How do the characters talk?

I gotta tell you that I'm not keen on the idea of suggesting that the other language elvish groups are speaking is some kind of mutated English. I'm not saying I can't be sold on it, but I do need to give it some thought.
 
To be fair, I don't like it either. If we are going to have elvish, it should be Quenya and Sindarin. But considering the earlier discussion of what a close-to-English language would sound like, I felt obligated to give an example.
 
Yeah, if we either way have to invent words, we might as well invent neo-Sindarin and neo-Quenya words based on the work Tolkien helpfully already did. Rather than mutant-English. (I mean, ask an actual linguist to do it.)

There are already close-to-English creoles, Scotts, and Frisian in the real world, if using a nearly-English language becomes necessary. (Frisian would be perfect for one of the Rhovanion languages, since it's the closest relative to Anglo-Saxon. Despite Tolkien using Gothic and Norse for other Rhovanion tongues.)
 
Yes, exactly - there will be lots of opportunities for languages of obscure people to work into this story. So, a shorthand like 'Use Frisian for the Rhovanions' makes sense to me. The only group I can see speaking a 'creole English' would be...maybe the Pukel-men? Who clearly have learned enough of Westron to communicate, but don't use it often/well. Or the Men of Forochel. Groups that have limited contact with other groups, but *can* speak/interact with them as needed.
 

  • I'm looking forward to seeing which accents people think are appropriate for which race/species…
    I’ve always thought of the Elves/Ainur using an RP accent, except for Gandalf the Grey. As for the Edain, possibly Northern accents? Irish?
 
Finnish and Welsh accents for Noldor and Sindar? Italian for the Teleri? Hebrew for the Dwarves?
And I guess Germanic language accents for Beorians and Hadorians?

Awkwardly Tolkien used Welsh to represent the Dunlendish linguistic background in Buckland, though.


RP accents can be for the Ainur, but as superhuman (and superelven) talented linguists, I think they can use the accent associated with whatever language they're speaking at the time. Or RP for Ainu telepathy. :p

Orc actors would of course have their voices obscured by computer effects to make them sound like rocks grinding or smashing together.
 
Finnish and Welsh accents for Noldor and Sindar? Italian for the Teleri? Hebrew for the Dwarves?
And I guess Germanic language accents for Beorians and Hadorians?

Awkwardly Tolkien used Welsh to represent the Dunlendish linguistic background in Buckland, though.


RP accents can be for the Ainur, but as superhuman (and superelven) talented linguists, I think they can use the accent associated with whatever language they're speaking at the time. Or RP for Ainu telepathy. :p

Orc actors would of course have their voices obscured by computer effects to make them sound like rocks grinding or smashing together.
Are you going to try and have Paul Bettany speak with an Italian accent?
 
The first guy is a bit difficult to understand but the second is easier. Actors would have to speak with slight enough accents to be easily understood. Unless the goal was to be incomprehensible (such as incoherent screaming by Orcs).

I would guess that Finland has different accents in different regions.
 
sure, but many other accents sound more... "farmerish" if you know what i mean...
I´m ok with the Noldor sounding a little bit like this:

the Teleri speaking with italian accent I´m not convinced of...

The Idea comes from Quenya being based on Finnish and Latin right?
But modern Italian is far removed from Latin as it once sounded...

 
the Teleri speaking with italian accent I´m not convinced of...


The Idea comes from Quenya being based on Finnish and Latin right?

As an Italian-American who grew up around Italian speakers, I can tell you that Italians who can speak English with anything resembling fluency do not sound like this.
 
The Guy in the Roman Vid or the native Italians in the other vid? I´m convinced it DOES make a BIG difference when you live around native Speakers or if all yo ever heard was some english at School or Popsongs on the Radio... but we were talking about accents?
 
The Guy in the Roman Vid or the native Italians in the other vid? I´m convinced it DOES make a BIG difference when you live around native Speakers or if all yo ever heard was some english at School or Popsongs on the Radio... but we were talking about accents?


The accent video. And you are absolutely correct. Let me try to find a video of an accent I'm familiar with.
 
The Dwarves from The Hobbit were all over the place with their accents.
  • Thorin, Fili and Kili: Northern
  • Dwalin, Balin, Oin, Gloin: Scottish
  • Bofur: Irish
  • Dori, Ori: Estuary, RP?
  • Nori: Cockney
 
You mean the Peter Jackson movies?

I request that we not make different members of the same family speak in different accents. Unless they're Elves who haven't seen each other for centuries. (Bofur I could hypothetically understand ... except they really would all just have the same Khuzdul accent.)
 
You mean the Peter Jackson movies?

I request that we not make different members of the same family speak in different accents. Unless they're Elves who haven't seen each other for centuries. (Bofur I could hypothetically understand ... except they really would all just have the same Khuzdul accent.)
That was the idea behind having Dori, Nori, and Ori speak different accents. Nori would be apart from the family for some time and pick up a different accent. The idea with him was that he spent some time as a thief (just look at the scene when the Goblins start tearing open their packs and a whole bunch of metal goods from Rivendell is thrown out of Nori's pack).
 
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Uh... I'll just say that I prefer to not use any of Peter Jackson's ideas and changes to the texts. And, I didn't watch the Hobbit.
 
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