Submission + - Why Are Fantasy World Accents British? (bbc.co.uk)
kodiaktau writes: In an interesting article from the BBC News Magazine, the author explores the reasons why most fantasy worlds use British as their primary accent. Citing specific examples from recent/upcoming shows/movies like Lord of The Rings/The Hobbit and Game of Thrones. The article states that the British accent is "sufficiently exotic", "comprehensible" and has a "splash of otherness".
It would be odd to think of a fantasy world having a New Jersey accent, or even a Mid-West accent, which tends to be the default for TV and movies in the USA, but how do UK viewers feel about having British as a default? More specifically, what about the range of UK accents, like Scottish, Welsh, Cockney
The International Dialects of English Archive shows at least 9 regional sounds, with dozens of sub regional pronunciations in England alone. In the USA there have always been many regional accents that might be used more interestingly film makers might consider looking at speech accents from other areas of the world to create more interesting combinations in speech.
It would be odd to think of a fantasy world having a New Jersey accent, or even a Mid-West accent, which tends to be the default for TV and movies in the USA, but how do UK viewers feel about having British as a default? More specifically, what about the range of UK accents, like Scottish, Welsh, Cockney
The International Dialects of English Archive shows at least 9 regional sounds, with dozens of sub regional pronunciations in England alone. In the USA there have always been many regional accents that might be used more interestingly film makers might consider looking at speech accents from other areas of the world to create more interesting combinations in speech.
