Accent problem

[Lyra Greenleaf]

Now this may be a little thing, but accents were something they made a big deal of in all the "Making of-" things I've seen. Here are my quibbles:<BR>* Boromir and Faramir are brothers, yet Boromir is broad Yorkshire, while Faramir would feel more at home in, say, Kent.<BR>* Merry is a "Posh" Hobbit, like Bilbo and Frodo, and as such shouldn't he have a plain English, rather than West-Country-Sam accent?<BR>* Hama and Gamling have New Zealand accents, which differs to every other Rohirrim character, even the woman and her kids.<P>Perhaps it's just me (Accents really intrigue me) but has anyone else noticed? Does anyone else care?????<p>[ April 30, 2003: Message edited by: Lyra Greenleaf ]

[The Only Real Estel]

Can't say that I noticed...

[Melephelwen]

Admitted, I didn't notice 'til now, but when you say so, I <I>do</I> think Merry might sound a bit too ... that expression you used. Hmm... I can't think of any reasons for that... Maybe a Buckland-accent? OR just a blooper... <BR>As for Faramir and Boromir, (I'm not good at accents, so I might say something that's terribly wrong along the way) I think you're right there as well. I have a slight memory, that they talk different... Could it be because Denethor liked Boromir better, and talked more with him, while Faramir was (to a degree) left with Gondorian soldiers? That shouldn't make such a difference as you say it is, though... I really don't know!

Another *roblem - hobbiton re*resents england, and PIP comes from the south(Tuckland) so he should have a southern accent, but he has a northern accent.

[GaladrieloftheOlden]

Yes, Pip the Scottish Hobbit...<P>~Menelien

[Meela]

I noticed accents before, but I never really bothered about them; I'm not fussed, they can't change entirely.<BR>Some are down to character, such as Boromir and Faramir. Thinking about it, I remembered how much Faramir loves the elves and studies them. Then I remember Legolas, who like all the other elves actually, has quite a noble accent. So Faramir, having a more 'noble' accent, reflects his love of nobility and lore and whatnot through his voice. Boromir is more of a 'dodgy geezer' style guy, with a common 'man' accent.<BR>Its the same with the hobbits. Sam has a rustic, country accent, representing a simpler lifestyle (like the rural peasant farmers or something) and Frodo has a posher accent, reflecting his higher upbringing.

[The Only Real Estel]

Well, I think Merry and Pippin's accents are still pretty cool (in real life Merry's accent is awesome!). Also, Frodo spent a lot of time with the elves as well...

[Ainaserkewen]

I always thought it was weird that Pippin had such a different accent from everyone else. I mean, Billy Boyd is Scottish isn't he?<BR>I thought every one would have some kind of english accent.<BR>You know though, I could tell strait away who's accent was real(ex. Ian Mckellen) and who's wasn't(ex. Elijah Wood) <BR>I'm facinated with accents too, living in Canada, I get to hear alot, but I especially like english accents, I love any Europian actually. Anyway, getting off topic.<BR>Another thing I noticed was how every character said the same word differently. I guess it's hard, but really...

[Meela]

Do you count Ian's as real? I know it isn't a different accent entirely (ie. American to English) but it isn't entirely his own. But its close enough, so yeh, maybe it is 'real'.

[Rynoah, the Overly-Happy]

Ian McKellen's accent is pretty weird, really, because he grew up having a rather rough one and then later in his theater days, he refined it to what he has now. 'Swhat I hear, anyway; if you can find the episode of Inside the Actor's Studio where they interview him, you'll get the real stuff on it.<P> <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Thinking about it, I remembered how much Faramir loves the elves and studies them. Then I remember Legolas, who like all the other elves actually, has quite a noble accent. So Faramir, having a more 'noble' accent, reflects his love of nobility and lore and whatnot through his voice. Boromir is more of a 'dodgy geezer' style guy, with a common 'man' accent.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>I could be off the mark on this, but that could explain why Aragorn's accent is a little more clean and smooth than most of the other Men we meet in the movies. But I haven't seen TTT since it came out, so I could be way off.

[Sapphire_Flame]

I actually thought that Viggo's accent kept slipping from his Aragorn voice to own voice and back.<P>That's just me though...

[Meela]

He had a weird English/American twang, and occasionally slipped into some weird accent that I couldn't distinguish (outside Moria, when he tells Legolas to "get them up").

[The Only Real Estel]

Viggo talks like he does in the movies...I can swear to that. Obviously Wood's accent was something he worked on. Elijah was origianlly rejected as Frodo because of his weak english accent, so he hired a trainer, refined it, and tried again (you know what happened from there).

[Nyneve]

And Aragorn Really doesn't have an accent, He just Mumbles on interviews!

[Lyra Greenleaf]

Yes Aragorn was another problem I had. He had a childhood in various countries which may explain the fact that he sometimes sounded quite Irish- try "Ride hard, don't look back" in FOTR. Or perhaps it was the strain of trying to sound different to how he really is?<P> Pippin, on the other hand, they did justify. They said that the fact that the Tooks had a "Thain" and that it's pronounced with the double O sounding like shoe rather then in look means that the Tooks are Scottish. Apparantly Billy Boyd started with an English accent, but they changed it!

[Elrond Jr]

No offence to anyone, but have you ever thought that maybe just the actors can't do those accents? Maybe that is their version of an british accent or wuteva. Is it possible that they didn't fine tune their accents 100% perfectly, I mean they are human.

[The Only Real Estel]

I know it, Elrond Jr. It's not that big a deal to me (to be honest, I didn't notice anything wrong with their accents until the people here directed my attention to it ).<BR>

[Susan Delgado]

I say, does it really matter? They are, in fact, not Hobbits, Elves, and Men, but ordinary humans from all over Great Britian and America. Of Course they'll have different accents!

[Meela]

I'm not getting at the accents. I love them all. But it is interesting to analyse them to some extent.

[Frodo Baggins]

Viggo did sound a bit Irish here and there didn't he? I really never noticed until I thought about it. However, they way he pronounces "Legolas" just makes me melt.<P> If you want to talk about american twangs (that is a word right?) take a good listen to Brad Dourif next time you see TTT. A good accent yes but there's a slip there every once in a while.

[Melephelwen]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> He had a weird English/American twang, and occasionally slipped into some weird accent that I couldn't distinguish (outside Moria, when he tells Legolas to "get them up"). <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Just went listening (thank heavens for the dvd-players ) And I think it might be a bit Danish. I hear Danes talking English almost everyday (School, *sigh*) and it could be that. It's not an obvious one, but he <I>does</I> sound a bit like someone I know's accent. Do you think that's a possibility? He is half Danish after all (- and coming to my home town this summer! Unfortunately I'm on holiday that week... )

[The Evenstar]

Yep, I must admit too that I didn't notice the Gamling/Hama accent prob or the Boromir/Faramir one but I have noticed that Sam and Frodo sometimes forget to put on a British accent now and again in soem syllables and sentences. Has anyone else noticed or is it just me?

[Voralphion]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> but ordinary humans from all over Great Britian and America <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Not all are from Great Britain or America, David Wenham who plays Faramir is Australian which may be the reason his accent is so different from Boromir's

[Lyra Greenleaf]

I guess it might be a bit much to expect him to put on a Yorkshire accent. Not to mention every other Gondorian would have to do the same thing! Maybe they could have got Sean Bean to put on a generic English accent? That would have completely destroyed the only good thing my dad could see in the whole film, but never mind!

[Faramir Fan]

I don't have a problem with little slips in the accents, hey nobody's perfect.<P>My favourite slip is in the Extended Version when Boromir and Aragorn are having a conversation about taking the ring to Minas Tirith. Sean Bean says the word "courage" in an unmistakable Irish accent - I absolutely love it!!!

[dragoneyes]

I always thought Viggo's accent went a bit wayward when Boromir was dying, it was that American 'twang' as you put it.<P>When Sam shouts 'Those wraiths are still out there!' he doesn't sound the same farmer's son. I can forgive him for that though, the only Englishmen I've heard shouting are a handful of teachers and my father and even then it wasn't top of the lungs. Also, when I try shouting in Sam's accent my voice wanders up to the Birmingham area.

[mollecon]

It's probably true that not all the accents* in the movies are stricly correct in terms of the Middle Earth 'universe'. But I just enjoy the variation! <P>*I actually prefer the word 'dialects'. To me, the word 'accent' refers to the language spoken by a non-native (like my English) - while dialects are just various forms of a language, all equally 'correct'.

wow, I never noticed till now. I guess I was distracted by *cough* Legolas<BR> peace, elven love, & namarie,<BR> Galadwen

[Elrond Jr]

While talking about accents, remember in the commentary of the extended FOTR DVD..... When Sean Astin was talking of the scene on weathertop where he was losing his accent back to american, haha. That was funny.

[Frodo 007]

I only ever noticed how Pippin's accent was different!Very Scottish but i suppose that's coz Billy's Scottish! I didn't really realise that the other ones were that different...

[Everdawn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> English/American twang <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Which sounds a little like australian, it is the bi-product. Man i am so sure thats how we got our accents, they only have come about in the last 90 or so years, before that everyone still sounded english...

[peony_foxburr]

"An Englishman's way of speaking absolutely classifies him / The moment he talks, he makes some other Englishman despise him!" <BR>("Why Can't The English?" from <I>My Fair Lady</I>)<BR>One of the most enjoyable qualities of the Downs is the worldwide perspective; Lyra, the best most of us can do on this side of the pond is distinguish "BBC" or "upper class" accents from "rural" or "urban working class!" So I applaud your distinguishing regional differences between Boromir and Faramir's "English" accents. On the other hand, I can <I>almost</I> always tell when a British actor is "doing" an American accent. They'll slip up and pronounce something a little too "clipped," or sound <I>too</I>"twangy." Now, I had never heard of Elijah Wood before LOTR, and saw FOTR before I knew anything about him. His English accent was convincing enough, to my American ears, that I was mildly surprised to find out he was American. (Whereas I could tell right away that Sean Astin and Viggo Mortensen weren't British) But then I think a generic English accent is a bit easier for most Americans to imitate, than a specific dialect. <P>"There even are places where English completely disappears--/ In America, they haven't spoken it for years!"<BR>(also from "Why Can't The English?")<BR> Peony, who has an "Eastern" American accent, but starts to pick up the accent of whomever she is speaking with--

[Arathiriel]

Hmmmmmm...<P>The only time I have ever noticed an accent slipping was after someone pointed out to me that Sam's accent comes and goes during the movies. Now when I watch FOTR, I have noticed quite a few scenes where Sam's accent sounds more American than British...<P>Really the accent issue doesn't bother me all that much, especially where Sam is concerned because I don't know about you guys but when I am watching one of the movies I get so absorbed in the performances of the actors that I fail to notice any accent slip-ups...<P>I will have to try and note some of the things y'all mentioned about Viggo's accent in the movies though...

[Lyta_Underhill]

I suppose I've never really studied the various accents, but I can see what you all refer to. I have only seen TTT one time, so I can't actually remember what Faramir sounds like. Boromir, however, is crystal clear! So that's Yorkshire? Speaking of accents, how do you like Celeborn's (Martin Csokas) accent? That's got to be his real accent, since he also talks like that as Xena's ex-boyfriend Borias...(I love to call Celeborn that, just to be ridiculous!). And Karl Urban does a great American accent in Xena as Julius Caesar...and yet he is a New Zealander! I am always surprised by individual accents/dialects. <P>There are interesting pockets of dialect variation here in the US as well. There is one area of Birmingham, Alabama where everyone sounds like he or she is from California. Drive a few miles south to Sylacauga, Alabama however, and you've got the birthplace of Jim Nabors (surprize surprize surprize! It's Gomer Pyle! The most stereotypical of US Southern accents imaginable!). And forget about pegging a Florida accent! Half are from New York or Canada and the other half are from a Spanish speaking country! (I get to say this, being a native Floridian, lapsed!)<P>All that aside, I did notice, in retrospect, that Sean Astin drops his accent now and then. But for some reason, it does not jar me as others have done in the past (Keanu Reeves has to do the worst "English" accent I've ever heard!). Sean's English and American sounds blend together well and it does not sound like he is "putting it on" at a particular time. Same with Elijah Wood. And I too thought the strange Viggo accent was Danish. I tend to become hypnotized by Viggo's voice, however, and I don't think I can be objective about it! <P>Well, that's all I can think of to say about that! Interesting discussion! <P>Cheers,<BR>Lyta (who is always asked, no matter where she goes, "You ain't from around here, are you?")

[Meela]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> Speaking of accents, how do you like Celeborn's (Martin Csokas) accent? That's got to be his real accent, since he also talks like that as Xena's ex-boyfriend Borias...(I love to call Celeborn that, just to be ridiculous!) <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>Celeborn... *dreamy sighs and wishing she was Galadriel*<P>His Celeborn accent is his real accent? I thought that being from New Zealand, he would have a NZ accent...<P>I loved his Russian accent in xXx! *more dreamy sighs*

[Finwe]

I think that it depends on who the cast is around. If they're around, say Northern English people, then I think their accents slightly change. God knows, I do the same! My "accent" can change from generic American, to Eastern American, to British, to Spanish, to Australian English, and to Indian in the blink of an eye. It just depends on where you are and who you are around.

[Horse-Maiden of the Shire]

We should remember than Middle-Earth is like our planet, and different regions of it and even different regions of those regions have different accents (if that even made sense). Remember in the Extended FotR when Harry Goatleaf said, "And what's more, out of the Shire by your talk!" And I think I remember somewhere that I read Merry talked in a Buckland accent. Granted, this does not solve the characters from the same places with different accents problems. We can just blame that on Gandalf.<P>***Sorry if someone else typed this already!***<p>[ June 14, 2003: Message edited by: Horse-Maiden of the Shire ]

[Everdawn]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR> We can just blame that on Gandalf. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P>yeah! now we have a scapegoat!

[QuickSlash]

Ah, accents. Something I enjoy, but don't study. <P>With me, I live in the US, and in the Midwest. It's the accent that isn't an accent, at least to me. Now, if I watch something that has a consistant accent (Monty Python), or listen to someone in person who has an accent, I, without noticing it, pick it up. <P>Now, I'm wondering if any of them might've had something like that. Every day of filming, you're bound to have *at least* more than one person different. What if during certain days, that tipped the hat in one way or another? Maybe (any of the actors) was around more English people one day, more American another, more New Zealand, etc, and that affected his voice?

QUickSlash i think you may have soemthing there, I mean it sounds pretty Logical...I have to agree with alomsot everyone else, about Billy's Accent. Ugh, I could sits down and liste to him talk all day ^^...I love irish, scottish and brittish acents...But I can tell where they slipp casue I watch Monty Pythin alot which like Slash said has a pretty firm/steady accents. So its wierd but hey there only human...Though Elijah may have been a god at one point No I'm just playing...But overall I guess they do pretty good with the accents but thats just my lil ol opinion...