To all you Non American English speaking people out there

[DrunkenElfMage]

I was wondering what were some of the most inaccurate accents/dialects that you have ever heard in a game or a movie? Do they offend you in any way? If they don't, then why not?

I was wondering because I am pretty sure the demoman's Scottish dialect is REALLY off, but I don't find it particularly offensive because all of the characters are intentional cartoonish representation or their respective regions.

 

[mcdain]

Xenoblade Chronicles. Why does everyone have a cockney accent in that game?

 

[Wintermoot]

pretty much ANY dutchman talking in half English/Half dutch and hard translates everything
sadly this is a correct stereotype.
if you are wondering what I,m meaning look for "I always get my own sin"

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I was wondering because I am pretty sure the demoman's Scottish dialect is REALLY off, but I don't find it particularly offensive because all of the characters are intentional cartoonish representation or their respective regions.

TBF I think all of the dialects, including the Scout's, are horrible over-exaggerations.

The Cockney Sparrers in Killing Floor are hilarious, but they're pretty damn accurate.

I don't think there's even been a Middle England accent anywhere in gaming history though - could be wrong.

 

[Ghengis John]

Damn. And here I only speak american english and am therefor entirely unqualified to offer my opinion.

If I were to offer an opinion... no. I can't.

 

[BlackStar42]

Movie? No question, Dick Van Dyke in Mary Poppins. It's just godawful. Oh, and Barbara in Batman and Robin, although considering how bad that movie was, we should be grateful it wasn't worse.

 

[Irridium]

I was wondering because I am pretty sure the demoman's Scottish dialect is REALLY off, but I don't find it particularly offensive because all of the characters are intentional cartoonish representation or their respective regions.

TBF I think all of the dialects, including the Scout's, are horrible over-exaggerations.

Hehe, you'd be surprised. I know people who sound just like the Scout.

 

[Tanakh]

Normally I don't mind that stuff... but Seagal went over my limits

<youtube=_aYSOuMAuVQ>

 

[CrystalShadow]

I'm a bad judge of accents to be honest. Even though I've lived in England, Australia, and the Netherlands, I just don't really know how to judge it.

I can't say I've heard Australian accents go wrong all that much, because, well, not many people try to fake them. I don't think I've ever seen a film where a person with an Australian accent wasn't actually Australian.

Though I will note that the most common depictions of Australian accents outside of Australia aren't accents that you actually come across all that often.


Meanwhile, English accents are another matter entirely. What I notice in American films is that they tend to pick accents which are, again, quite a bit less common than you'd think.

I live in the southwest of england, at the moment, and actually one of the biggest things here is that the accent I hear most in day-to-day conversation is one that you almost never hear in fiction (British TV being an exception, for obvious reasons).

I guess it's just the most boring of accents, since it's neither representative of any of the regional accents associated mostly with working class people from particular areas (scousers, cockney, Liverpudlian, and so on), nor with 'the queens english' (aka Recieved pronunciation, which tends to be associated mostly with the upper classes.

(I personally know all of one person that speaks with an RP accent, and that's because he went to a private boarding school quite a while ago.)

 

[SidingWithTheEnemy]

Most Nazi-Stormtroopers are speaking German with an Anglo/American accent they are just hillariously bad.
Oh, yes, those Mafia Guys (you know, the mob fellas) who "say" they are from Sicily but have a Neapolitan accent. (Completely different region and VERY OPPOSITE families Camorra vs. Cosa Nostra.)
And of course those other Mafia guys who think the can speak Italian, but they just fail. They haven't the slightest idea what they are saying.
It makes those Mafia movies/game completely f*cked up, because all serious crime activity turns into commedy.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Any time somebody tries to speak like a Canadian, I want to punch them. We don't all sound like that! A lot of our speech patterns are local, or influenced by whoever settled the region we were born in. For example, my speech style is technically known as Ottawa Valley Twang. Heavy Irish influence, but also incorporating Polish and Scottish accents as well, depending on what part of the valley you live in. (Wilno is the oldest Polish settlement in the country for example.)

And we don't sound like anybody from the city or from the other provinces.

I mean, it is very obvious to us when someone tries to speak like a Canadian, but we have such diverse accents that some people can't pick up on them. Take Mass Effect for example. MaleShep and FemShep are both voiced by Canadians, but a lot of Americans I know never picked up on it. Listen in particular to words like "route" or "roof" to catch the accent.

 

[Miles000]

I can't say I've heard Australian accents go wrong all that much, because, well, not many people try to fake them. I don't think I've ever seen a film where a person with an Australian accent wasn't actually Australian.

You haven't played Dead Island, have you?

Those are horrible...

 

[AnarchistFish]

I know the person who voiced Miranda in Mass Effect 2 is Australian, and so is the character, but her accent sounds like a typical South-Eastern English one to me.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

So many times when you see somebody pretend to be Irish it is just cringe worthy.

 

[AdmiralMemo]

Hehe, you'd be surprised. I know people who sound just like the Scout.

Like MovieBob Chipman? :-D

Seriously... Listen to the last minute of this video: http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/the-big-picture/4160-Out-of-the-Park

 

[NinjaDeathSlap]

Dick Van Dyke trying to do Cockney in Mary Poppins takes the cake, then rapes it.

 

[Random berk]

I was wondering what were some of the most inaccurate accents/dialects that you have ever heard in a game or a movie? Do they offend you in any way? If they don't, then why not?

I was wondering because I am pretty sure the demoman's Scottish dialect is REALLY off, but I don't find it particularly offensive because all of the characters are intentional cartoonish representation or their respective regions.

Its way off any of my friends or relatives accents, but its hilarious all the same.

Whoever the hell was playing Irish in Red Dead Redemption clearly didn't know what he was doing. It sounded like his practice for the role consisted entirely of watching Darby O'Gill and the Little People, and assuming that all Irish people are leprechauns.

 

[Maleval]

I'm Ukrainian, so I speak both ukrainian and russian fluently. I have yet to hear any major character in a western movie speak russian with any resemblance of correctness. The whole russian-with-an-american-accent thing is so hilarious, I often end up laughing hysterically (which I rarely do), especially if it happens in some heavy dramatic scene. Bonus points if it's a dialog between two people who are supposed to know the language equally well. That right there is comedy gold.

On the other hand I've yet to hear any ukrainian in a western production at all, and it is very very sad.

 

[x-machina]

It's an obscure game, but Desert Rats vs. Afrika Korps butchers every accent it tries. And, it tries every accent you can think of: German, French, British, Australian etc.

 

[Teh Jammah]

Dick Van 'Cor blimey mary PAW-pins' Dyke has already been mentioned.

So I'll add Keanu Reeves 'english' accent from Bram Stowker's Dracula to the pile. I'm pretty sure he does somehting similar in Much Ado as well.