I recently read an interesting article about fantasy writing
on the BBC magazine site.
The article, titled ‘Why are fantasy world accents British?’ looks primarily at TV
shows and film, and explores the peculiar phenomenon of why most fantasy characters
speak with Brittish accents, but its arguments and logic can equally as well be
applied to the written word.
The article gives examples of the ‘Game of Thrones’ TV
series, taken from the books of the American author George RR Martin, and the
blockbusting ‘Lord of the Rings’ and upcoming ‘Hobbit’ films in support of its
argument.
I think it does make a compelling case for appropriate regional
accents, and it goes someway towards explaining why America audiences in particular,
and the world in general, seem to like British-English voices in their fantasy
fiction.
I read this article not long after receiving the news that
one of my own short-stories written in my native Scottish vernacular (that I posted about before) is likely
to be published in an upcoming anthology of ‘Scottish Voice’ stories. On
reading the article I was reminded of the overwhelmingly positive response a
draft version my own story got from American readers when I posted it to a critique
site...
