Oblivious Presents: Dwarves

[Cpt_Oblivious]

[HEADING=2]Dwarves: Why So Scottish?[/HEADING]

Dwarves. Dwarfs. Hairy Midget Bastards. They go by many names and we?ve all come across them in our gaming adventures. They?re short, bearded folks with a penchant for axes, mining and ale. No matter where they?re from,
Middle Earth, Azeroth, Ferelden, the Warhammer World or even the Forgotten Realms (whatever they are), these things are true. I?m not here to ask why, or to challenge these stereotypes - though that will make for a good thread in the future - I?m here to question their mountainous voices. Why are Dwarves Scottish?

[img_inline src='http://pogromisland.com/html/Cadra/HammerIronHills_files/dwarven_plate.jpg']Now, I know not all Dwarves in fiction speak in Scottish accents (Snow White or Dragon Age, for example) but the vast majority do. And it makes very little sense for them to do so, since they?re essentially Vikings. The long hair and beards, the horned helmets (Which Vikings didn't really have - bonus points to Absimilliard [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/Absimilliard]), the axes, the alcoholism. Ok theVikings weren?t world famous miners and Dwarves aren?t exactly portrayed as the Rape & Pillage type. But nonetheless, they share striking similarities in aesthetic and attitude. Now, it?s a bit of a leap but I can therefore conclude that Dwarves and Vikings are 99% genetically identical.

So why are they Scottish?

Of course there?s nothing wrong with them being Scots, but Vikings were Scandinavian, not Scottish. And since we?ve already discovered that Dwarves and Vikings are pretty much the same thing, shouldn?t they be speaking in Norwegian/Swedish/Finnish/Danish accents instead?

So I ask you, as I have before [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.166399-Oblivious-Presents-Mages-Wizards-and-General-Magic-Users], why do Dwarves speak in Scottish accents, and often bad ones?

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

because they will have an easier time beaming you up to their space ship.

yes i know, nerd gasm right?

Wait.. what?

And was quoting my entire post necessary?

 

[Jamboxdotcom]

i think Scots are easier for americans to impersonate than Scandinavians.

also, Scandinavian raiders and traders did have a large impact on most of the tribes of the "British isles", including the Scots, so that might also account for some of the interchangeable nature of the 2 in our minds.

 

[Celtic_Kerr]

I think it's mostly just to fit the metaphor better. Their stature and build make them good for weilding the same weapons that many scotsmen used (barring the Tirge and Claymore perhaps). They are seen as loving ale, being very rowdy, fighting for fun, so I think the scottish accent simply fits well to make that next cross of Dwarf/Scotsman

 

[DeadlyYellow]

Because of Betrayal at Krondor?

 

[ninja51]

Well the scots were people from Scandinavia and all that, and the Sweeds and Danish did try to invade Scotland a couple times I believe. But really I think one person just said, "hey give those guys some Scottish accents, I know a Scotsman with a beard like that." Bam, it caught on (because Scottish accents are amazing) and now its the norm. Who cares anyway? Dwarves are fictional creatures, doesnt matter if they wear horned hats, they are Dwarves

 

[Meggiepants]

Bad Accents are the fault of the U.S. film making industry. We believe your doing your accents wrong. It's a thing. Course, we also do the same shit to our own accents. I've heard few authentic Texan or Boston accents in film or on the T.V. The fake ones are pretty atrocious as well. As I've said before, we're equal opportunity offenders.

As for why dwarves are Scottish, lazy writing?

 

[Severin90]

Let me blow you mind by telling you the Scandinavian truth that dwarfs ARE real.. Back when the vikings were on their merry rampage across Britain, they raped and plundered the scots while being high on mushrooms and strong alcohol.. the impregnated women inherited this healthy hobby and thus dwarves were born..

Joking aside, dwarfs could have gotten their accents because of the idea to mix the vikings and their counterpart the scots, and maybe also because scandinavien accents is hard to mimic, it basically sounds like a mix of singing tuned german or a very flat toned scot (to be rough on the definition)

Also to the mining part; dwarfs origin are probably from Norse mythology were dwarfs only purpose is to create the magnificent relics that centers most of the stories. Those greedy bastards wouldnt do anything for free but they were respected by their craftmanship and knowledge of the materials (like ores and minerals). They mostly lived in burrowed holes like Tolkien hobbits.

 

[Macheteswordgun]

Well most viking common perceptions come from that general area and dawrves living in the cold norths building there own settlements underground with stone etc, and being a belief of the vikings get associated with that area and accent.

 

[twistedheat15]

Because the ppl who put dwarves in things aren't original enough to give them their own identity. They just hang on the norm. I wanna see someone make dwarves that live samurai style and elves that have a spartan life style..

 

[Absimilliard]

Just a quick fact: vikings did NOT have horns on their helmets.

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

I live in a part of Scotland which used to be a part of Scandinavia and now we dress up as vikings every year and set fire to stuff. Maybe that's why.

Your village is awesome.

Well the scots were people from Scandinavia and all that, and the Sweeds and Danish did try to invade Scotland a couple times I believe.

True, but a lot of them were still the native Brits who got pushed out of England by the Romans.

They are seen as loving ale, being very rowdy, fighting for fun

Sounds a bit more like the Irish to me...

Just a quick fact: vikings did NOT have horns on their helmets.

They didn't, it's a stupid idea as someone can just grab them in a fight.

 

[Absimilliard]

I am terribly sorry, my browser did something weird and I ended up with a double-post. But to add a point; as Yahtzee pointed out, there is such a thing as a "standard fantasy setting", and apparently the "dwarves are Scottish"-thing has just been an accepted fact for so long that creators don't even think about it any more.

 

[Internet Kraken]

And it makes very little sense for them to do so, since they?re essentially Vikings. The long hair and beards, the horned helmets, the axes, the alcoholism. Ok theVikings weren?t world famous miners and Dwarves aren?t exactly portrayed as the Rape & Pillage type. But nonetheless, they share striking similarities in aesthetic and attitude. Now, it?s a bit of a leap but I can therefore conclude that Dwarves and Vikings are 99% genetically identical.

Except that Viking weren't actually like that. The image of vikings you speak of is a result of how they were portrayed in stories by other groups of people, who were trying to make the Vikings seem more evil. Hence equipment such as the horned helmets, which would have been stupid to wear in actual combat since it gives your opponent something they can easily grab on to.

Or so I've heard.

Because the ppl who put dwarves in things aren't original enough to give them their own identity. They just hang on the norm. I wanna see someone make dwarves that live samurai style and elves that have a spartan life style..

This logic always baffles me. If you make a dwarf into a samurai, they're not a dwarf anymore. They are a short samurai. If you make an elf into a spartan, they're not elves anymore. They're spartans with pointy ears. You'd basically be stripping away everything you associate with these species and replacing them with something else, to the point where you might as well have just made a different species since that is what they are anyways.

 

[Toasty Virus]

I was talking to a friend about this yesterday...funny that.

Anyway, I myself am Scottish, and I think the reason that they use scottish accent's on dwarves is because the typical scott tends to have a short sturdy build, ginger hair, a big beard and a love for drinking and fighting.

Now I only wish I wasn't the complete opposite of that.

 

[NinjaRabies]

Because scottish sounds a bit rugged and thus seems to fit the bearded little buggers?