Accent for the Midworlder

[Lizzie]

I'm on the fence about Luir's having its own accent. Theoretically, Luir's exists because of tribes, with heavy emphasis on traders and nomadic merchants. So Luir's might be considered the Ohio of accents - which is to say, the non-accented accent. Everyone else hearing someone from Luir's would hear - "this guy doesn't talk like me, but he doesn't really have an accent of any type at all so I'm not sure where to place him in the Known."

Red Storm, on the other hand, is historically the rogue/criminal/outcast outpost of the world. It's where all the unwanted gather in a wary but peaceful co-existence. If anything, they might share a rinthi accent, or some kind of cant.

So if it were up to me, Luir's would have -no- accent at all, and no matter who you are, you would hear that person from Luir's speaking with no particular accent. And the rinth and Red Storm would share an accent, but the name of it would change, to reflect the inclusion of Red Storm.

[Barsook]

Red Storm, on the other hand, is historically the rogue/criminal/outcast outpost of the world. It's where all the unwanted gather in a wary but peaceful co-existence. If anything, they might share a rinthi accent, or some kind of cant.

+1

[Royal]

I feel like not all rogue's would talk the same way if they're not in some way connected. The only way I would see Red Storm sharing a Rinthi-ish accent would be if most of the denizens of Red Storm descended from Rinthis. I'm for a separate Storm accent and a letyoupick Luir's accent.

[BuNutzCola]

That's the whole point. If you aren't Kuraci, you're not born and raised in the Post.

[FantasyWriter]

And the rinth and Red Storm would share an accent, but the name of it would change, to reflect the inclusion of Red Storm.

Um... nah. The slums of New York and the Wild West did not share an accent just because every other person is a murderer or thief.  The Rinth is only one of Many places Stormers and their ancestors came from, and considering most Rithers would never have the means to afford passage to Storm, I highly doubt it would even be a significant contributor to its immigration numbers.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

... Luir's would have -no- accent at all, and no matter who you are, you would hear that person from Luir's speaking with no particular accent ...

I like this, actually, but think it should only apply to Kuraci Family Members, and perhaps those who spend time around them could pick it up. It could simply be the neutral accent on your skill list.

[Barsook]

And the rinth and Red Storm would share an accent, but the name of it would change, to reflect the inclusion of Red Storm.

Um... nah. The slums of New York and the Wild West did not share an accent just because every other person is a murderer or thief.  The Rinth is only one of Many places Stormers and their ancestors came from, and considering most Rithers would never have the means to afford passage to Storm, I highly doubt it would even be a significant contributor to its immigration numbers.

Bah, what was I thinking there too when I agreed with that.

... Luir's would have -no- accent at all, and no matter who you are, you would hear that person from Luir's speaking with no particular accent ...

I like this, actually, but think it should only apply to Kuraci Family Members, and perhaps those who spend time around them could pick it up. It could simply be the neutral accent on your skill list.

That would work.

[Royal]

... Luir's would have -no- accent at all, and no matter who you are, you would hear that person from Luir's speaking with no particular accent ...

I like this, actually, but think it should only apply to Kuraci Family Members, and perhaps those who spend time around them could pick it up. It could simply be the neutral accent on your skill list.

+1

[catchall]

... Luir's would have -no- accent at all, and no matter who you are, you would hear that person from Luir's speaking with no particular accent ...

I like this, actually, but think it should only apply to Kuraci Family Members, and perhaps those who spend time around them could pick it up. It could simply be the neutral accent on your skill list.

-1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1 -1

This is absolutely not how accents work.  The far more typical scenario for ultra cosmopolitan types is not that they always fit in, but rather, they always sound like they're from someone else.  The American who spends 10 years in Britain doesn't suddenly fit in in both Britan and the U.S.  No, to Brits they sound like Americans, and to Americans they sound like Brits.

There's no such thing as "no accent" anyway. Under the present code, perceiving no accent means they're speaking your accent (which is how it should be, compared to real languages).  For everyone to perceive no accent, they would have to have some sort of mindbendery or magickal powers.

[FantasyWriter]

The way the code works now, if someone is currently speaking with the same accent as you, you don't get an accent identifier in their say or tell. If Luir's got a 'neutral' accent, how would you like that to be reflected?

Code Select Expand

The spiced-up Kuraci says, in Neutral-accent Cavilish,
  "We're so neutral in political matters, you can hear it even in our voices."

The spiced-up Kuraci takes another hit from his massive hookah of awesomeness.

[FantasyWriter]

The American who spends 10 years in Britain doesn't suddenly fit in in both Britan and the U.S.  No, to Brits they sound like Americans, and to Americans they sound like Brits.

It would be REALLY awesome if this were reflected in the code.
Even once you can sound like a northie to everone who was not raised in Tuluk, it would be IC years before you could pull off a convincing accent to a true inked Citizen.

Code Select Expand


The dark-skinned, shaven-headed man says, in an attempted northern accent,
 "Nah, Faithful Lord. I'm from the warrens, I swear!"

The tall, crimson-haired Jihean Templar narrows his eyes at the dark-skinned, shaven-headed man and simply shakes his head before raising a hand to tok-slap him to the floor.

[Barsook]

Deleted.

[Maso]

There is no such thing as 'no' accent. An accent that isn't particularly quirky or obvious is still an accent, it's just a 'boring' one.

The accent code could be fleshed out in so many ways, and be all down for seeing more accents IG. It could be that there are sub accents for each part of the world...So if you're Northern...you'll always see a southern accent as southern (whether it's RS, 'Nak, 'Rinth, Whatever)....but if you're southern, you'd notice if someone was 'Rinth or noble (yuh they should have their own) RS or whatever. Which seems realistic to me...Most Americans can tell I'm british, but they can't pin down what kind of british...whereas there are a million different british accents and I can tell the difference between all the of them.

Would see Luirs and tribals as a bunch of 'midlanders' and the North being pretty much Tuluk, with maybe different accents for different parts of Tuluk, warrens vs. middle class vs. nobles vs. surrounding farmlands/wood chopping villages.

[IntuitiveApathy]

There is no such thing as 'no' accent. An accent that isn't particularly quirky or obvious is still an accent, it's just a 'boring' one.

The accent code could be fleshed out in so many ways, and be all down for seeing more accents IG. It could be that there are sub accents for each part of the world...So if you're Northern...you'll always see a southern accent as southern (whether it's RS, 'Nak, 'Rinth, Whatever)....but if you're southern, you'd notice if someone was 'Rinth or noble (yuh they should have their own) RS or whatever. Which seems realistic to me...Most Americans can tell I'm british, but they can't pin down what kind of british...whereas there are a million different british accents and I can tell the difference between all the of them.

Would see Luirs and tribals as a bunch of 'midlanders' and the North being pretty much Tuluk, with maybe different accents for different parts of Tuluk, warrens vs. middle class vs. nobles vs. surrounding farmlands/wood chopping villages.

I really agree with this, save that I'd still like to exclude Luir's from the northern accent - either have it's own or none (as others have pointed out, non-Kuraci in Luir's are from elsewhere typically and are more or less transient).  Red Storm isn't such a mishmash of cultures - most are from Nak originally, so to have it under the southern umbrella with it's own offshoot flavour accent/dialect makes sense to me.

Could also give linguists the ability to pick up the more subtle language differences straight off the bat, and perhaps even allow non-native speakers to eventually pick up those nuances if they really spend enough time listening to one (or more?) of the accents in question.

[janeshephard]

The midworlder accent should include a lot of "Oh yeah?" and include lines like"You did all of that for a little money?"

[Maso]

It would be cool if different regions had different little colloquial quirks, besides greetings. Some of the regional quirks in the UK are brilliant.

[Ouroboros]

But who, other than Kuracis, would be raised -in- Luir's? ... As far as I know, Luir's doesn't have any permanent residences available for the virtual non-Kuraci population to live any more than for PCs.

That's the whole point. If you aren't Kuraci, you're not born and raised in the Post.

That's a very popular misconception, held by many players unfortunately. However, there is nothing in the documentation or the game itself to support that theory, outside of the fact there's no PC housing. Which I'll remind everyone doesn't define whether a location has its own population, given apartments themselves came much later in the game's history.

In contrast, there are several indications that there is an existing local population in Luir's. First off, there's citizenship available. What that offers exactly is not something that can be discussed on the GDB, but in and of itself, it exists as evidence of non-Kuraci citizens. Second, there's the shanty-town of the Bailey, which virtually does support a small population in and of itself. Third, there are the various independent sellers in the market. Not all of those people live in their shops, nor do their families, so they do reside somewhere. Perhaps the bailey, perhaps within the walls of the Outpost. Fourth, it exists as a starting location. No area that has been added by staff as a starting location doesn't support its own population. If it was only Kuraci's that lived there, that would be handled by staff directly for the Da's and Di's and the rest would simply travel there to be hired. It wasn't added just for the sake of convenience.

And lastly, there's the following snippet from the helpfile on Luir's Outpost:

"After the Fall of Tuluk, Luir's Outpost became crowded with fleeing refugees, and the population tripled almost overnight. The small outpost was the scene of tragedy as news of deaths arrived from the north, joy as loved ones who survived were reunited, and horror as House Kurac was forced to close the gates eventually, to maintain control of the outpost. Although many of those who flooded to the Outpost have since left, either returning to the north or making their way south, the population is still much larger than it was before the Fall."

The above quote in and of itself pretty much openly states that Luir's Outpost supports it's own population of non-Kuraci locals. One that tripled after the Fall of Tuluk, but remained much larger than it was even after many refugees migrated. Now the misconception as I see it stems from three key points:

• Citizenship issues
• Lack of obvious virtual housing in the rooms of the outpost
• Lack of PC apartment availability

While I personally don't feel PC apartments would add much to the feel of the Outpost, the first and second points I think are something that could be addressed in the future by staff. At the very least, some visible and virtual buildings could be shown to indicate a local population. That said, buildings do exist, they're just not far enough in people's faces to get the point across. As for citizenship, it's a tricky situation but it's one that I believe can be eventually sorted out by staff, with much of what it would entail already present in the code for some years now. Either way... Luir's does have a population of its own. Until some of the above issues can be addressed by staff, it's up to players to stamp out the misconception.

As far as an accent goes, I'd prefer to see a tribal accent or its own accent, as opposed to being able to choose between northern and southern, so that it's not used as a starting destination by players wishing to circumvent their roots. Between the two, I'd probably go with a tribal accent because it's what's most commonly heard around there. As far as Red Storm... It's as deep in the south as you can get, so I don't have much issue with them having a southern accent. Perhaps it could be changed to be a "deeply-southern accent" or a "southern drawl" but I for one could live with it as is, only because geographically it makes sense.

[Ouroboros]

Also, for those stating Luir's should have no accent at all, regardless of the socio-geographic implications of that, it's not currently possible with the code in place. A lack of accent is what you get when someone's using the same accent you are. So if those from Luir's had no accent, it would suggest to anyone that heard them that they're using the same accent as them. Be they northern, southern, tribal or desert elf. Obviously, that won't work.

At best, if a lack of obvious accent was what staff wanted to suggest, they could have a "nondescript accent". But I still hold either a tribal or tribal-esque accent would be both more appropriate to the culture and local population, and frankly more interesting as well. Population-wise the Outpost is New York; a melting pot. And I think everyone knows just how thick a New York accent can be.

Edit: Perhaps it could be just that in fact... Thickly, heavily, or sharply-accented. Would make a lot more sense than a lack of accent at all, which I continue to be believe isn't the case. There's simply too many accents present in the local culture for there to be no accent, if anything it would end up being more heavy than "purely" northern or southern accents.

[The7DeadlyVenomz]

Wow. Well thought out. I like the research.

[Feco]

I think I'll have to change my position in light of BuNutzCola's post, given that it's all correct.

I'd totally support different accents for both Luir's and Red Storm, now.

[Is Friday]

I think I'll have to change my position in light of BuNutzCola's post, given that it's all correct.

I'd totally support different accents for both Luir's and Red Storm, now.

wtf?

[Maso]

I like "a deep-southern accent" for RS.

I'd prefer a take on tribal for Luirs, so there is a distinction between the actual tribal accents and what would be a more amalgamated version from life within the walls, with a twinge of civilisation.

[Feco]

I think I'll have to change my position in light of BuNutzCola's post, given that it's all correct.

I'd totally support different accents for both Luir's and Red Storm, now.

wtf?

What?

I was under the impression that there wasn't much of a native population to the outpost, and the idea of an accent developing just seemed odd.  If ByNutzCola is correct, I think that a distinctly "Luir's" accent is perhaps called for.

I hadn't yet chimed in on Red Storm.  Wanted to throw out there that I like the idea of some sort of distinct accent there.

I suppose I disagree with his solution, but his build-up made me rethink my position.

[Ouroboros]

I think I'll have to change my position in light of BuNutzCola's post, given that it's all correct.

I'd totally support different accents for both Luir's and Red Storm, now.

wtf?

What? I was under the impression that there wasn't much of a native population to the outpost, and the idea of an accent developing just seemed odd.  If ByNutzCola is correct, I think that a distinctly "Luir's" accent is perhaps called for.

Right attitude, wrong attribution. But it's all good, glad you agree at least.

[Is Friday]

You're so lost, Feco.