# How to talk like a dwarf.



## Joker (Oct 10, 2007)

I've made a dwarven fighter and am going to start playing him on Friday.

I'm trying to get the accent down but besides a few phrases from Warcraft and OotS I don't really know how to make "normal" sentences sound dwarvish.  With that I mean, I don't know how things sound that I haven't heard before in...dwarvish.

I don't exactly know how to go about asking this, so I figured if people wrote down phrases phonetically (sp), I could practice them and learn how same sounding words are spoken.

So, if you could, please share your knowledge of drunk and drunkest dwarvish.


----------



## Nifft (Oct 10, 2007)

Two drink minimum?

Cheers! -- N


----------



## Stormborn (Oct 10, 2007)

Try Scottish phrases websites like:

http://www.linguanaut.com/english_scots
http://pros.orange.fr/euroleader/wedderburn/glossary.htm

Just remember, if its not dwarvish its CRAP!


----------



## Doug McCrae (Oct 10, 2007)

Try to use the words 'och', 'dinnae', 'ken' and 'muckle' as often as possible. Ideally say nothing else. It's okay, dwarves are taciturn. If pressed then try one of the following:

Dinnae fash yersel'
It's a braw bricht moonlicht nicht, the nicht
Hoots mon, there's a moose loose aboot this hoose. WARNING! This one can raise Scottishness to dangerous levels.

For more information, watch this and this.


----------



## Presto2112 (Oct 10, 2007)

check this out...

http://www.enworld.org/archive/index.php/t-176515.html


----------



## Desdichado (Oct 10, 2007)

Why are dwarves Scottish, anyway?  Whoever in the world decided that that was some kind of standard?  Makes more sense to me that they'd be Scandinavian, if we needed to assign a real world accent to them.

For a change of pace, I did a dwarf with a Russian accent named Henrik Genkriladze.


----------



## Presto2112 (Oct 10, 2007)

Hobo said:
			
		

> Why are dwarves Scottish, anyway?  Whoever in the world decided that that was some kind of standard?  Makes more sense to me that they'd be Scandinavian, if we needed to assign a real world accent to them.
> 
> For a change of pace, I did a dwarf with a Russian accent named Henrik Genkriladze.




Dwarves just always seemed scottish to me.  Gnomes were French, halflings spoke with a Cockney dialect, and Elves spoke the Queen's English.  And for some reason, drow were German.


----------



## Mark (Oct 10, 2007)

Joker said:
			
		

> How to talk like a dwarf.





Use a _deep_ voice.


----------



## Greg K (Oct 10, 2007)

It depends on the setting. In my homebrew, one of the dwarven clans speak with a  Louisiana Bayou Creole accent.


----------



## Syntallah (Oct 10, 2007)

Check out Dragon Mag, Issue 278.  It has an article on the dwarven language, and another on how to make dwarven battle cries.


----------



## edemaitre (Oct 10, 2007)

*Languages*

In addition to the human cultures in my campaign, the standard races also have accents and names resembling those of real-world and other fictional peoples:

Dwarves:
Hill -- Scottish or Scandinavian
Mountain -- Slavic or Klingon

Elves:
-High -- Tolkienesque, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, some Latin and Vulcan
-Sylvan, Wood, Wild -- Celtic, Native American

Gnomes: 
-Rock -- Scandinavian
-Forest -- Germanic, Central European

Halflings:
-Tallfellow -- French
-Hobbit -- more modern British
-Proudfoot (feet) -- Germanic

Orcs, Ogres, Trolls: Tolkienesque, combined with epithets, e.g., "Trog Skullsplitter"

Goblinoids: Like Gnomes crossed w/ Orcs, some Middle Eastern, Ferengi influence (Hobgoblins have Roman influence)

Drow: Latinate, Japanese, Romulan

Dragons, other Lizard folk: Greek, Chinese, Central American


----------



## Desdichado (Oct 10, 2007)

What is a "Tolkienesque" accent?  And how does one have a Romulan or Ferengi accent?


----------



## Whizbang Dustyboots (Oct 10, 2007)

Greg K said:
			
		

> It depends on the setting. In my homebrew, one of the dwarven clans speak with a  Louisiana Bayou Creole accent.



Banjo-playing, booze-distilling, overall-wearing, hound dog-raising mountain men, IMC.


----------



## AnonymousOne (Oct 10, 2007)

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
			
		

> Banjo-playing, *booze-distilling*, overall-wearing, hound dog-raising mountain men, IMC.




In this vein...

I'm fairly certain that dwarves can make liquor out of just about anything.


----------



## blargney the second (Oct 10, 2007)

Step 1: Get really really drunk.
Step 2: Talk.


----------



## Olgar Shiverstone (Oct 10, 2007)

I once enjoyed playing an NPC who was a dwarven version of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, complete with bad Australian accent.  Crikey!  (OK, so he was actually a duergar, 'cause the Underdark is the Land Down Under, but close enough).


----------



## Nifft (Oct 10, 2007)

Olgar Shiverstone said:
			
		

> the Underdark is the Land Down Under



 That's awesome.

Thanks, -- N


----------



## Prince of Happiness (Oct 10, 2007)

I don't get the Scottish thing at all. Doesn't make any f***ing sense to me whatsoever. Not only Scottish but _cheesy_ as hell too.

One player who played an excellent dwarf used a *lot* of bass when speaking, like this dude was born from a stone womb. Very awesome.


----------



## Clavis (Oct 10, 2007)

I always thought Dwarves should sound something like Arnold Schwarzenegger in his early, bodybuilding days, when he could barely speak English. Dwarves are from Germanic mythology, after all.

I never understood the Scottish associations some people have with Dwarves either. Maybe the engineering connection?


----------



## Man in the Funny Hat (Oct 10, 2007)

Lower your voice - about 4' high will do.


----------



## Nifft (Oct 10, 2007)

Clavis said:
			
		

> I never understood the Scottish associations some people have with Dwarves



 Red beards, like to fight, love to drink? Tougher than dragon leather?

Likes gold? 

Cheers, -- N


----------



## HeavenShallBurn (Oct 11, 2007)

For some reason Dwarves always end up tinged with mixed Russian/Slavic/Scandinavian overtones when I run them.


----------



## Clavis (Oct 11, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> Red beards, like to fight, love to drink? Tougher than dragon leather?
> 
> Likes gold?
> 
> Cheers, -- N




Yeah, I guess I can see the Dwarves = Scotsmen connection.

I still hear them like AH-nold in my head though!


----------



## Doug McCrae (Oct 11, 2007)

Clavis said:
			
		

> I never understood the Scottish associations some people have with Dwarves either. Maybe the engineering connection?



Short hairy dour avaricious aggressive alcoholics from a mountainous land.


----------



## Griffith Dragonlake (Oct 11, 2007)

In the LoTR movie, Gimli is played by a Welshman, John Rhys-Davies whose Shakespearian trained voice booms through almost every role he's played (Sliders, Indiana Jones, Shogun, etc.).

Personally, I've always thought Dwarves spoke with a Yiddish accent.


----------



## STARP_Social_Officer (Oct 11, 2007)

Why are dwarves Scottish? I don't think anybody knows. I think _Warcraft_ might have started that, but now it seems everybody does it. I don't do it all the time, but some dwarves are definitely Scottish. I played a Scottish dwarf in Shadowrun once. Good times. 
Mostly, when I voice dwarves, I tend to put on a gravelley voice. This means I can't voice them for long before getting terrible epiglottis strain. But that's OK. Most dwarves are monosyllabic.


----------



## Dragonhelm (Oct 11, 2007)

Sometimes, ye be talking like this, lad.  Be talkin' like a Scotsman or a pirate.  Talk about hard work, stones, gems, and craftsmanship.  Then feel free to learn How To Swear Like A Dwarf!

If ye be not gettin' this through yer thick noggin, ye be a stinking, elf-kissing stench kow!


----------



## Aeric (Oct 11, 2007)

My first impression of dwarves being Scottish came from Warhammer.  The ever-present troll slayer in that game is usually depicted with bright orange hair, a crazy beard, stripey Celtic pants, and similarly-Celtic tattoos on his face, chest, and arms.  While I realize that Celtic does not necessarily equal Scottish, that was the only connection my brain could make.  Apparently a lot of other people made that connection too.

Without the crazy Scotsman stereotype, I think dwarves would be mighty boring.  They would be serious and dour all the time, no fun at all.  I would play the standard dwarven NPCs like that, but the dwarven adventurer would have to be a little crazy to depart from the rigid and lawful dwarf society.  After spending the past 100+ years being very proper and straight-laced, I'd cut loose like nobody's business too!


----------



## Raylis (Oct 11, 2007)

blargney the second said:
			
		

> Step 1: Get really really drunk.
> Step 2: Talk.




that's awesome.

and so true


----------



## DrunkonDuty (Oct 11, 2007)

Doug McCrae: I loved Taysiders In Space. Reminds of this pub I used to work in. Had a few Glaswegian regulars and when they'd get together and start chatting no-one could understand a word they were saying. And they'd all of them been living in London for 30 years +. That accent never goes. Actually one of said regulars was a Dougie McCrae.

Back on topic: I'm running a campaign where the Dwarves all speak with a Scandanavian accent. Although for most part it only comes out in the names. WHo can speak in an accent all night long? And I give Anglo-Saxon names to the Duergar. I like using a particular language for names, it's the easiest way to establish accents without having to use them through an entire session.


----------



## Plane Sailing (Oct 11, 2007)

I've always like dwarves with a Klingon "accent".

Talk using Klingon attitude and a few choice Klingon words and you're set.


----------



## blargney the second (Oct 11, 2007)

Sprechen zie headbutt?


----------



## Michael Silverbane (Oct 11, 2007)

Whenever you feel the urge to say something, punch an elf in the junk, instead.

Later
silver


----------



## edemaitre (Oct 11, 2007)

*Talking like a Dwarf*

What I meant by "Tolkienesque" is that the names and cultures of certain races in my D&D3.5 homebrew campaign setting resemble those used in the Middle Earth books. As for talking like a "Star Trek" Ferengi, imagine a 3-foot-tall Goblin with snaggle teeth, large ears, and a bad attitude mixing obsequiousness and barely concealed hatred.

I tend to tie each demihuman type to the folklore they came from, hence Elves=Celtic, Dwarves=Norse, and Gnomes=Central European, but I also have human nations similar to each of those, so I've tweaked them a bit. Thus, my Viking-style humans get along well with their Slavic Dwarven neighbors. Similarly, the Anglo-Saxon-style humans have some affinity for their Celtic Elven neighbors...

As for writing Dwarven sentences, I'd make them direct, harsh, and strong. While an Elf might say, "Greetings, friends. It is pleasant indeed to find you under our fair glade," a Dwarf would grumble, "Hail, stranger. What business do you have in Rockburg?"


----------



## dmccoy1693 (Oct 11, 2007)

Scottish has a more English-friendly appearance then German.  When Vern's Journey to the Center of the Earth was made in the (bad) movie with the duck named Gertrude, the country of origin of the main characters was changed from German to Scotland and the Professor Lidenbrock was renamed Lindenbrook.  There are other examples of similar scottishafaction of german persons.


----------



## Desdichado (Oct 11, 2007)

Nifft said:
			
		

> Red beards, like to fight, love to drink? Tougher than dragon leather?
> 
> Likes gold?
> 
> Cheers, -- N



Still sounds more Viking to me.

Unless dwarves wear plaid kilts too.


----------



## Clavis (Oct 11, 2007)

Griffith Dragonlake said:
			
		

> Personally, I've always thought Dwarves spoke with a Yiddish accent.




That's Gnomes for me


----------



## Desdichado (Oct 11, 2007)

edemaitre said:
			
		

> I tend to tie each demihuman type to the folklore they came from, hence Elves=Celtic, Dwarves=Norse, and Gnomes=Central European, but I also have human nations similar to each of those, so I've tweaked them a bit. Thus, my Viking-style humans get along well with their Slavic Dwarven neighbors. Similarly, the Anglo-Saxon-style humans have some affinity for their Celtic Elven neighbors...



Well, no offense, but elves and dwarves are Germanic, not Celtic or specifically Norse.  The word gnome is originally a Latin word, but it's germanic too.

And I mean Germanic in the broader sense.  Not German.  The Anglo-Saxons were Germanic too.


----------



## pbd (Oct 11, 2007)

I'm currently playing a Dwarven Warblade named Zeke (short for Ezekiel Ragnar).  His accent (depending on how much I'm doing it at the time) would best be described as gravely southerner.

He generally introduces himself with a bassy, "Some's what calls me Zeke"

I just thought it would be fun.


----------



## Desdichado (Oct 11, 2007)

I think this thread has made me decide that the next time I DM someone who plays their dwarf to talk like Mike Myers doing a Scottish accent, they're gonna be looking at an XP penalty or something.  Or maybe just all the monsters will attack them all the time ignoring everyone else.


----------



## TerraDave (Oct 11, 2007)

I have also wondered where the scottish thing came from...it wasn't always like that... 

But then again, Brigadoon was also taken from a German story....so there does seem to be a pattern.


----------



## dmccoy1693 (Oct 11, 2007)

Hobo said:
			
		

> Or maybe just all the monsters will attack them all the time ignoring everyone else.



Are you sure that's a good idea?  I hear some monsters actively avoid dwarves for their health.


----------

