Accents

[Callisto]

Would it be feasible for us to get accent options during the creation process? Sometimes a character wouldn't have a northern or southern accent (IE: Nomadic people), yet when you select a location to start in you're forced to take that areas accent, regardless of your characters past history.

In the past I have just added it to my objective, but it seems impractical to waste staff time getting accents corrected post-creation.

I think it would be nice to have an option to select the common accents (northern, southern, 'rinthi or no accent) during the creation process, just to allow people more control of such things and to save the staff the trouble of doing it post-creation. I can't see it being abused, since if someone attempted to take an accent that isn't fitting of the characters history, it can easily be rejected.

Thoughts?

[flurry]

Is there such a thing as no accent?

I like your idea, though.

[Delirium]

I like that a lot, Callisto, especially since it could easily have been used for a few character concepts I've had.

[Vositus]

I'm not sure... Maybe only linguists(sp) should be able to do that?

[Rindan]

I would suggest just mailing the MUD.  I don't think it is a big deal.  I know that I once ran into a newbie who started in Luir's but had is background as being from Allanak.  I noticed that he had a northern accent and figured it was not intentional.  I just mailed the MUD and they fixed it fairly quickly.

[Angela Christine]

I liked the accent code at first, but I like it less as time goes on.

The 'rinth is a bad neighbourhood inside Allanak, most people are poor and speak in a low-class way.  I get that.  But won't a poor, low-class person from the commoner's quarter speak in a similar way?  It isn't a seperate city, many people spend some time in the 'rinth and some of thier time in central Allanak, but you can instantly tell where they are from.  I've had poor orphan types who had being born in the commoner's quarter and living in the 'rinth for a few years as part of their background, but everyone could immediately identify them as a rinther or southsider by accent, and treat them as an "outsider" in the other zone regardless of how they dress or behave.  That seems wrong to me.  

And why do people from southside Allanak have exactly the same accent as people in Red Storm?  I admit it's useful when you go up north to pretend you are from Red Storm, but it doesn't make much sense.

The northern accents are even murkier.  Tuluk, Luir's outpost and the desert elf outpost all start with the same accent.  I'd like to see Luir's taken off the northern accent, I think of Luir's as more central than northern.  People "from Luir's" could be nomads, or residents whose parents could have been from anywhere.  I'd prefer either no accent, or for Luir's and the delf outpost to have something like a "desert accent".

Just a thought.

AC

[Katsumata]

Just a thought here. In the real world accents are hard to get rid of.

I live in a southern United States state and the accent in my hometown is thick. I have been asked by waitresses when I am dining out in my hometown where I am from since I don't have a local accent. I travelled a bit during school and am told I do not have an accent by my family. BUT...if I go out of state I get instantly identified even giggled at by younger people for my funny southern accent. They might not be able to say what state I am from unless they are well travelled or from southern states themselves but still its instantly picked up on.

Super spies in the movies seem to make it look so easy to seem a native speaker but its not. I agree its not fair that people are pigeonholed by their accents but it makes perfect sense to me that they are. In many towns the accent can be narrowed down to a certain city block or neighborhood. I know that is true of New Orleans and New York though I am too lazy to look online for sources.

I agree that in Arm its harder to RP a spy whose every word betrays their origins but welcome to what real world spies must do in countries with populations that do not move around and thus each town's accent is identifiable. You'll just have to be a smoother talker: "Who are you going to believe, me or your own ears?"   :twisted:


Sidenote:

AC said: And why do people from southside Allanak have exactly the same accent as people in Red Storm?

Just wanted to say I enjoyed hearing this tidbit of information. I know from experience that Brooklyn, NY accents sound just like a certain lower class area in the New Orleans, LA area. It tickled me to see Armageddon allow an interesting bit of real life into it .

[Impska]

Just a thought here. In the real world accents are hard to get rid of.

I don't know, when my mom was 18, coming out of the lower class in England, she got a job at a fancy fashion store. And while there, they actually trained her to speak more posh. And it worked.

On the other hand, she's lived over 20 years in Canada now, and yet retains a distinct (though softened) English accent.

Anyway, just a thought based on real life - maybe it would be a whole lot harder to lose your southern/northern accent, but would it be super hard to learn how to lose a rinth accent, and sound like a proper southerner?

[2 Lazy 2 login ShaL]

I've idead this before:
Linguists should be able to mimick accents.

>change accent northern
You begin speaking sirihish with a northern accent.

>change accent rinthy
You begin speaking allundean with a rinthy accent.

>change accent southern
You begin speaking bendune with a southern accent.

An easy way to do it is just make the linguist sub-guild eliminate accents completely.

How cool would it be to be able to actually send a spy to a city and have him or her easily blend in just because of that accent?

[Marauder Moe]

How cool would it be to be able to actually send a spy to a city and have him or her easily blend in just because of that accent?

Very cool.  I'd likely never play another non-linguist again.  Actually IMO that's almost -too- powerful.

[Cuusardo]

I think that people's accents should be able to change if they spend an extended amount of time somewhere else.

Example #1:  I grew up in southern Louisiana, and consequently had a thick Cajun accent for most of my life.  I moved to the east coast and lived there for about six months, and then moved to Minnesota after that.  My family has pointed out to me that I now have this odd midwestern accent.

Example #2:  When going to visit my family in Louisiana, my husband, who is a native to Minnesota, spent quite a bit of time chatting with my family.  We spent a week there, and by the time we left, he was really beginning to pick up the accent.

Ergo, why wouldn't northerners pick up a southern accent and vice versa after spending a great deal of time in the other place?  (Or does Zalanthas just not work that way?)

[2 Lazy 2 login ShaL]

How cool would it be to be able to actually send a spy to a city and have him or her easily blend in just because of that accent?

Very cool.  I'd likely never play another non-linguist again.  Actually IMO that's almost -too- powerful.

There is much more to being a spy than being able to fake accents. Plenty of stupid people out there that will be able to fake an accent and still get caught.  :twisted:

Speaking as someone who has an accent, I can tell you first hand that they lessen. When I speak with mexicans, I adopt their accent, when I speak with Spaniards, the same thing, any length of time spent in one place will eventually rub off on you. Think of all the actors mimicking accents for films?  I don't think it's too powerful a skill at all. It's very feasable to be able to mimick an accent having studied it or been around it.  Not that this is a good example, but look at Madonna and her faux british accent rip off?   :wink:

[RideTheDivide]

What about making Northern Sirihish and Southern Sirihish both separate skills.  Not entirely sure how it would work, but that would let you learn the other and eventually change your language to it and speak that way.

[Anonymous]

What about making Northern Sirihish and Southern Sirihish both separate skills.  Not entirely sure how it would work, but that would let you learn the other and eventually change your language to it and speak that way.

This is actually an excellent idea!
Just like a person can pick up certain languages after being around them for so long, we should be able to pick up accents too.  I like it.

[Marauder Moe]

I think all (or at least most of the more common) languages have nothern and souther accented versions.  I'm not certain, however.

[FiveDisgruntledMonkeysWit]

The language code might need to be tweaked to allow 'accent learning'. Tell me, if you don't know accent, you'd still be able to understand what they're saying, right? It wouldn't appear as 'in an unfamiliar tongue', right?

[flurry]

No, but per that suggestion, maybe you could be 100 percent fluent in southern sirihish, but only 90 percent in northern sirihish.   (So both are on your skill list, but sometimes you might misunderstand or misspeak when dealing with someone in another region.)


Along the lines of accents evolving, I think it would be great if there were subtle variations like:

the woman says, in thickly southern-accented sirihish, ...
the woman says, in southern-accented sirihish, ...
the woman says, in mildly southern-accented sirihish, ...

depending on how much time you spent away from your native city

[Malifaxis]

blah blah says, in unfamiliar-accented sirihish; 'blah blah blah'

A big vote for the evolving accents idea on my part, for what it's worth.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Perhaps Assassins could branch it, and linguists could only speak a mild form of the other language.

Or visa versa...

But this is certainly a great idea. It is vastly annoying not to be able to ever mimic another accent.

[Lazloth]

Perhaps Assassins could branch it

Yeah, that makes pure sense.
Assassins.
Uh huh.

[Malifaxis]

Lazloth stated:

Yeah, that makes pure sense.
Assassins.
Uh huh.

Well, actually, yes, it does make perfect sense:

Warriors... um, no.
Rangers... um, no.
Merchants?  Possibly, they do a lot of travelling.
Burglars?  Sheyah, riiiight.
Pickpockets?  Same.
Mages?  (IC comment restrained) No.
Templars?  Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... no.
Psi?  They don't exist, so there's no need to suggest it with them.   :twisted:

Assassins?  Lets look at them... masters of infiltration, blending, and being trusted until the deed is done.  There is a *lot* more to being an assassin than just 'backstab target' 'backstab employer' 'get coins corpse'

As I see it, that is the class, besides merchants, that would have a reason to have that ability.

As for subclasses with it... bard, caravan guide (well travelled), con artist, and linguist.  Having multiple subclasses, but not an extreme amount, would also cut down on the "hey, I saw that guy talking southern accent in 'nak, and now he's talking northern in Liurs... he's obviously a *blah*" factor.

[Forest Junkie]

I've always wished that we could have a "change accent <target>" code for the subclass conartist. Just sounds like it would be an interesting concept, IMO.

Also, could be a feasible skill for many other sneaky types as well, as it could come in handy when finding potential marks....*shrug*