Bizarre Accents
Loub
Member Posts: 471
Something that has always been in my mind and I cannot make peace with is the presence of such bizarre accents in the Baldur's Gate series.
As a student of linguistics, I find myself struggling to make ends meet when it comes to what the hell the voice actors were trying to convey with such whimsical inflections. Like Jaheira, who seems to have become lost somewhere between basque , "nondescript eastern european" and yiddish; Rasaad, with his intricate mixture of a faux-british accent and either turkish or arab, which sometimes fails to conceal Mark Meer's natural canadian accent (he's never been really good with those); Xan, who epitomizes the so called "gay accent" (I think the voice actor went for a San Franciscan accent, but somehow ended up with this); Safana, who is best described as "three packets of cigarettes and a bottle of port a day";
Also, the accents are not even consistent, for instance, Rasaad, Safana and Khalid are all Calishites, yet feature wildly different accents, which is incredibly odd, given that Calimshan is not exactly the biggest of the realms, nor a cradle of multiculturality.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Feel free to add any eccentricities you feel would enrichen this discussion.
As a student of linguistics, I find myself struggling to make ends meet when it comes to what the hell the voice actors were trying to convey with such whimsical inflections. Like Jaheira, who seems to have become lost somewhere between basque , "nondescript eastern european" and yiddish; Rasaad, with his intricate mixture of a faux-british accent and either turkish or arab, which sometimes fails to conceal Mark Meer's natural canadian accent (he's never been really good with those); Xan, who epitomizes the so called "gay accent" (I think the voice actor went for a San Franciscan accent, but somehow ended up with this); Safana, who is best described as "three packets of cigarettes and a bottle of port a day";
Also, the accents are not even consistent, for instance, Rasaad, Safana and Khalid are all Calishites, yet feature wildly different accents, which is incredibly odd, given that Calimshan is not exactly the biggest of the realms, nor a cradle of multiculturality.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Feel free to add any eccentricities you feel would enrichen this discussion.
5
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
One accent I love is Minsc. He's vaguely Scandinavian, which fits with his cold-clime tribal warrior vibe, but where others would have simply made him sound Norwegian, BG Minsc pays homage to a real-life culture but maintains the feeling that he's from a world completely separate from our own.
Even in the case of the three Calimshites you mention, there are factors that explain SOME, if not all, of the disparity. Khalid has spent a long time on the road with Jaheira, many lifelong travellers end up with a strange mix of accents. Rasaad spent most of his young life in his homeland, albeit in the strange atmosphere of a monastery, so his voice is closer to what we can assume is a "normal" Calimshite tone, i.e close but not identical to real-life desert cultures. Safana I know less about but female accents are often drastically different from male ones and social class can also make a big difference.
With all that said, I still agree with your main point about inconsistency but on the whole, I prefer the BG approach to the "lift a real life accent from a sort-of similar country" attitude seen in many other fantasy settings.
I think, ultimately, the voice casting simply comes down to generating memorably distinct characters.
The similarities are clear: Hatred of the color red (gypsies consider it to be unlucky, rashemi hate it because it is the color of their main enemies, the thayans), viewed as "witches" (gypsies were often accused of being such, and still are, to some extent, since they dwell on mysticism; rashemi are led by witches, called "Hathrans" (learned sisters), a sect which Dynaheir belongs to (also makes sense in the 3.5 rules for her to have Minsc as a companion, as Hathrans (a very powerful prestige class) eventually gain either a berserker as a guardian or an Ethran (aspiring Hathrans) as an apprentice), females often depicted as rulers (gypsy traditions place a very high esteem on old women, the hathrans are the governing force of Rashemen), having dark skin by european standards (gypsies were historically aryan, which means they originally hailed from India, specifically from a dark-skinned group descended from aboriginal australians, which lends them the occasional unusual features of blue/green eyes and blonde/red hair, which is described as "unusual" when coupled with their naturally dark skin); Rashemi have always been described as "dark skinned" (which makes Dynaheir an accurate rashemi as well as a gypsy, given her dark skin and red hair), despite the fact that official art almost always depicts them as pale.
Dynaheir's accent is awful, though, I cannot place it anywhere on the map and it sounds neither scandinavian nor indo-aryan.
I also doubt that Minsc is a native Rashemi - his features do not match the ones rashemi are usually described as having, instead matching the ones Thayans are commonly described with (yellow skin, rounded features, almond eyes, facial tattoos, shaved head) - for these reasons, I think it is safe to assume that Minsc is either an escaped slave or a convert, probably a former thayan gladiator. Of course, this is just speculation.
The size of a nation or spread of a language also has little to do with similarity of accents. I speak (native) German and there is more than one accent/dialect I don't understand without subtitles. Not alone with that either; on various TV programs, German-to-German subtitles exist due to the strong accents. And you still hear accents in other languages; at least I can seperate someone from Austria speaking English from a Saxon speaking English and so on.
Xan, to me, sounds like a typical school teacher. I don't hear an accent from him. Either way, if he has one, I'd say being an elf and likely speaking an Elven language could contribute to him sounding different than other people from his homeland.
Jaheira is also ethnically Tethyrian, a hotch-potch of the Iberian Peninsula and a multicultural center. Which does not make much sense, given her vaguely eastern accent, but if you stretch a little bit, it could be considered either french or basque as well. Or one of the many, many different Spanish dialects spoken in Spain.
The cigarettes and port part was a joke, in case you hadn't noticed. What I'm criticizing Safana for is that her accent resembles neither pirate (if there is such a thing) nor turkish (Calimshan being based on the Ottoman empire), instead being undeniably American, also being a lot more sophisticate than what I would expect from a pirate wench, but that might have something to do with her noble heritage, which does not make sense, given the fact that Rasaad (other Calishite) speaks with a (obviously fake) turkish accent. She also sounds very much like an expensive prostitute. I think she also smells like one. She also looks a lot like Jessica Chobot, a reporter famous for climbing her way up on the corporative ladder by licking a PSP 1000... rather suggestively.
Also, I don't think Xan's accent is in any way due to the Elvish language, to me, most elves sound vaguely British, exceptions include Xan himself (San Francisco), Viconia, who sounds high-class Canadian, and Aerie, who has the bizarre "virtue" of having an unaccent, if such a thing is possible.
It is a stretch - and a lazy conclusion - but inconsistency with accents can be dismissed by those who aren't so bothered by it by saying that the accents may not be consistent with real life accents, but might work just fine for Faerun. Even if the Calishite region is based on the Ottoman's, must they therefore be Turkish?
A troll(ish) argument, but hey.
Iberian Peninsula, french or basque, many different Spanish dialects spoken in Spain, "pirate accent" in general, turkish, Ottoman Empire, American, Jessica Chobot, British, San Francisco, Canadian.
Your complaint is entirely based on real world comparisons and that simply doesn't work. It's a fantasy world and doesn't have to follow any real life rules or resemble real life nations. It's as pointless as the old debate "Are Klingons representing Communist Russia or Norse Vikings?" They may have started as a metaphor for Russia, then gained clearly Viking qualities, but in the end, they are Klingons and that's it. In the same way, Minsc sounds Scandinavian to some, East European to others and actually is and sounds Rashemi. Regardless what Rashemen is based upon. Thay is based on Egypt. Does Edwin sound Egyptian to you? To me, he doesn't. The closest I'd compare to would be the accent of Londo Mollari in Babylon 5 - who is Centauri, - an alien, and the actor described the made up accent as "sort of East European, intentionally vague".
Of course most accents sound fake because they are fake. They have to be, because they don't exist in the real world.
Xan, I will gladly accept, makes no sense whatsoever
To me it's not a huge problem when different Calishites talk differently.
There's no reason elves wouldn't variations in their accents. But as it is a fantasy game, I tend not to worry too much about it. Being completely realistic, they wouldn't be speaking modern english at all, or any kind of english. I remember when Russell Crowe got into some argument with a journalist because they said his Nottingham accent for Robin Hood sounded Irish. But the thing is, if he actually spoke like a person from 12th century Nottingham would have, no one, not even people from Nottingham today, would have been able to understand him.
Your willingness to jump into a hasty conclusion without first consulting the source material more thoroughly certainly speaks volumes of the quality of your gray matter.
If you want to pick on that too, go ahead, for it is not I who will be marking myself as even more of a complete and utter fool in the process - Which I just did.
I apologize to anyone who feels this should be apologized for, my apologies.
I also apologize for not having apologized earlier.
Number 5
With that having been said, class does play a part. Upper classes will often adopt a more refined tone simply to differentiate themselves from the plebeians. Not that it explains much, but still.
As for Minsc, he sounds very similar to another character the actor portrays on Clone Wars, so I am not sure he was "Trying" for anything particular except silly.
The accents in BG are not intended or expected to replicate any single earthly accent because, quite simply, EARTH DOES NOT EXIST IN BG.
And that such personal discussions are uncalled for.
And that my humor is hard to follow.
And that I let myself to be carried away by petty squabbles over a misunderstood joke.
And that I shouldn't express criticism I had pre-expressed over a certain member's certain expressive characteristic in a certain forum feature which certain people use to express their desire to express their certainty.
Bah, this thread has been driven down an abyss to which there is no escaping from.
Flung down an endless hole, dark and fetid.
The borders covered in pam's cooking spray, greasy to the point of being unhandable
Let it rest, to fall for eternity is nothing less than this discussion deserves
What a waste.
Yes, I have just tried to use my childish attempts at humor to break the ice in a derailed thread. How far must my desire drive dwell in its own patheticity?
Number 5
What. The. Hell.
I am not, by any means trolling, I assure you - my personality is just as whimsical as demonstrated here, if you want straight answers and not bother your grey matter with symbolism, fine, I'll give them to you.
"And that I shouldn't express criticism I had pre-expressed over a certain member's certain expressive characteristic in a certain forum feature which certain people use to express their desire to express their certainty." - Refers directly to Fablewynds' avatar which epitomizes hipsterdom (not looking at the camera, unwashed hair, unkempt beard, hemp beanie)
The number 4 holds special significance to me, mostly because with 4 of them I can make a gem (drawing) as well as being invocative of death, which is associated with renewal and moths, which are forever in a futile quest to follow the light, even if they die by it, much like myself. Going "5" means I have overflown the cup, that is, I have said things I shouldn't have. The 5 lines and 5 repetitions are a personal superstitious mantra so as to make it clear to fate that I have overacted so that I may gain its favor back.
The bad poetry is supposed to be bad, the mention of Pam's Cooking Spray is random so as to break the ice in an otherwise bleak poem. (WTF moments, as I call them, diverting attention from the hopelessness of the situation we find ourselves in)
And I assure you, both the excessive apology in the edited TMI post and self deprecation on the last one are genuine. Would someone as practical myself bother himself with something that serves absolutely no purpose? No.
Edit: Looks like your post was deleted, I genuinely wonder why. honest
We all know what you have inside your head, you need not show it to us.
That's it, I'm abandoning this thread, you degenerates can keep excreting on it - you have finally succeeded in derailing it, wow, congratulations! But to what end, I wonder?
The hat is also wool.
I won't close the thread just now as the original topic is actually quite interesting, even if OP could have worded it better. I don't think offence was meant and there's probably been some misunderstanding.
So please get back to topic if you comment further here.
@Heindrich Just close it. He's already insulted half the posters in here and attacked specific members directly, simply for stating that his wording of certain terms was inappropriate.