To all you Non American English speaking people out there

Saulkar

Regular Member
Legacy
Aug 25, 2010
3,142
2
13
Country
Canuckistan
Soviet Heavy said:
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.
I share this sentiment. While it is not overtly offensive, the fact that it is so overused in foreign media makes it difficult for anybody to disserne what it really sound like if they never really met a Canadian. Almost as if they are afraid of culture shocking Americans by saying we actually do not speak that way. XD

I'm am personally from south central Saskatchewan and accents are almost none existant but something I have come to learn from a few foreign people is that I personally inherit a tiny Irish flavour to my voice. Minus any Irish terminologies or figure of speeches. ^^;

But on the other hand like you said our accents are extremely varied. Even though it is hard to hear it there are distinct differences in the accents of someone from Northern and Southern Saskatchewan that are not present in other provinces.
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
Saulkar said:
Soviet Heavy said:
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.
I share this sentiment. While it is not overtly offensive, the fact that it is so overused in foreign media makes it difficult for anybody to disserne what it really sound like if they never really met a Canadian. Almost as if they are afraid of culture shocking Americans by saying we actually do not speak that way. XD

I'm am personally from south central Saskatchewan and accents are almost none existant but something I have come to learn from a few foreign people is that I personally inherit a tiny Irish flavour to my voice. Minus any Irish terminologies or figure of speeches. ^^;

But on the other hand like you said our accents are extremely varied. Even though it is hard to hear it there are distinct differences in the accents of someone from Northern and Southern Saskatchewan that are not present in other provinces.
And god forbid you try to compare anyone to a Newfoundlander. Even I don't know what they're saying half the time.
 

The Funslinger

Corporate Splooge
Sep 12, 2010
6,150
0
0
The_root_of_all_evil said:
DrunkenElfMage said:
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.
Shaun in Assassin's Creed has a Loughborough accent, I do believe.
 

Seagoon

New member
Feb 14, 2010
411
0
0
DrunkenElfMage said:
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.
All and every English accent in an American production... The cockney accent has been dead for years!!
 

The Funslinger

Corporate Splooge
Sep 12, 2010
6,150
0
0
Ryan Kerr said:
So many times when you see somebody pretend to be Irish it is just cringe worthy.
I'm a bit of a whizz at the assorted UK accents, beyond my own English. But yeah, the bad ones are wince inducing. Personally, I've found that the primary difference between the Irish and Northern Irish accents is people from Northern Ireland have more of a monotone.
 

azurine

New member
Jan 20, 2011
234
0
0
I hate it when people think we Canadians say "ey" all the time (which we don't). and that we say "aboot", instead of "about", which is what we really use.
 

sheah1

New member
Jul 4, 2010
557
0
0
Killzone. Fucking Killzone. Because of course the good guys are yanks and the evil nazis are OBVIOUSLY British. Obviously.
 

Macemaster

New member
Nov 12, 2010
43
0
0
binnsyboy said:
The_root_of_all_evil said:
DrunkenElfMage said:
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.
Shaun in Assassin's Creed has a Loughborough accent, I do believe.
...I've never heard anyone from Loughborough sound like that, and I'm only half an hour down the road
 
Jun 11, 2008
5,331
0
0
Anyone trying to do an Irish accent usually comes out with an absolutely appalling and shit stereotypical Cork accent. If you're lucky you might get a shit Northern Irish one.
 

The Funslinger

Corporate Splooge
Sep 12, 2010
6,150
0
0
Macemaster said:
binnsyboy said:
The_root_of_all_evil said:
DrunkenElfMage said:
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.
Shaun in Assassin's Creed has a Loughborough accent, I do believe.
...I've never heard anyone from Loughborough sound like that, and I'm only half an hour down the road
Well, I might be wrong. Danny Wallace has been about a bit. He's Scottish, but was raised in Loughborough and Bath, so he's probably got a fairly mixed accent. I think it rounds out nicely, though, so it's good in the "yay, not exaggerating like a *****" sense.
 

T-Bone24

New member
Dec 29, 2008
2,339
0
0
DrunkenElfMage said:
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.
I'm from Scotland and I have heard people that sound like the Demoman, but only when they're yelling at a football match. Since that character is defaulted to "yelling Scotsman", I think it's okay. No Scotsman says "there you fine dandies go", however, but that's more to do with writing than acting. If you want a truly awful Scottish accent then play Hydrophobia.


That fellow named Scoot. Just dreadful.
 

MrTub

New member
Mar 12, 2009
1,742
0
0
Well the swedish chef is a good example.. But I do not think people get annoyed at it, since I guess its suppose to be a joke/parody.


One thing Im a bit annoyed at, is that whenever somebody is suppose to be Swedish they always talk with german accent and is always called Inga (for females ofc)
 

Soviet Heavy

New member
Jan 22, 2010
12,218
0
0
sheah1 said:
Killzone. Fucking Killzone. Because of course the good guys are yanks and the evil nazis are OBVIOUSLY British. Obviously.
To be fair, they at least got British people to do the Helghast voices, instead of having an American put on an accent. Sean Pertwee, Malcolm McDowell, Ray Winstone, and Brian Cox were all brilliant.
 

Grogman

New member
Mar 2, 2011
51
0
0
The 'Australian' accents spoken by the 2 girls outside the Chinese club in the first Deus Ex, and I'm not even Australian.
 

Neil Sharpson

New member
Apr 29, 2011
11
0
0
I'm Irish, but to be honest the shit accents don't bug me. Usually because they're so bad they're funny, and also because in all fairness it is a horrendously difficult accent to do well. Orson Welles couldn't do it. Kevin Spacey couldn't do it. Hell, Colin Farrell can't do it and he's IRISH. I try to live and let live.
 
Dec 27, 2010
814
0
0
The Irish accent. It's ridiculous how unrepresentative it is of the real thing. In fact, it can't be, because the accents here greatly differ from region to region. For example, my own particular twang may sound rather outlandish (Americans would probably definitely mistake for a Scottish one), but if I go to a neighbouring town in the Gaeltacht, I'd probably be in stitches laughing at how odd the locals sound, who also coincidentally sound nothing like the stereotype. The closest I've heard to it (the stereotype) is probably the Kerry accent, but it's still pretty different. Anyway, /rant.
 

Foxbat Flyer

New member
Jul 9, 2009
538
0
0
Australian accent is always grossly over exagerated... but I never get offended, I just laugh at the sillieness
 

geezah91

New member
Feb 17, 2010
149
0
0
Sorry, but the difference between the "Northern Irish" accent (of which there's a few variations, hence the quotation marks) and the generic "top o' the morning" Irish accent is like the difference between the Cornish and the Geordie accents. Trust me I've grown up around Belfast accents, Cork city accents, Tipperary accents, North and South Dublin accents, Kerry accents, Waterford accents and the difference between them is quite noticeable. Even my American relatives can distinguish between my father's Belfast accent, my mother's Cork accent, my bastard accent, and my brother and sister's Tipperary accents.