Kamikitsune Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 If you've ever played a trooper, your second (third technically, but that droid is terrible) companion has an English accent. They explain that the accent is, in fact, a Dromund Kaas (sp?) accent, and that Imperials DO sound English. This is just established canon. My head canon for why there's more of a mix in the film era is that it's been a very long time since the sith wars, and the Sith Empire has presumably lost, scattering its people and allowing for republic/imperial mingling. The accents in the film era are therefore more mixed, because the Galactic Empire doesn't come from a certain part of the galaxy. Palpatine himself has this weird American-trying-to-sound-fancy accent. I think they said he was from Naboo, and I haven't seen anyone else from there speak in anything but a faked English accent, so I'm thinking they have Western accents and the senators start to adopt the more English accents from working with so many people who have them naturally. Is my theory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatoFel Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 If you've ever played a trooper, your second (third technically, but that droid is terrible) companion has an English accent. They explain that the accent is, in fact, a Dromund Kaas (sp?) accent, and that Imperials DO sound English. This is just established canon. My head canon for why there's more of a mix in the film era is that it's been a very long time since the sith wars, and the Sith Empire has presumably lost, scattering its people and allowing for republic/imperial mingling. The accents in the film era are therefore more mixed, because the Galactic Empire doesn't come from a certain part of the galaxy. Palpatine himself has this weird American-trying-to-sound-fancy accent. I think they said he was from Naboo, and I haven't seen anyone else from there speak in anything but a faked English accent, so I'm thinking they have Western accents and the senators start to adopt the more English accents from working with so many people who have them naturally. Is my theory. In light of the Sith presence throughout the galaxy during this Great War/Cold War era, your Sith-accent dispersion theory makes a lot of sense to me...so thanks! Based on the movies I always thought the adoption of pseudo-English accents was originally centered on Coruscant, but maybe it just happened locally on a lot of planets. Then (and you may be saying this also?) Sith-like accents "rubbed off" on so many local elites that despite the Empire's collapse, the Coruscanti (or at least the elite, Senatorial/Jedi Coruscanti) accent of the film era actually evolved out of those local, Sith-derived accents. Naboo is relatively far from Coruscant and especially from the Sith Empire of the game...and it's correspondingly difficult to sort out accent-wise. Maybe Padme is from an American-accented city-state; Queen Jamilia is from the last known refuge of Indian Humans; and Bibble could be from an old Imperial enclave. Panaka and Typho are somewhere between Bibble and Padme, and as you say, Palpatine is Coruscantized. All this is said in realization that, alas, Lucas, BioWare, etc. are not exactly Tolkiens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nephallim Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 The actor who played Palpatine is actually Scottish. I wouldn't describe his accent as any sort of American. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talkative Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 You guys read way too much into this. Most of the principle actors (the Rebels) were American actors shipped over to London for filming. There are a couple of notable exceptions (Alec Guinness being the major one), but for the most part they're Americans. The Imperials were mostly extras. So the assumption in Star Wars has always been that American accents indicate spacers and mid rim-out while British accents indicate core worlds and certain regions of space close to there (Tapani sector, as an example). But there's also disparity within those examples, of course. Wes Janson is from Tapani (Tallaan, specifically) but has an American accent. Also, Corellians tend towards American accents because their lives revolve around space (Han's cousin notably had a British accent because he was educated on Coruscant). But the general assumption is that the closer to the bright center of the universe you live, the more likely you are to speak the Queen's English. BioWare sort of tossed that on its head. Can't speak to their reasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelgair Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 But the general assumption is that the closer to the bright center of the universe you live, the more likely you are to speak the Queen's English. BioWare sort of tossed that on its head. Can't speak to their reasoning. Hm, maybe we shouldn't assume The Republic wins this war then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hambunctious Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 No, it's an American news anchor no accent. There are texan imps, however....or one, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neovag Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 There's actually a quite a variety of accents within the Empire, although they can pretty much all be included under the general umbrella of 'British'. Most of them are of course the stereotypical Monty Python-esque 'Upper-class twit', however there are Irish, quite a few Scottish, a Welsh sergeant on Dromund Kaas and I swear I've heard one or two northern English accents, too. Not to mention the Cockney general who features in the Inquisitor's storyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
areto Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 lol I love it how Americans think of themselves as accent-less, sorry guys, you have an american accent, deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wickedcarny Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 Republic/Rebels in OT are Americans because America is the best. End of argument, period. Sorry nothing wrong with England or most other countries, but the USA is the best, just for the fact we made Star Wars. Which in turn is the only reason anyone is here. Also by America, I mean the United States of America. None of that central or south America stuff. /end Troll Really besides all the American fighting the British evil empire stuff, I think it really just comes down to the fact they hired alot of English actors not in main roles. BUT there is also the curious case of Carrie Fisher...who used a british accent in ANH..... Let me get George L on the phone about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xarec Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I'd say English, more than British. I haven't run into many Irish or Scottish-sounding Imperials, though there were a small few. That said, there is some diversity in Republic accents, too. I'm thinking the Imperials have more European-ish accents and Republic has more US-ish accents. You forgot Wales and there's plenty of them amongst the main Sith characters. And let's not foget captain Bryn on Dromund Kaas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooberry Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 lol I love it how Americans think of themselves as accent-less, sorry guys, you have an american accent, deal with it. Supposedly Americans didn't lose their British accent, the British developed an accent. http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mirdthestrill Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I'd say English, more than British. I haven't run into many Irish or Scottish-sounding Imperials, though there were a small few. That said, there is some diversity in Republic accents, too. I'm thinking the Imperials have more European-ish accents and Republic has more US-ish accents. All the scots were over on Lord Grathan's estate. Don't know why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliJoe Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 lol I love it how Americans think of themselves as accent-less, sorry guys, you have an american accent, deal with it. People always think that us Californians have an accent, & we're all "no we don't!" Haha! This whole thread is great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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