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Worlds of Design: In the Shadow of Tolkien
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 9722163" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Yes.</p><p></p><p>At the very least, by <em>Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness</em>, both the singular Dwarf unit (the Demolition Squad) and the singular Dwarf hero (Kurdran) did so. Their voice lines clearly have an imperfect attempt at a Scottish accent.</p><p></p><p>WC2 was published in 1995.</p><p></p><p>I can't say for sure if Warcraft is the definitive origin or not (it might be WH40k or Warhammer Fantasy), but by the mid-90s it was at least semi-established. Given their naming conventions, one would've thought they'd get some kind of Scandinavian accent instead, but perhaps that was thought to be unfamiliar to American audiences.</p><p></p><p>Edit: And, as has been pointed out by other sources, a lot of American audiences have trouble distinguishing certain entirely <em>English</em> accents, such as a "Northern" or "Yorkshire" accent, from a proper Scottish one. (In fairness, such fine distinctions can be lost for any outsider; many Americans can clearly distinguish a Texan accent from, say, a Georgian one, but to someone from Australia, they all sound generically "Southern".) The 1977 Rankin-Bass animated Hobbit had vaguely non-upper-crust British accents for its dwarves, and Warhammer was using Yorkshire accents for its dwarves in 1996.</p><p></p><p>More or less, "Dwarf" was "a presumptively lower-economic-class accent from England that isn't Cockney", while "Elf" was "a presumptively higher-economic-class accent from England (possibly Received Pronunciation)." That just memetically mutated into "Dwarves are Scottish Engineers, Elves are Londoner Socialites." <em>TH&TL</em> may have provided the seed crystal, but it took time to form. I wouldn't be surprised if Trek's Scotty played a role in this too, as that plus things like James Watt linked engineering with Scotland in the public consciousness.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 9722163, member: 6790260"] Yes. At the very least, by [I]Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness[/I], both the singular Dwarf unit (the Demolition Squad) and the singular Dwarf hero (Kurdran) did so. Their voice lines clearly have an imperfect attempt at a Scottish accent. WC2 was published in 1995. I can't say for sure if Warcraft is the definitive origin or not (it might be WH40k or Warhammer Fantasy), but by the mid-90s it was at least semi-established. Given their naming conventions, one would've thought they'd get some kind of Scandinavian accent instead, but perhaps that was thought to be unfamiliar to American audiences. Edit: And, as has been pointed out by other sources, a lot of American audiences have trouble distinguishing certain entirely [I]English[/I] accents, such as a "Northern" or "Yorkshire" accent, from a proper Scottish one. (In fairness, such fine distinctions can be lost for any outsider; many Americans can clearly distinguish a Texan accent from, say, a Georgian one, but to someone from Australia, they all sound generically "Southern".) The 1977 Rankin-Bass animated Hobbit had vaguely non-upper-crust British accents for its dwarves, and Warhammer was using Yorkshire accents for its dwarves in 1996. More or less, "Dwarf" was "a presumptively lower-economic-class accent from England that isn't Cockney", while "Elf" was "a presumptively higher-economic-class accent from England (possibly Received Pronunciation)." That just memetically mutated into "Dwarves are Scottish Engineers, Elves are Londoner Socialites." [I]TH&TL[/I] may have provided the seed crystal, but it took time to form. I wouldn't be surprised if Trek's Scotty played a role in this too, as that plus things like James Watt linked engineering with Scotland in the public consciousness. [/QUOTE]
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