What accent do you hear when reading WoT?

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I just started watching Season 3 of Game of Thrones and it dawned on me that most of the characters speak with a British accent. I hadn't really given it much thought before, but I then also realized that LotR was the same way, and most other fantasy films, except for maybe some Disney movies...maybe- I'd have to check on that. The Empire talks with a British accent, too, in Star Wars.

Well, it got me thinking about how the characters sounded in the WoT books when I read them. I realized that, to me, since I am a US citizen, the characters sound American to me, at least the ones from Andor. I think that's probably because my thoughts are in my own dialct. But I consciously try to hear different dialects from the different regions, like people from Illian sound something between Irish and Scottish maybe. And the Seanchan sound Russian with their slurred speech, as Jordan describes it. And the Forsaken sound like they have a thick Brooklyn accent- sike, just kidding about that! They actually might sound more British to me. I don't know, I haven't thought too much on it before, but I suppose it's natural for the main characters to sound like the reader's dialect.

Anyway, I'm kind of curious to know what other people think about this. How do the WoT characters sound to you, and how do their dialects differ between regions?
 
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This has actually been a hard thing for me lately. I just started reading the books for the first time ever. I'm coming into them from being a HUUUUUGE Tolkein fan. Being a Ringer is a joy because the Professor was a linguist and made (I think) a lot of his pronunciations very clear, and his cultures very distinct. I feel like Jordan, not being a master linguist, doesn't have this as much. The result is that I'm still trying to figure out what the characters sound like, and what the names should be pronounced as (actually, the pronunciation guide in the back of the books makes me mad because coming from a linguistics perspective, I would have never pronounced some things the way Jordan does).

I feel like if I had a better grasp on some of the names I might have better ideas of the cultures and therefore the accents/dialects/etc., but with an easy name like Rand and a complex name like Nynaeve (whose name drives me NUTS) coming from the same place... saying things like "blood and ashes!" and "Light!".... I almost imagine something like a deep south accent, like Tom Sawyer would sound. but with a little more brittish and a lot less hick. but then you also have that same diversity outside of the two rivers folk, and in people from other countries. So... idk.

also, forgive me, I'm only 2/3 through my first read of EotW ever, so... there's a lot I have to learn and understand.
 

Lenore Carvoe

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I imagine only the Seanchan speaking with a broad Southern US accent. :look: The others are British (Andor), their neighbours with differing accents, depending on which culture they seem to mainly originate from (Cairhien - English speaking French, Illian - English speaking Greek, Tear - English speaking Spanish, and so on).
 
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Im American, so by default EVERYONE is AMERICAN!! HAHH yes Im a prick American! Sorry LOL BUT if the character is WRITTEN as having an accent like say DOMON Bayle..then suddenly I hear an accent!
 

Ealandrelle Melyma

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I imagine only the Seanchan speaking with a broad Southern US accent. :look:

This. To me the way the Seanchan accent is described (and how they complain about everyone else speaking too fast) really makes me think of a Texan drawl ;)

Other than that, I don't have a great deal of thought about accents as I read. The ones people have already mentioned (like Domon) yes, they have accents in my head. Oh and the Aiel tend to be Scottish in my mind :laugh: There's another race (Cairhien?) which is described as having "clipped" speech and I read that as BBC English.
 
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hmmm..i see the Seanchan as Japanese!!!!!! LOL Speaking as a Japanese person would try to when they speak English? LOLOL
 

Ealandrelle Melyma

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The way their culture is described makes me think of what (little) I know of ancient feudal Japan. However, their accent definitely doesn't go with that idea - Japanese people seem to speak very fast, and you couldn't possibly describe their accent as a drawl :laugh:

ETA - I think only a few of the Seanchan are actually described as looking Japanese-ish? They seem to be everything from blonde-haired and blue-eyed to really dark-skinned.
 

Elorenya d'Rahien

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I definitely second the Seanchan-as-Texans thing. XD And the quick-paced, clipped, but still lilty Cairhienin as BBC English seems like a great fit to me. Andor's also US-broadcast standard midwestern English. Most of the rest, I don't "hear" a specific accent for, though.

Illianers, though? Pirates. :P All of them sound like pirates. ALL OF THEM.
 

Wil Cambrae

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... Thanks Elo now I imagine Bayle Domon looking and sounding something like this. :look:
 
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Alora Sionn

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I see culture wise the cairheiniens as japanese, they are really reserved normally but when they play they play hard (like their festivals :laugh:) also the way they describe them is pale with dark hair and eyes :) The aiel culture is a lot like aborigionals but their genetics remind me more of the celts. But we're talking about accents...

I hear all of them as Aussie accents mainly because my husband is reading the books aloud to us before bed :giggle But seriously, all of them sound slightly british to me, and the Illianers do remind me of pirates (especially Bayle :laugh:), and the seanchan do have that southern drawl to me (though I like the idea of them sounding russian). Andor reminds me of posh London type british and Two Rivers almost american british :)
 
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I can't remember the reason for thinking of this but I have connected an Italian accent with the Domani.
 
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So i read a LOT last night and discovered....Unless its written different ( Like Bayle domon), I hear EVERYONE speaking American English!! hahahh Period! LOL Im horrible!!!! LOL Ethnocentric maybe? IDK...hahah But Everyone just speaks like me when I read! ( yes!! Speaks like me!! EVEN WITH THE CRAZY CAPS LOCK!)
 

Wil Cambrae

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I'm afeered noi
 

Dareth d'Rahien

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Seriously. I'm pretty sure Bayle Domon is basically Mr. Gibbs from PotC. Chin-beard and everything.

Gibbs300px.PNG
 

Aran Cherubim

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Seanchan: "Y'all bow down to th'Empress now, y'hear?"
 
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