The World of Skyrim

[Nevastar]

American accents!? ):
[&@%!]!
But ohmygod, this is awesome.

[Duderino Abides]

How are american accents anymore out of place than any other accent in fantasy?

[Nevastar]

How are american accents anymore out of place than any other accent in fantasy?

They just sound so out of place. It's medieval fantasy, and America had no place in medieval times. European accents make much more sense, and sound more authentic.

[Duderino Abides]

TES is set in a fictional world, not medieval europe.

[Nevastar]

TES is set in a fictional world, not medieval europe.

I know...Don't worry. It wouldn't make sense to an American.

[Rynkar]

What is an 'American' accent?
From where I am the only accent I would say is american, is a northern accent, or a southern one, and I didn't hear either.

[Nevastar]

What is an 'American' accent?
From where I am the only accent I would say is american, is a northern accent, or a southern one, and I didn't hear either.

They're all the same to the rest of the world.

[ZeRoc]

Utah has a distinct accent (drop the T in mountain, you get the idea), but just saying an American accent is a pretty broad spectrum, I can understand how it could sound out of place to Europeans. In a medieval world hearing us Americans voices might seem a little off.

[Nevastar]

Utah has a distinct accent (drop the T in mountain, you get the idea), but just saying an American accent is a pretty broad spectrum, I can understand how it could sound out of place to Europeans. In a medieval world hearing us Americans voices might seem a little off.

Well, I can distinguish a southern accent and stuff, but other than that, they all sound the same to me. Like how Americans have trouble telling Australian and New Zealand accents apart, while they're drastically different to us.
Yup, pretty weird. I always mentally associate America with big cities like New York, but not much history. But I would associate England with big cities, and a vast medieval history.

[ZeRoc]

I see, America doesn't have that kind of history. I suppose that we have native American history, but how much of that is common knowledge?

[Nevastar]

I see, America doesn't have that kind of history. I suppose that we have native American history, but how much of that is common knowledge?

Yeah, and nobody really talks about native Americans much.
Anyway, I think we may have just turned this lovely topic into a chat about accents and history D:

[Chaos the N'wah]

They're all the same to the rest of the world.

I guess I'll have assume anyone from England has a Cockney accent

[Nevastar]

They're all the same to the rest of the world.

I guess I'll have assume anyone from England has a Cockney accent

Haha, I know people who have.

[ZeRoc]

Anyway, I think we may have just turned this lovely topic into a chat about accents and history D:

Right!

"Khajiit has wares if you have coin." Voice acting and writing = awesome!

[Chaos the N'wah]

I think part of the reason the term 'American Accent' is used instead of more specific 'dialects' is because there are sooo many with almost minute variations that you'll only really notice the difference if you get used one state and then move to the other part of the country to get the whole 'spectrum'.

But often when someone not from there says an American Accent, they usually mean either a southern drawl (Texas), a west coast city accent (California), or east coast city accent (New York)

Also: the Khajiit's lines fill Chaos with joy, yay for speaking in the third person

[ZeRoc]

Maybe I should name my character Fus Roh Dah, just so my Khajiit is yelling his name at everything.

[MARS]

Also: the Khajiit's lines fill Chaos with joy, yay for speaking in the third person

This. Finally, CULTURE!

[Chaos the N'wah]

Sounds like a drinking game..."Every time someone asks your name, use Fus Roh Dah Dragon Shout as a reply and take a shot"...

[Rynkar]

Fus Roh Shot?
Sounds fun, I'm in.

[Srikandi]

The fact is that any accent used in the contemporary UK is no more representative of a medieval accent than any accent used in the contemporary US.

Regional dialects arise because all language changes over time... ALL languages change ALL the time... and different variations take hold in different geographical locations. So (to simplify things quite a bit) when the original English colonists landed in North America, they spoke the same way they had when they were in England. In the centuries since then, the English spoken in England changed in one direction (or directions, because there are many different kinds), and the English spoken in America changed in another direction (or directions, ditto). Contemporary British English is different from the English of those colonists, just as contemporary American English is. Or Australian English, or Singapore English, or you name it

The picture is complicated, of course, by the fact that varieties in different parts of the world are influenced by other languages and dialects they came into contact with. And parts of the US stayed in contact with parts of England long after colonization, and were influenced by changing speech patterns there (and vice versa, to a lesser extent). So yes, contact messes up the picture, but the main point remains true: staying in the same place geographically does NOT mean your language stops changing, so no variety of British English is more "medieval" than any variety of American English.

Edit: BTW, EVERYBODY HAS AN ACCENT. There's no such thing as accentless speech, since all an "accent" is is a particular set of sound patterns, and obviously, everybody's speech has sound patterns. If people who speak differently from you and your friends sound funny to you, remember: you sound funny to them too

[dubq]

American accents!? ):
[&@%!]
But ohmygod, this is awesome.

Who has the "American" accent in that video? I hope you're talking about Michael Hogan (plays an Imperial) because this where I'd point out that he's a Canadian.

[Fajita!]

The man at 1:02 looks and sounds suspiciously like Jason Statham. >.>