122 réponses à ce sujet

[LOLandStuff]

Cassandra's accent is like the Tommy Wiseau of DA, you just have no idea what it is, but it sounds much better.

[Steelcan]

I want some more varied accents, give me some Cajun or Southern accents

[AresKeith]

Cassandra's accent is like the Tommy Wiseau of DA, you just have no idea what it is, but it sounds much better.

 

Her VA said she mixed two accents together but I completely forgot what they were lol

[Carmen_Willow]

Awesome point-- yeah, if you listen to Captain Rhylen (former Templar who joins you at the Fort in the Western Approach), and get his backstory, he also has the "Starkhaven accent,"  and is from Starkhaven.  It's def a bit Scottish, a bit Northern Irish, too (those two accents themselves can sound similar/overlap sometimes).  

So can Southern Irish and Highland Scots (although the true Highland Scot accent is growing more rare with each generation)>

[BansheeOwnage]

Elves haven't even managed to have a consistent accent from any one game to another. I suspect it's just what is supposed to sound "right" for any one character.

This goes somewhat for the entire cast, but yeah, it's especially noticeable on elves. I don't really mind though. I'd rather they have the right VA for the job than someone with only the right accent. Although, they have people put on accents, too.

[YourFunnyUncle]

*gives you the side-eye*

Here's a happier topic: Master Dennet - 'Stralian?

Whatever can you mean, darling?

I don't recall thinking that Dennet sounded Australian...

*finds YouTube vid*

Yeah to me that sounds like someone from the southeast of England without a strong accent. Not quite RP but well spoken. Fitting for someone who interacts with Ferelden nobility I suppose.

[Basement Cat]

Apparently a lot of people criticized Corinne Kempa (Leliana) for her terribly unrealistic French accent back in Origins, only to be informed that she was born and raised in Paris. 

There were similar criticisms against Sera for her 'cheap American imitation of a Cockney accent'. Funnily the people who made the accusation had nothing to say when informed it was in fact the VA's natural Derbyshire accent...

 

I remember being impressed in DAO by Leliana's genuine accent (native French speaker working in a bilingual environment). Marjolaine, though... No offence to Kath Soucie, but her French accent just isn't convincing.

[BraveVesperia]

I'm not great with accents, but I think Blackwall sounds Yorkshire. He wouldn't be out of place there, and it's the perfect mix of not being posh and not being a broad/strong dialect. I'm curious about Cole's accent. It doesn't sound very RP to me, but I can't place it.

 

I understand Solas' is slightly Welsh too?

 

I want some more varied accents, give me some Cajun or Southern accents

I like this! I'd adore it if Claudia Black voiced a character with her Australian accent too. Not sure what region or group such a character could come from, but there's plenty we haven't seen.

 

I find it pretty funny when people are like "that accent wouldn't fit because Thedas doesn't have a version of X country". Even assuming Bioware were doing that, half the accents in 'fantasy medieval Europe' were American in DAO.  I like it when they make the accents more varied instead of sticking to a copy & paste Europe.

[YourFunnyUncle]

I remember being impressed in DAO by Leliana's genuine accent (native French speaker working in a bilingual environment). Marjolaine, though... No offence to Kath Soucie, but her French accent just isn't convincing.

What do you think about Giselle? She just sounds really fake to my ears... Like the VA found out how to make the French R sound and massively overdid it.

 

I was thinking that what you never hear in these games are the genuine mistakes that foreign speakers make when attempting to navigate the minefield that is English pronunciation. The other day I heard an interview with a French journalist. His English was quite heavily accented but generally very good, except this one mistake I noticed: He pronounced village to rhyme with rampage or age instead of to rhyme with spillage or marriage. Now as you know, this word exists in French, and the French pronunciation rhymes with triage, so he wasn't just pronouncing the word as he knew it. He knew that he should change the pronunciation, but he got it wrong. This sort of thing happens a lot in real life, but not so much in movies and video games...

[Basement Cat]

What do you think about Giselle? She just sounds really fake to my ears... Like the VA found out how to make the French R sound and massively overdid it.

 

I was thinking that what you never hear in these games are the genuine mistakes that foreign speakers make when attempting to navigate the minefield that is English pronunciation. The other day I heard an interview with a French journalist. His English was quite heavily accented but generally very good, except this one mistake I noticed: He pronounced village to rhyme with rampage or age instead of to rhyme with spillage or marriage. Now as you know, this word exists in French, and the French pronunciation rhymes with triage, so he wasn't just pronouncing the word as he knew it. He knew that he should change the pronunciation, but he got it wrong. This sort of thing happens a lot in real life, but not so much in movies and video games...

Giselle sounds... off. I don't really know how to describe it, but I'll try. English vowels are 'fluid' whereas French ones are 'solid'. What makes Leliana's accent distinctive is that her vowels are a little 'stiff' compared to proper pronunciation.

 

The problem with Giselle (and Marjolaine) is that instead of stiffening the vowels, they really exaggerate them. Actually, their accent carries a trace of Japanese. Compare them to Edna Mode from The Incredibles, whose accent is a mix of Japanese and German.

 

 

There's also the matter of where they put the emphasis in words. In English the location varies and it makes a syllable stronger, but in French the emphasis is on the last syllable and makes it longer. The problem with Giselle and Marjolaine is that their emphasis is the English one, but in the wrong spots. It makes them sound very clunky.

[Potato Cat]

There were similar criticisms against Sera for her 'cheap American imitation of a Cockney accent'. Funnily the people who made the accusation had nothing to say when informed it was in fact the VA's natural Derbyshire accent...

It's annoying, but I can hardly blame people. RP, Cockney and Yorkshire accents definitely dominate. Character needs to sound English? RP. Are they poor enough to pronounce poor with two syllables? Yorkshire. Are they poor and a prepubescent pickpocket? Cockney.

[Char]

I'm RP via Essex, but my grandparents are pure genuine East End Cockney London. The fake attempts at cockney accents you get in video games and movies really make me wince a lot of the time, they sound so forced.

[tirnoney]

  

 

Some preliminary thoughts:

 

- Dalish (as has been discussed at length in other threads) *mostly* seem to have variations on Irish accents, though occasionally some sound somewhat Welsh, too.  I found Briala's accent to be particularly interesting-- there were certain lines she delivered where she sounded specifically Northern Irish (see her greeting to the Inquisitor in the Servants Quarters when you're chasing the Harlequin).  

 

 

When watching a Hollywood movie or syndicated television show, I always inwardly groan in anticipation when any character mentions an upcoming "Irish" character knowing that, at least 9.9 times out of 10, I'm about to suffer an atrociously rendered fake accent.  Luckily Bioware managed to get some actual Irish voice actors to do stuff, although they do come from various corners of the Island and it sounds a bit weird when they're all apparently in one elfy clan.  Not that I'm complaining, really!.  Merril's clan in DA2 had Merril, who was Welsh obviously, then there were a few hunters from Dublin, one from Belfast and a couple from further west.  

 

As for Briala?  No idea where her accent is from.  France?  Definitely not Irish though. (I'm originally from NI btw.)

 

The inquisitors and the Hawkes English accents are all Received Pronunciation.  It might be nice to a have a regional one in a future game although finding one to please everyone could prove problematic.  Dorian's accent is a good example of more heightened RP which fits with him being an upper class mage from Tevinter I suppose.  

[Wulfram]

Briala's voice actor is Irish, apparently, but I think she was using a french accent?

[YourFunnyUncle]

Giselle sounds... off. I don't really know how to describe it, but I'll try. English vowels are 'fluid' whereas French ones are 'solid'. What makes Leliana's accent distinctive is that her vowels are a little 'stiff' compared to proper pronunciation.

 

The problem with Giselle (and Marjolaine) is that instead of stiffening the vowels, they really exaggerate them. Actually, their accent carries a trace of Japanese. Compare them to Edna Mode from The Incredibles, whose accent is a mix of Japanese and German.

 

*snip*

 

There's also the matter of where they put the emphasis in words. In English the location varies and it makes a syllable stronger, but in French the emphasis is on the last syllable and makes it longer. The problem with Giselle and Marjolaine is that their emphasis is the English one, but in the wrong spots. It makes them sound very clunky.

 

Well English vowels sounds are most of what makes up our accents, but yeah that's it. The vowels are all wrong. They don't sound like a French person speaking English but an English person dropping French vowels sounds (And in Giselle's case the guttural R sound) into their normal speech patterns.

 

It's annoying, but I can hardly blame people. RP, Cockney and Yorkshire accents definitely dominate. Character needs to sound English? RP. Are they poor enough to pronounce poor with two syllables? Yorkshire. Are they poor and a prepubescent pickpocket? Cockney.

 

By "Yorkshire" I think you mean "Generic Actorly Non-Specific Northern". Yorkshire accents vary substantially across the county, and people often confuse Lancashire and Yorkshire accents...

 

Personally I've noticed way way more "cockney" than anything northern in TV shows, movies and games that originate from across the Atlantic, at least up until Game of Thrones...

 

I'm RP via Essex, but my grandparents are pure genuine East End Cockney London. The fake attempts at cockney accents you get in video games and movies really make me wince a lot of the time, they sound so forced.

 

Yeah I think what you're describing is the South-Eastern version of what I described above...

[Serelir]

Briala's voice actor is Irish, apparently, but I think she was using a french accent?

I don't know much of Briala's backstory (I kind of flew through Wicked Hearts by the seat of my pants), but perhaps it's a blend of elf overlaid with Orlesian? I recall there was another elf who had a surprising Orlesian accent, but since I hadn't spent any time in Orlais before DAI, it hadn't occurred to me that the accent of elves would vary according to where they grew up. I didn't even remember them having American accents in DAO, despite having played several different elf characters.

 

A French person posted on Reddit that the Orlesian accents are equally as hilarious in French.

[tirnoney]

Briala's voice actor is Irish, apparently, but I think she was using a french accent?

 

Interesting.  I just had another listen to her character on youtube and I'm not picking up anything particularly Irish or English.  I guess Bio wanted her to do the Orlesian thing, although what actually comes across is a rather unique and unusual accent.

[S.W.]

My French is... well, appalling, but I've studied it on and off for the past seven years. Marjolane and Isolde always sounded appallingly fake - the overdone rolling 'r's, but with English intonation. Giselle sounds much more legitimate to me.

Briala's accent sounded really weird and I struggled to place it. 'Is she an elf or is she Orlesian?' was the question going through my head - I suppose the Irish/French thing works there to good effect. Still odd to hear, though.
 

Personally I've noticed way way more "cockney" than anything northern in TV shows, movies and games that originate from across the Atlantic, at least up until Game of Thrones...

 
Cockney accents are actually (becoming) quite rare. Tbh I rarely hear them on TV, movies, or games - perhaps you're referring to something else? If you're referring to Eastern/London accents, a large amount of Jamaican slang and influence has entered into the South London accent - it's an entirely different beast (and sounds brilliant, if you ask me).
 
Also lol did people call Sera's accent fake. For real? It's legit. I know tonnes of people who sound quite like Sera.

[YourFunnyUncle]

My French is... well, appalling, but I've studied it on and off for the past seven years. Marjolane and Isolde always sounded appallingly fake - the overdone rolling 'r's, but with English intonation. Giselle sounds much more legitimate to me.

 

I have a degree in French and Spanish, my dad was a French teacher and I have relatives and friends in France. Believe me, Giselle sounds way off.

 

Cockney accents are actually (becoming) quite rare. Tbh I rarely hear them on TV, movies, or games - perhaps you're referring to something else? If you're referring to Eastern/London accents, a large amount of Jamaican slang and influence has entered into the South London accent - it's an entirely different beast (and sounds brilliant, if you ask me).

I'm in the UK. What I mean is that US shows, films and games that feature British accents usually either have someone doing RP or someone who sounds "cockney". I'm aware that the accents one hears in London have changed considerably in recent years.

[Ajna]

Orlesian sounding elves makes perfect sense.

I'm from the SE of England but I lived in Stoke On Trent for many years (not anymore), I picked up a very strong "stokey" accent which I can still slip into occassinally and very briefly, even now, years later..Briala having that accent made perfect sense to me. Not all Elves need to be Welsh or Irish.

[YourFunnyUncle]

Briala having that accent made perfect sense to me. Not all Elves need to be Welsh or Irish.

Indeed. She grew up serving Celene and even as her lover. Why wouldn't she have an Orlesian accent?

[Basement Cat]

Indeed. She grew up serving Celene and even as her lover. Why wouldn't she have an Orlesian accent?

It figures their tongues lean the same way. *runs away*

[MerricksMom]

Cassandra's accent reminds me of Nastassja Kinski (probably dating myself there), which I believe is German.

[Gervaise]

Briala is a city elf so there is no reason she should speak with anything other than the local dialect of the region she was brought up in, in this case Orlais.   She has also spent more than twenty years in Celene's court so would also have tended to take on the accent of the people around her.     Her only contact with the Dalish prior to Masked Empire was Felassan, and he wasn't a proper Dalish, so I wouldn't be surprised if he had a Welsh accent, like Solas.  

 

This is why Gatt's accent seems a bit odd since he was meant to have originated in Tevinter and been a slave there before being assigned to Seheron.    I can only assume his northern accent is something he has adopted in order to blend in now he is based in southern Thedas.        After all Sera was originally an alienage elf from Denerim and yet doesn't sound like anyone else we have met.

 

If next time round we are based up in Tevinter and are playing an elf, then I assume it will be a city elf since Dorian confirms there are no Dalish tribes in his neck of the woods.   So I do hope they don't make the mistake of giving the elves in Tevinter Irish accents.

 

It was noticeable that Abelas didn't sound Irish or Welsh, so clearly Celtic accents are not something that have been handed down through the years.

 

Incidentally I am quite happy with the male VA's English accent.  Just sounds normal to me, not overly posh or common.   Not quite so keen on the female one but I definitely wouldn't like an "estuary" English accent.  

[Neuro]

Interesting.  I just had another listen to her character on youtube and I'm not picking up anything particularly Irish or English.  I guess Bio wanted her to do the Orlesian thing, although what actually comes across is a rather unique and unusual accent.

 

I don't know much of Briala's backstory (I kind of flew through Wicked Hearts by the seat of my pants), but perhaps it's a blend of elf overlaid with Orlesian? I recall there was another elf who had a surprising Orlesian accent, but since I hadn't spent any time in Orlais before DAI, it hadn't occurred to me that the accent of elves would vary according to where they grew up. I didn't even remember them having American accents in DAO, despite having played several different elf characters.

 

A French person posted on Reddit that the Orlesian accents are equally as hilarious in French.

 

 

It's strange-- you don't hear it in a lot of her dialogue, but there's a slightly Scottish twinge/roll to her "R" pronounciation.  Her accent is ever-so-slight non-rhotic, too, in the Scottish way.  If someone posts a clip of when she greets the Inquisitor after the Harelquin scene, you can hear-- unless I'm misremembering.  I looked on YouTube but couldn't find it.  

 

I think ^ exactly, above-- they were going for a bit of the Irish/Scottish/occasionally Welsh haha accent overlaid with the typical French Orlesian accent.   

Briala's voice actor is Irish, apparently, but I think she was using a french accent?

 

 

It's also possible what I'm hearing is the slight Irish accent in the voice actress' native accent-- and that she's going for purely Orlesian, but I doubt that (I don't think my ear is that good).  Does it say where she's from in Ireland?  It's Northern Irish, to me.  

 

And as Gervaise points out above ^ , yeah, she's a City Elf, so minimal contact with the Dalish.  That's assuming the game is keeping that consistent, however-- I believe some of Briala's spies spoke with the "Irish" accent, as well, and some with Orlesian ones.  It's super interesting.  

 

Cheers.