Accents in "The Burning Brand"

[aviatrix]

Bleah, can't sleep... Feh.

Felt like posting this, since it came up in a review... When I was writing my FE Western AU, I started to consider the degree of accented speech that each character should have, according to their class, background and personality... So much so, that I actually wrote a list. :P


Accents: (from heaviest to none)

(farmers)

Sain
Matthew
Serra
Dorcas
Florina

Wallace
Wil
Erk
Kent

(townspeople)

Eliwood
Lucius

Nils/Ninian
Rath
Lyn
Mark

As you can see, Sain (almost) tops the list, with Mark at the very bottom (as he is originally from the East).

I'll start with the top tier. Farmers have the most heavily accented speech, being in the lowest class, so to speak... Ranged under them are characters which have the highest degree of accent, and are ranked accordingly.

Sain, Matthew and Serra rank high mostly because of their over-the-top personalities, while Dorcas ranks below them because of his station (being a homesteader, yet generally soft-spoken) and Florina because of her background (as she is foreign, but doesn't actually speak very much).

Second tier includes characters with "countrified" accents, but not as over-the-top as the first tier... Wallace would be borderline (in my mind, at least ;), with Wil in the middle and Erk and Kent being tied; almost to the level of the speech of townspeople, but not quite.

After that, the people with the least degree of accent, edging into formal/normal speech... Eliwood and Lucius would fit in here; Eliwood because of his upbringing, and Lucius because of his training (still, I would imagine them having a slight trace of an accent).

Lastly, are those who I consider having the most normal form of speech... I'd depict Nils and Ninian speaking formally, but with no accent. Oddly, Rath and Lyn fall in this catagory, as well (for some reason, I picture plainsmen speaking slowly, yet more formally). And Mark is last, for the previously stated reason.

And for the record, while I use a "countrified" accent for most of the characters (at least, I sure hope it sounds that way!), I tried to go for a more Southern accent for a couple of others... Serra obviously, but also for Dorcas and Natalie, and Wallace, as well (for some reason, I now imagine him speaking like Foghorn Leghorn, which is so wrong, yet strangely appropriate XD).


Okay, got that off my chest. XP Off to bed...

Comments

[hooves.livejournal.com]

What you're saying makes perfect sense to me. (And in the real world, most people spoke with a countrified/hick accent, anyway (out west), so it's not that big of a deal, IMHO. Besides, it's adorable.)

*Glomps you*

Back to writing!!

[sarajayechan.livejournal.com]

*pictures Wallace talking like Foghorn Leghorn and DIES* XD