You sure you aren't overthinking this a little?
I could have sworn that I read Inon Zur wrote the lyrics for that originally... and it was nonsensical and slightly Tolkien based. Then they had Aubrey Ashburn, an American, sing it.. In DAO, In Uthenera is Leliana's Song. It still sounds the same.
There is a great deal of difference between Aubrey Fishburne's accent and Merrill's accent.
And no, American sounding elvish will never be okay. Give up on trying to change my mind.
You don't like Leliana's Song? What kind of DA fan are you? I'm not gonna try to convince you though. I'll just shake my head. 
Merrill's accent is just Welsh. It isn't Elvish... even the rest of the her clan is Irish. It's just Eve Myles.
Oh, I do. I just see it as what it is: A human woman singing an elven song rather than anything meant to represent how the words are meant to be pronounced.
Yes, which already is better than nothing. Elven, Qunlat and the occasional dwarven should all have their own accents.
I'd prefer distinct accents too, but I don't judge the song that way. DAO's score is more "otherworldly" to me than any particular culture. It sounds like other elvish songs outside DA. They all have that New Agey/Enya like sound to them.
And while Eve Myles is great, and the Welsh accents are of one my favorites to listen to, she shouldn't be depended on pronunciation too much. I mean, she says Vhenadahl two different ways in the game. Like she reads it wrong in one line and says "VhenAN-del."
Languages evolve. The English language spoken in the US may have had its roots in England, but the English spoken here has no relation at all to the English spoken in England. In particular, the 'slang' terminology differs greatly from country to country, sometimes from one generation to the next in the same region. A century ago, being gay meant 'to be happy'. Tell someone you're gay in the US now and the first thought of the other person isn't that 'you're happy'.
Nor do the people speaking English in Wales, Ireland, Scotland, India, South Africa or Australia sound anything like an American, or even an English person. Even different areas of the US sound different from each other. A Texan dialect doesn't sound anything like a New York one. And to a trained ear, a Texan doesn't sound like people speaking English who hail from Georgia or Tennesee either.
Dialects are picked up within the first few years by infants from the adults in their sphere, one reason you shouldn't speak 'baby talk' to them. They learn to speak their language properly by emulating their adults. Also many people are good with language/dialects, and tend to pick them up quickly, but a native can usually tell the difference in someone adopting a dialect and someone who's actually been speaking it for many years. When I lived in Chicago for a couple of years, I adopted the same midwestern dialect people around me were speaking, but I lost it quickly when I returned home to the southeast. I shocked a friend on Skype when i imitated his English accent, though he knew it wasn't my usual speaking voice (I have a decided southern twang to my voice when i speak normally).
The elves lost not just their culture, but their immortality and language a thousand plus years ago. They won't sound like the elves of 1000 years ago, and shouldn't. Doubtless their language should be bastardized by the environment, new speakers, new phrases and words that come up, since the original speakers of the undistilled language from long ago are long dead (with a few exceptions). Even the "elvish" spoken by the Dalish (who are the only modern 'experts' in it, such as they are) is mostly a few scattered phrases, with the majority of them being used for ritual purposes (such as the DA2 clip shown). Or simple greetings/titles. I've seen little evidence that shows they speak more than a few scattered words here and there and mostly the prevailing human language of the region they grew up in.
It wouldn't surprise me if some Dalish speak with a 'Welsh, Irish, or even Scottish or English' accents since this region we're playing in corresponds to that real world equivalent environment. The city elves (and Dalish of DAO) spoke with American accents and I found the switch a bit jarring in DA2. As with the physical changes, though I just shrugged and went with it. As a long time reader of comics and watcher of daytime dramas on tv, frequent artist changes and actor changes to long term ongoing stories came quite easy to accept for me.
I am unsure what other accents are employed elsewhere in Thedas. Antiva seems to be Italian or Spanish based, but Rivain doesn't stand out to me as anything significantly impacted by any real world equivalent (or at least Isabela of DA2 doesn't employ an accent that I can tell). Orlais is French, but again, the accent varies. Leliana doesn't have the same accent as Riordan or Stroud--I only bring up those two examples since the actors for the characters are both French speaking natives, but it illustrates a range of regional/environmental differences in language. Corinne Kempa studied in England so she has picked up something of an English accent to her voice, though it's still distinctly French. Nevarra may be English based as well (since Miranda Raison is an English actress), or Cassandra may have picked up the 'Ferelden accent' because she's spent significant time in the region. I would expect in other areas where other languages are employed to have an impact on the elven dialects as well and I'm actually kind of curious what we might get from elves in Tevinter or Antiva.
To have anyone in Thedas employing an American accent sounds weird to me because regionally it doesn't make sense. Dwarves, sure, they're an isolated group. Qunari even, since they are originally also from another region. I would expect elves who live around dwarves or qunari in their home turf will adopt those accents to their elvish as well. With possibly a 'lilt' of something a little more that marks the elvish as a different language.
I've just played the Dalish origin, my previous wardens were City Elf, Human Noble, and Dwarf Noble. I have to say it's the most underwhelming of the 4, I was expecting a longer, richer tale of the Dalish. I was surprised how quickly it was over and, considering it's BioWare's canon, how little of it there is compared to the Couslands.
Still I like the origin for my new Warden, and I'm hoping it's mentioned often by everyone as the game continues. I just feel like Merrill and Marethari's clan deserved more somehow. 
Miranda Raison purposely made up an accent, if I recall what she said back in DA2.. She took a little of various euro accents.
Kind of the same thing whats-her-face did with Tali, I think. I think she's going for a gypsy thing, but it isn't quite that. And even then, there's dozens of different gypsies anyways.
I've just played the Dalish origin, my previous wardens were City Elf, Human Noble, and Dwarf Noble. I have to say it's the most underwhelming of the 4, I was expecting a longer, richer tale of the Dalish. I was surprised how quickly it was over and, considering it's BioWare's canon, how little of it there is compared to the Couslands.
Still I like the origin for my new Warden, and I'm hoping it's mentioned often by everyone as the game continues. I just feel like Merrill and Marethari's clan deserved more somehow.
Standalone, it's not the most rich, but it's a good starting point for the series, I think. It touches on a lot of the "high level" stuff. So maybe that's why Bioware went with it. I think Cousland and CE are the best though.
Standalone, it's not the most rich, but it's a good starting point for the series, I think. It touches on a lot of the "high level" stuff. So maybe that's why Bioware went with it. I think Cousland and CE are the best though.
That's what I was hoping, That even though the origin isn't as good in itself, the racial choice will come into play later in the game and help define this warden as being very different from my others.
She's going to be my Leliana romance and survive the game, so I hope that's a good choice head canon-wise for DAI.
That's what I was hoping, That even though the origin isn't as good in itself, the racial choice will come into play later in the game and help define this warden as being very different from my others.
She's going to be my Leliana romance and survive the game, so I hope that's a good choice head canon-wise for DAI.
I like Leliana too.. to me she's the most understanding of followers.. and the Dalish feels like the most out-of-place.
But some feel that way about Morrigan too. It works in a different way, I suppose..
Witch Hunt will fill that void, Arcadia. Don't worry.
Anyway, I must say that it does bother me when Solas says to a Dalish Inquisitor that the humains haven't raised an elf so high in a long time (after they sing The Dawn Will Come).
Excuse me? They did, just 10 years ago.
Patrick Weekes must've assumed he was the first one to like them. And talk about them.
*makes Sera farting noise*
Either that, or the world is just so crappy that they forgot within the space of 10 years. I understand there's injustice, but damn..
But there is a damn fine statue in the middle of Redcliffe! They couldn't forget even if they wanted to.
Regardless, it doesn't matter if the Hero of Ferelden is revered right now or not, but that s/he was not too long ago. Solas can't really say "ohhhh, this is completely new!" in this world state.
It would have been a nice touch if he had a line about it though. There isn't much reactivity to the HoF in general, to be fair.
Even that statue in Redcliffe annoys me. Because it's still there, even when you let the townsfolk get mauled by an undead horde. I think they would "Pass" on the damn statue if that was the case.
Don't worry, Arcadia. Later in the game, Tamlen will give you more heart wrenching feelings than Cousland's dead parents ever could. It isn't underwhelming in the long run.
And if you crave Dalish elf content, Witch Hunt will fill that void.
Anyway, I must say that it does bother me when Solas says to a Dalish Inquisitor that the humains haven't raised an elf so high in a long time (after they sing The Dawn Will Come).
Excuse me? They did, just 10 years ago.
Oh okay thank you, I usually skip Witch Hunt so I'll make sure I do it this run.
It would have been a nice touch if he had a line about it though. There isn't much reactivity to the HoF in general, to be fair.
Even that statue in Redcliffe annoys me. Because it's still there, even when you let the townsfolk get mauled by an undead horde. I think they would "Pass" on the damn statue if that was the case.
I'm sad that Solas doesn't recognise a Dalish warden.
My first DAI was a world where I left Redcliffe to it's fate. I was hoping for a ruined village slow to repair itself and broken people, but I have a feeling when I play again it's gonna be exactly the same as it was then. There didn't seem to be much referencing it at all. 
Don't worry, Arcadia. Later in the game, Tamlen will give you more heart wrenching feelings than Cousland's dead parents ever could. It isn't underwhelming in the long run.
And if you crave Dalish elf content, Witch Hunt will fill that void.
Anyway, I must say that it does bother me when Solas says to a Dalish Inquisitor that the humains haven't raised an elf so high in a long time (after they sing The Dawn Will Come).
Excuse me? They did, just 10 years ago.
I wasn't that emotionally invested in Tamlen. My Dalish blamed her situation (she didn't want to be a warden, I RP'ed Duncan had to drag her kicking and screaming out of the camp) on his foolish curiosity and she'd repeatedly warned him "We shouldn't be doing this" and was ignored. So the feels is all in how it's RPed. Mine wasn't inclined to pity him much after he got her into the mess she was in. Plus, you kill him and aside from Alistair no one else even acknowledges he was among the shrieks you just fought.
Definitely not 'heart wrenching' drama from where I was sitting. 
No story is original. Sidekicks who die/turn on the hero are also pretty cliche. An example of this can be found in most of the sidekicks in Origins itself.
Tamlen: Turns into a shriek and dies.
Leske: Turns on the warden and dies.
Ser Gilmore: Gives his life to hold back the enemy.
Jowan: Turns on the warden in the origin, then dies if turned over to Eamon or the Circle.
Daveth: Kicks off from a bad reaction to the warden mojo juice. A fate also suffered by Mhairi in Awakenings.
Jory: Turned into a human pincushion by Duncan.
Not to mention the various and sundry ways you can off the other companions.
Soris and Gorim seem to have broken the "Bioware kills the sidekick curse". And Bioware isn't the first to kill sidekicks. It's kind of a staple in a lot of comics (Jason Ward from Batman for one off the top of my head). TV, Gabrielle in Xena, and I think Iolaus in Hercules have both died in the series, as well as in BTVS, she had to kill Angel and Spike at one point. Even Greek Mythology has beloved sidekicks die and are lifted in memorium into the heavens.
I will concede "my parents died" is a pretty common factor in a lot of stories. But I can also point out, that it's also present in the Dalish origin as well with the parents dying of a sort of "Romeo/Juliet" situation, further compounded by 'evil humans who killed the father and Mom just walked off into the sunset after giving birth'. The mother is dead in the DN and CE stories, the parents are non-existent in the mage, and the father is either an absent parent or dead as well for the DC.
Indeed, but the dead parents shtick isn't the driving force in the Dalish origin.
And the tragedy in Tamlen's case is less about the fact that it happened and more about how it did. It wasn't a normal death like the other examples you've given.
It happened because he was doing what every 'stupid' person does in a horror flick. You know the kind, he's the idiot who insists on 'checking out that noise' or 'looking behind that door' when anyone with sense would be running in the opposite direction. And I wouldn't say what Daveth and Mhairi suffer is 'natural' either since they died of the same thing Tamlen does (the taint) just immediately instead of lingeringly.
Daveth's demise evoked more in me than any of the companions in the origins since I thought he may actually be with the warden for the rest of the game (on my first playthrough). My sorrow was more for the wasted potential of a good character than the actual death itself.
One thing I like about that "cliche" is that I often got in trouble like that.. We used to explore a lot as kids. A couple of times my friends got severely hurt. One time we were swinging over a chasm with a rope and it broke on one kid... At the bottom was a bunch of discarded wood and branches, and it tore his leg up... he started screaming and we saw a big flap of skin hanging from his knee.
That's my Tamlen..
And the funny thing is my friends called me "Preacher". I had a habit of stalling and telling them what's wrong. They thought it was preachy. Bad as I was, I was never stupid. 
One thing I like about that "cliche" is that I often got in trouble like that.. We used to explore a lot as kids. A couple of times my friends got severely hurt. One time we were swinging over a chasm with a rope and it broke on one kid... At the bottom was a bunch of discarded wood and branches, and it tore his leg up... he started screaming and we saw a big flap of skin hanging from his knee.
That's my Tamlen..
And the funny thing is my friends called me "Preacher". I had a habit of stalling and telling them what's wrong. They thought it was preachy. Bad as I was, I was never stupid.
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