoticity or dropping the “r” from the ends of words, so “mother” sounds like “mothuh”, and “farther” and “father” sound the same, being “fathuh”, or “fire” becomes “fiuh”. Trap-bath Split results in broad “a” so “bath” is “bahth”, and “cat” is “caht” or “tomahto”. Essentially “a” becomes “ah” in words. But the hard “a” in “nation” remains the same. Drop the “h” from the beginning of words so “hopefully” becomes “‘opefully” and “house” becomes “‘ouse”. This also includes such things as “who” which would be “‘oo” The “y” sound of “ee” sounds more like “eh” so “happy” and “sorry” which sound like “happee” and “sorree” become “happ-eh” and “sorr-eh”. The hard “a” or “ay” sound such as in “taken” and “cape” is replaced with a “eh” sound so “tehken” and “cehpe”. In the “ing” sound the “g” is dropped so “nothing” is “noothin’” Dialect Use “me” instead of “my”. So “I’m going to walk me dog.” Examples: “‘ere is soome pronoonciehtion. Rahtion nevuh rhymes with nehtion, say prefuh, but preferahble, comfortahble, ahnd vegetahble.” “Get the cah from the ‘arboor yahrd.” “In what other language do people recite aht a plehy ahnd aht a recital? We ship by troock but send cahrgoo by ship. We ‘ave nooses thaht roon ahnd feet thaht smell. We pahrk in a drivewehy ahnd drive in a pahrkwehy.” Two northerners from Game of Thrones showing of their northern accents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ewcnjd-SlY An example of some annoying girl with a Yorkshire accents: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhkZgNkmk0A Bristolian This is a rather rural or farmer accent that can be found in the Southwestern portion of Britain, or Bristol. This form of accent ha also been said to sound quite “pirate-y”. Samwise Gamgee has the quintassential Bristolian accent, granted, I wouldn’t really know what is and isn’t a good Bristolian accent since I am very much American. However, it does hold some similarities to Cockney. I actually find that on LotC, most dwarves achieve this sort of accent rather than the Scottish one I assume they are going for, thus, this will also serve as a dwarf accent guide. Accent: Drop the “h” from the beginning of words so “hopefully” becomes “‘opefully” and “house” becomes “‘ouse”. This also includes such things as “who” which would be “‘oo” The hard “i” sound sounds like “oi”. So “time”, “eye” and “ice” becomes “toime”, “oi” and “oice”. Unlike most other accents in this guide, the “r” sound is very much pronounced such as in Scotland and America. So “muthuh” is pronounced “motherrrrr”. Over exaggerated just to show the differences clearly. In the “ing” sound the “g” is dropped so “nothing” is “nothin’” Glottal Stops or dropping the “t” from words. So “butter” sounds like “bu’er” and “Scottish” sounds like “Sco’ish”. Dialect Use “ain’t”. Use doubles negatives such as “I didn’t see nofing!” Use “me” instead of “my”. So “I’m going to walk me dog.” Instead of saying “we were” say “we was”. For instance, “When we was…” Examples: “‘ere is some pronuncia’ion. Ra’ion never roimes with na’ion, say prefer, bu’ preferable, comfor’able, and vege’able.” “Ge’ the car from the ‘arbor yard.” “In wha’ other language do people recoi’e a’ a play and a’ a recoi’al? We ship by truck bu’ send cargo boi ship. We have noses tha’ run and fee’ tha’ smell. We park in a driveway and drive in a parkway.” Samwise Gamgee speaking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdrOueZ3g2c Some guy with a Bristolian accent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FENw5satQsA Elizabethan Grammar This is the sort of speech with all thee, thou, thine, ye, etc… etc... I will include a brief grammar lesson in these words as well as a few Elizabethan vocabulary words. Note that this is most likely not something you would see someone use casually and would probably be used ritualistically. 1st Person The next word begins with a consonant: My Ex. “My cattle” The next word begins with a vowel: Mine Ex. “Mine apple” 2nd Person Subjective: You/ You all = thou or ye Ex. “Thou art loved.” Objective: You/ You all = thee or ye Ex. “I love thee.” Adjective or the next word begins with a consonant: Your/s = thy Ex. “What is thy qualm?” Ex. “Thy cattle” Pronoun or the next word begins with a vowel: Your/s = thine Ex. “Is this book thine?” Ex. “Thine apple” Conjugating Verbs 2nd Person singular verbs add -est (Thou givest) 3rd Person singular verbs add -eth (She giveth) Sometimes these sentences can be switched around so “What dost thou thinkest” can be “What thinkest thou?” Vocabulary Do = “Dost" Are = “Art" Hello = “Good morrow”, “Good den” Good bye = “Anon”, “Fare thee well” Please = “Prithee” Hey! = “Hark!” Alas = “Alack” Soon = “Anon” Truthfully = “Forsooth” Please tell me = “Pray tell” Very = “Verily” Here = “Hither” Unless = “Lest” Nothing = “Naught” There = “Thither” Where, from where = “Whence” Please note that giving your character one of these accents can be quite a bit of trouble and most of it is implied. Once a person sees it in a certain way they will hopefully simply adopt that sort of accent in their head when they read it. Also, be aware that I am an American and cannot do any of these accents for the life of me in real life. If there are any “experts” out there that have additions or corrections please comment below. 31 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
excited 10833 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Incredible work as always Sagwort. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim 1327 Share Posted August 31, 2016 be a good asian and go back to homework borchadonger Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pando_ 446 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Good Work +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BathRugMan 559 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Oh man, this is amazing. Def going to speak with a cockney accent now. V in-depth +1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Etan 2856 Share Posted August 31, 2016 2 hours ago, Sagwort said: Vocabulary Do = “Dost" Are = “Art" Hello = “Good morrow”, “Good den” Good bye = “Anon”, “Fare thee well” Please = “Prithee” Hey! = “Hark!” Alas = “Alack” Soon = “Anon” Truthfully = “Forsooth” Please tell me = “Pray tell” Very = “Verily” Here = “Hither” Unless = “Lest” Nothing = “Naught” There = “Thither” Where, from where = “Whence” I needed this my senior year of highschool two years ago when I read Hammy let. :^) And this is a pretty damn good guide, thank you for such. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndCallCaesar 484 Share Posted August 31, 2016 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medvekoma 1966 Share Posted August 31, 2016 4 hours ago, Sagwort said: The “uh” and “oh” sound in “cup”, “love”, and “stone” becomes “coop”, “loove” and “stoone”. This is a very rough phonetic spelling and not exact. I almost fell over when I first heard a Durhamite pronounce "lunch". It's closer to "lynch" than a normal "bunch". But to be rather honest, I can easily get annoyed by accents in roleplay. I find it completely pointless after a point to write sentences like "Ach, ja zhe zawoiardz a kommin." because it's just a paint for the eyes and five seconds deducted from RP spent trying to figure out the meaning whereas characters would probably be comfortable understanding these. I always prefer a simple 'XY spoke in a butchered savoyard accent. "Right, what're you doing here?" '. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
garentoft 8353 Share Posted August 31, 2016 This is quite useful, thank you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shalashask 1112 Share Posted August 31, 2016 5 hours ago, Sagwort said: Bristolian B R I S T O L R I S T O L 5 hours ago, Sagwort said: Dialect Use “ain’t”. Use doubles negatives such as “I didn’t see nofing!” Use “me” instead of “my”. So “I’m going to walk me dog.” Instead of saying “we were” say “we was”. For instance, “When we was…” "In'it" instead of "isn't it" and "Alright mi luvvar" are pretty essential for Bristolian. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slic3man 484 Share Posted August 31, 2016 Not to put the work down at all, but it's also plausible to emote your character having an accent and leaving it up to another player's interpretation/imagination. Probably saves a lot of confusion too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezo Karasuga 356 Share Posted September 1, 2016 *claps* Great work again Sagwort Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enyahs V. 173 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Dear people with Auvergnian accents. Replacing W sounds with V sounds, is a german thing, not french. Th sounds to S or Z sounds, however, are completely correct. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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