Character Accents

[The Bard of Banefort]

When you're reading the books, what accents do you imagine the characters speaking with? I'm guessing that for most of us, we probably hear whichever accent we're most familiar with on a day-to-day basis. Personally, I find it amusing to contemplate if, in George's mind, all of the characters sound like they're from New Jersey ;-) 

[Prince Yourwetdream Aeryn]

I could say german accent for Jagen but unfortunately it is not true.

[ChuckPunch]

Considering the Common Tongue isn't really English and their real language is translated for our benefit I doubt we'd recognize any of their actual accents.

[The Bard of Banefort]

2 minutes ago, ChuckPunch said:

Considering the Common Tongue isn't really English and their real language is translated for our benefit I doubt we'd recognize any of their actual accents.

Haha I meant when you're reading the dialogue, do you hear it in any particular accent? Not what accent they'd actually have in-universe. 

[ChuckPunch]

7 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

Haha I meant when you're reading the dialogue, do you hear it in any particular accent? Not what accent they'd actually have in-universe. 

Ohh gotcha. Well I guess in that regard I'm pretty influenced by the television show in most cases. Most I think of as just the actors in appearance ad voice.

The only exceptions are Roose (who I imagine is much more Dracula-like, having a classier whisper voice and his book description) and Daario (who I imagine more closely to the book description looks-wise and I hear him with an eccentric Latin style accent).

[Faera]

43 minutes ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

When you're reading the books, what accents do you imagine the characters speaking with? I'm guessing that for most of us, we probably hear whichever accent we're most familiar with on a day-to-day basis. Personally, I find it amusing to contemplate if, in George's mind, all of the characters sound like they're from New Jersey ;-) 

Most of them speak with British RP in my head, IBH!

Aha, but in all seriousness, I have pretty much thought the majority of Westerosi would speak with similar variations to British or Northern European accents depending on their geographical location. Especially since European history served as an inspiration for a lot of the characters in ASOIAF.

So, for the North, I would at least expect it to have the same diversity as the British North and Lowland Scotland depending on the region they are from e.g. I would imagine the Grey Hills (such as the Umbers and Karstarks) having a more Scots accent than people from the Barrowlands or Rills who I always imagined having a more Lancastrian lilt to their voices, and then down to the Neck, I imagine them having Yorkshire accents. Y'know, that sort of thing.

Beyond the Wall would probably have spoken with the various dialects of Highland Scotland. I also tend to see the Westerlands as the possible Welsh accents (or maybe West Midlands as some of their dialects can overlap near the border). And so on...

[Davjos]

I think everybody who started reading after the show began, like me, are pretty much influenced in pronunciation and accent by the show.  
However, Sansa clearly has a Californian, LA-Valley accent. Especially when she's complaining.

[zandru]

Like Ethelarion, I now tend to hear the accents of the characters in the show. Worse, I'm also inclined to see the actors now, even though the ages are invariably way off. On the other hand, I was most impressed by how perfectly the show's Sylvio Forel matched how I imagined him sounding.

I hope this hasn't "spoiled" the show for anyone. Plunging on into infamy, I think the choice of actors was really inspired.

[OtherFromAnotherMother]

I hear the voice of Roy Dotrice for each and every character when I listen or read.

[Angel Eyes]

Sheffield and Scottish accents for Ned, Jon, Robb, Northern lords not named Roose Bolton. 

RP for Westerlanders. 

RP for Catelyn and Sansa.

RP for House Tyrell

[Jaehaerys Tyrell]

I can’t say I really imagine the characters speaking in different accents, although I think Westerosi accents might roughly parallel British accents. I’d love for the Lannisters to have a West Midlands/Brummy accent just for the entertainment. 

[Rufus Snow]

I'm afraid I saw the show before getting the books, so I have picked up the accents and appearances from that, but try to take note in the books where the description doesn't match the actor and try to amend my mental image. I thought the Northern accents in the show were very good, all genuine northern voices. The only odd one out was Davos, who comes over as bit of a Geordie, unexpectedly! He does speak differently in my book-image....

 

Agreed that Sansa (at least in the earlier books) comes across as bit of a Valley Girl, and Roose a bit transylvanian.

 

Ramsay is a Mancunian to me, but I'm with Angel Eyes in that most southrons speak RP.

8 hours ago, Jaehaerys Tyrell said:

I’d love for the Lannisters to have a West Midlands/Brummy accent just for the entertainment. 

If any of my characters start speaking Brummy I'm going to burn the books, throw myself off the Wall and come back as a wight to haunt Jaehaerys for putting the idea in my head

[Angel Eyes]

2 hours ago, Rufus Snow said:

I'm afraid I saw the show before getting the books, so I have picked up the accents and appearances from that, but try to take note in the books where the description doesn't match the actor and try to amend my mental image. I thought the Northern accents in the show were very good, all genuine northern voices. The only odd one out was Davos, who comes over as bit of a Geordie, unexpectedly! He does speak differently in my book-image....

 

Agreed that Sansa (at least in the earlier books) comes across as bit of a Valley Girl, and Roose a bit transylvanian.

 

Ramsay is a Mancunian to me, but I'm with Angel Eyes in that most southrons speak RP.

If any of my characters start speaking Brummy I'm going to burn the books, throw myself off the Wall and come back as a wight to haunt Jaehaerys for putting the idea in my head

Maybe Irish for the Iron Islands and perhaps Cockney for those living in a place like Flea Bottom or Gin Alley?

[The Bard of Banefort]

The show accents faded pretty quickly for me. Because I'm from the US, the characters sound American to me, but with a very theatrical dialect, like an actor would use when performing in a stage play.

[Rufus Snow]

Well, I see the Ironborn as a Viking-surrogate, so tend to give them a Scandinavian bias in my 'mind's ear' (though it must be said that I find that Danes in particular speak English more correctly than most English people do ) but yeah, Flea Bottom makes a good parallel for the East End.

[Jaehaerys Tyrell]

8 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

Maybe Irish for the Iron Islands and perhaps Cockney for those living in a place like Flea Bottom or Gin Alley?

I definitely visualise Cockney for Kingslanders.