The Nordic accents in Skyrim

I noticed that there are at least 5 different voices for the Nords:

-A deep, gruff voice (Male)
-A form of Austrian(Male)
-One that sounds strangely like Han solo (Male)
-One that sounds [Scandinavian maybe?]
- A type of British accent

Though the one I am paying the most attention to is the Scandinavian type accent, Ralof's accent is the kind I'm talking about. Most female guards have it too.

Could someone explain the phonetic nature behind it for me, I'd like to take some notes on it. Thanks

Nazir has the best voice, Three dog for the win

Xiomn said:

Nazir has the best voice, Three dog for the win

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He's the same voice actor as Three Dog? I didn't even notice- I like Nazeem a teensy bit more now.

I'm not sure I know of Nazir.

Eva said:

He's the same voice actor as Three Dog? I didn't even notice- I like Nazeem a teensy bit more now.

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Redguards for the win!

I'm glad someone is as interested in language and phonetics as I am! I know it's a small gripe, but the repetition and lack of race specific accents has bothered me since I started playing. The Khajiit seem to be the only race that has a consistent accent unique to their kind, which I'm very much a fan of. The Nord culture in game is undeniably inspired by true Nordic (shall we say Viking?) culture, so I expected more evenly distributed variants of Scandinavian accents. The voices used in game wouldn't be so bad if they were grouped perhaps by region, kind of a demonstration of how their language has developed regionally. Sort of like the U.S.; most natives speak English, but different dialects in different regions make it somewhat easy to tell where someone is from.

I've noticed the strange combination of speaking voices for Nord characters as well. Using characters from Whiterun (that's where I've noticed the most repetition, and least variety) you can kind of pick out which accents suit the setting and which don't. Vilkas (also, Jon Battle-born I have noticed) has what I would consider a sort of generic Scandinavian accent, which suits his character fine. It bears resemblance to a Scandinavian person well versed in their native tongue, and English. While some say his is one of the more "annoying" accent in the game, it's by far one of my favorites. Farkas (also, Idolaf Battle-born) sounds more like a generic, Midwestern American English voice if you ask me, along with Aela (also, Adrienne Avenicci). Some of the guards have what sounds like an Austrian accent to me, or as I have come to call it "The Canadian Arnold Schwarzenegger" accent. Brynjolf in Riften who has the Scottish inflection is just completely out of left field. I haven't encountered another character in the game with that same accent.

The Illusive Man said:

I'm not sure I know of Nazir.

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Nazir is a member of the Dark Brotherhood; you can't and won't meet him outside that guild/questline.

A lot of the Nords have a mid west Wisconsin/Minnesota accent. I keep waiting for a "dont cha know".

Lydia has a slight southern twang in a few words.
I can't figure out why Villikas (smith at the skyforge) proclaims "Goths be praised" when you start to trade with him.
Belethor(?, general goods in Whiterun) sounds like a used car salesman from Jersey.

Overall the voice acting in the game is piss poor in comparison to games like GTA.

Yeah i really like Brynjolf's accent as well. Pretty annoying now though because all he says is that he's busy all the time. -__-

Mabe said:

A lot of the Nords have a mid west Wisconsin/Minnesota accent. I keep waiting for a "dont cha know".

Lydia has a slight southern twang in a few words.
I can't figure out why Villikas (smith at the skyforge) proclaims "Goths be praised" when you start to trade with him.
Belethor(?, general goods in Whiterun) sounds like a used car salesman from Jersey.

Overall the voice acting in the game is piss poor in comparison to games like GTA.

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I think you're talking about Eorlund? He's the smith that runs the Skyforge. He has what you might consider a variant of a Norfolk accent, best I can figure. His pronunciation of words ending in "D" like "Gods" in his phrase "Gods be Praised" can sound like he's pronouncing "T", making it sound like he may be saying "Gots" or "Goths"

I love Farkas's voice. I was pretty disappointed when I discovered others (like the smith in the Warmaidens) has the same as him. One shall not simply use such a badass voice multiple times.

I found this, you might find it interesting. I find the accents and speech patters fascination:

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Voice_Actors

Mabe said:

A lot of the Nords have a mid west Wisconsin/Minnesota accent. I keep waiting for a "dont cha know".

Lydia has a slight southern twang in a few words.
I can't figure out why Villikas (smith at the skyforge) proclaims "Goths be praised" when you start to trade with him.
Belethor(?, general goods in Whiterun) sounds like a used car salesman from Jersey.

Overall the voice acting in the game is piss poor in comparison to games like GTA.

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Lol, I live in Michigan and people say we talk like that.

I think they sound Scandinavian or sound like they are from Iceland or something.
My ex is from Sweden/Norway and I used to call him a Nord all the time.

Evina said:

I love Farkas's voice. I was pretty disappointed when I discovered others (like the smith in the Warmaidens) has the same as him. One shall not simply use such a badass voice multiple times.

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I loved Farkas' voice so much my characrer married him, now everytime she walks into the house he says, "hello love" and " good to see you love"

Mjoll's voice seems to be repeated quite a bit. Danica has the same voice, as do a few female guards.

Am I the only one who digs the male Argonian voices?

Chryss said:

I loved Farkas' voice so much my characrer married him, now everytime she walks into the house he says, "hello love" and " good to see you love"

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I knew Evina is going to marry Farkas the first time I saw him.
1. He looks badass
2. He sound badass
3. His name is in my language, and means 'wolf'.

I'm still expecting someone to say, in the best Arnie Terminator manner, "I'll be back".

it would be truly epic if someone piped up with a scouse accent, very unlikely though

GeneralTampon said:

Lol, I live in Michigan and people say we talk like that.

I think they sound Scandinavian or sound like they are from Iceland or something.
My ex is from Sweden/Norway and I used to call him a Nord all the time.

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To the best of my knowledge, there's a high concentration of Scandinavian immigrants in the north near Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. That's probably why.