Accents, modes of speech, and making characters different Options

[Domi]

Partially the last posts here: http://chosenofmystra.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=1709 and Kulyok's comment on writing for more than one character made me think:

How many accents and modes of speech are utilized in BG/mods?

I can think off hand about the following:

1) 'Old English'ish - mainly substitutes thou/thee for you, adds doth/dost and uses 'tis, 'twas etc.
2) Dwarvish'ish - Scottish-ish (?) Mainly substitute of ye for you
3) Cutsey version of the above: substitute ya for you, and 'eating the -ing's' (ie somethin') and using conversational verbs (dunno)
3) I will never contract anything mode
4) 'commoner speech' in BG that I can't reproduce, but it uses the substitute of consonants rather than vowels (ie Tranzig in BG1)

From the literature, the most memorable accents were:

1) In Jordan, the Illianer's accent (I do be going downriver)
2) Troll's accent in Williams (mainly characterized by long unusual nouns insterad of adjectives, ie I will do it with speediness)

[Kulyok]

3) I will never contract anything mode

What does that mean?

3) Cutsey version of the above: substitute ya for you, and 'eating the -ing's' (ie somethin') and using conversational verbs (dunno)

(ewww)

You forgot Edwin's Russian accent, I think. Or Jaheira's deliberate roughness of "r's" and "o's" - no idea what her accent comes from.

[Domi]

I will not contract means that you write everything without contracting (ie I will instead of I'll)

I meant the accent you can see 'in writing' to make characters visisbly different from one another.

Edwin's art of speaking in paranthesis will be one!

[Kulyok]

Ah, I see. Yes, Edwin is a fine example then.

I do not know if it qualifies, but Aerie's somewhat disjointed speech (her lovetalks only): extensive use of (sigh) and (sob!), ellipsis, lots of expressive punctuation - is quite a style in itself, no?

[Domi]

I guess, it will be together with Khalid's stutter pattern.

[NiGHTMARE]

4) could be further divided further, into East Anglian* ("What you be havin' there then, me lord?", "Ah, that's a roight bootiful 'un") and Cockney ("Cor! Watcha got there, guv?", "Blimey, that's a right beauty")

* Probably better known to non-Brits as 'country bumpkin'.

[Domi]

So, could you expand?

The first one is eating the ends, substituting me for my and oo for eau?

The second is cha for you and u for o in short words with v?

[NiGHTMARE]

East Anglian:

- "eau" vowel sound pronounced "oo", e.g. "bootiful" instead of "beautiful", and "hooge" instead of "huge"
- "oa" sometimes pronounced "oo", e.g. "boot" instead of "boat"
- "i" pronounced "oi", e.g. "doice" instead of "dice"
- "ng" sometimes pronounced with a silent g
- "air" vowel sound prounced "eer", e.g. "peer" instead of "pair"
- often use glottal stops instead of "t", usually after but very occasionally before the stress (see below for examples)
- usually only pronounce an "r" if it's directly followed by a vowel
- are somewhat more flexible than is usual when it comes to the use of personal pronouns and adjectives, often using e.g. "me" instead of "my", or "them" instead of "they"

Cockney:

- "ar" vowel sound pronounced as "aa", e.g. "grass" is pronounced "graass", whereas the standard pronounciation is "grarse"
- "er" pronounced "a", e.g. "dumba" instead of "dumber"
- "rr" pronounced "ww", e.g. "bewwy" instead of "berry"
- dropped h, e.g. " 'alf" instead of "half", or " 'ave" instead of "have"
- almost always use contracted verbs, including some relatively uncommon forms such as "watcha" instead of "what do you", "innit" instead of "is it not" and "has it not", and "ain't" instead of "is not", "has not", "have not", "am not" and "are not"
- sometimes miss out verbs entirely, e.g. "what you got there?" instead of "what have you got there?"
- often use glottal stops instead of "t", but only after the stress. For example, "gu-er" instead of "gutter", but not "re-urn" instead of "return"

Some cockneys also make use of rhyming slang, e.g. "money" = "bread and honey" = "bread" (which of course has been adapted into "dough" in certain parts of America), or "have a look" = "butcher's look" = "have a butcher's".


If you want some BG examples, many of the farmers have an East Anglian-esque accent (since this and the Devonshire accent are the stereotypical accents of English farmers), and Gaelan Bayle seems to be a half-hearted stab at a cockney.

This post has been edited by NiGHTMARE: Oct 18 2005, 04:26 PM

[BigRob]

There's also sterotypical really stupid speech, used for orcs, ogres and the like. (Me will crush you! Crush you to goo!).

This seems to be some kind of "goblinoid accent" because even Madulf from the Umar Hills, who is an ogre mage and therefore probably not stupid, uses it.

[Domi]

Thank you, guys. Nightmare, that's an awsomne guide!