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Kalliope wrote:

Wain wrote:But after being subjected to Pandaren that sound like hillbillies, everything else sounds good in comparison

THANK YOU. That's been bugging the crap out of me because it's inappropriate. It should be the eastern equivalent.
Don't get me wrong, I like Fish and some of the other characters who fall under that flag, but I can't wrap my brain around how weird the combination sounds.

This is exactly how I feel. I found Mudmug and the other "yokel" type farmers to be very endearing, but... I found the accent to be incredibly grating in a world where just about every other inhabitant speaks with an Asian-style accent. It felt like whoever was directing the voice acting at that point just couldn't see beyond the North American stereotype when coming up with a voice.

Wain wrote:

Kalliope wrote:

Wain wrote:But after being subjected to Pandaren that sound like hillbillies, everything else sounds good in comparison

THANK YOU. That's been bugging the crap out of me because it's inappropriate. It should be the eastern equivalent.
Don't get me wrong, I like Fish and some of the other characters who fall under that flag, but I can't wrap my brain around how weird the combination sounds.

This is exactly how I feel. I found Mudmug and the other "yokel" type farmers to be very endearing, but... I found the accent to be incredibly grating in a world where just about every other inhabitant speaks with an Asian-style accent. It felt like whoever was directing the voice acting at that point just couldn't see beyond the North American stereotype when coming up with a voice.

Yes, exactly! It's like development went as far as "okay, these guys are from a rural area and speak differently than the other pandaren; how do we convey that quickly and unmistakably?" without stopping to think that "hey, maybe this ruins the ambiance we've been establishing in every other aspect of the expansion."

Maybe there wasn't an easy way to make the distinction grammatically without offending someone; I don't know. This final "solution" is just terribly jarring.

Wain wrote:

Kalliope wrote:

Wain wrote:But after being subjected to Pandaren that sound like hillbillies, everything else sounds good in comparison

THANK YOU. That's been bugging the crap out of me because it's inappropriate. It should be the eastern equivalent.
Don't get me wrong, I like Fish and some of the other characters who fall under that flag, but I can't wrap my brain around how weird the combination sounds.

This is exactly how I feel. I found Mudmug and the other "yokel" type farmers to be very endearing, but... I found the accent to be incredibly grating in a world where just about every other inhabitant speaks with an Asian-style accent. It felt like whoever was directing the voice acting at that point just couldn't see beyond the North American stereotype when coming up with a voice.

Or they did not know other countries had their own version of the "yokel".

cowmuflage wrote:Or they did not know other countries had their own version of the "yokel".

Yeah, choice, eh bro?

I admit I like Mudmug, but that's because I'm a bit redneck (despite my best efforts) and like the Larry the Cable Guy reference. >.>

Wain wrote:

cowmuflage wrote:Or they did not know other countries had their own version of the "yokel".

Yeah, choice, eh bro?

Yah sweet as bro!

I imagine it would've been harder to show the eastern 'yokel' because americans aren't familiar with it. The redneckish thing is something most everyone is familiar with. Mudmug was rather endearing to me and it didn't really grate on me. I've actually run into a guy that was asian and talked very similar to him, much to my surprise.

Junrei wrote:I imagine it would've been harder to show the eastern 'yokel' because americans aren't familiar with it.

And that is exactly why it's even more offensive. This would have been a great opportunity to teach Americans about other cultures while remaining authentic to the expansion's theme in the process.

Kalliope wrote:

Junrei wrote:I imagine it would've been harder to show the eastern 'yokel' because americans aren't familiar with it.

And that is exactly why it's even more offensive. This would have been a great opportunity to teach Americans about other cultures while remaining authentic to the expansion's theme in the process.

There is always something to learn about other cultures and that would of been a good time to teach people about it and not fall on the easy route.

Coming from the point of view of a non yank it's quite sad and annoying when ever I see something set in another country (or based in something that is like one) and they all have american accents or use american terms. XD

I'm not sure how it would teach anything if they don't know it or recognize the reference. It's like pointing out a He-Man reference(aka the green cats) to someone whos never seen/heard of He-Man before. They wouldn't get it. They'd likely just shrug it off.

Junrei wrote:I'm not sure how it would teach anything if they don't know it or recognize the reference. It's like pointing out a He-Man reference(aka the green cats) to someone whos never seen/heard of He-Man before. They wouldn't get it. They'd likely just shrug it off.

Not everyone shrugs such tidbits off. Some people would hit up Google or Wikipedia and start learning about the reference they didn't get.

That would be a very small handful. Majority would likely shrug it off or not even notice. I'm just sayin it's likely why Blizz went with something that would get more lulz than a shrug off.

Junrei wrote:That would be a very small handful. Majority would likely shrug it off or not even notice. I'm just sayin it's likely why Blizz went with something that would get more lulz than a shrug off.

More people in america you mean. Jack all people here find that stuff funny XD it's more "ugh this again'

Humour can be hard to cross countries. A lot of people don't get that but it's true.

cowmuflage wrote:

Junrei wrote:That would be a very small handful. Majority would likely shrug it off or not even notice. I'm just sayin it's likely why Blizz went with something that would get more lulz than a shrug off.

More people in america you mean. Jack all people here find that stuff funny XD it's more "ugh this again'

Humour can be hard to cross countries. A lot of people don't get that but it's true.

Yeah mostly. XD It's hard to please everyone.

I can see why people would be put off by that accent in this setting, but I really like it and don't mind it at all. It's not like the Pandaren are a realistic representation of any real Asian culture and there are plenty of references to Western culture so I think it works quite well.

And to be fair, I don't really see how they could've conveyed an authentic "yokel-style" Asian accent in English. Local accents just don't translate into other languages. For example, if you tried to use a yokel accent in German you'd just end up with an American accent (sorry, but it's true ). Likewise, when Germans speak English you usually can't really tell the difference between a Bavarian or Saxon accent. It's also not really possible to find an exact equivalent of an accent in another language. Bavaria is in the south of Germany and we have the biggest agricultural sector of all German states, but that doesn't mean Bavarian is a perfect cultural equivalent of a yokel accent.

My point is, yes, Blizz could've given those Pandaren a different "Asian-style" accent to show that their culture is different from other Pandaren. But there is no way that this accent could've been a fair representation of any kind of real Chinese farmers' accent. Accents just don't work that way.

Very good point, that.

Mindsprocket wrote:I can see why people would be put off by that accent in this setting, but I really like it and don't mind it at all. It's not like the Pandaren are a realistic representation of any real Asian culture and there are plenty of references to Western culture so I think it works quite well.

And to be fair, I don't really see how they could've conveyed an authentic "yokel-style" Asian accent in English. Local accents just don't translate into other languages. For example, if you tried to use a yokel accent in German you'd just end up with an American accent (sorry, but it's true ). Likewise, when Germans speak English you usually can't really tell the difference between a Bavarian or Saxon accent. It's also not really possible to find an exact equivalent of an accent in another language. Bavaria is in the south of Germany and we have the biggest agricultural sector of all German states, but that doesn't mean Bavarian is a perfect cultural equivalent of a yokel accent.

My point is, yes, Blizz could've given those Pandaren a different "Asian-style" accent to show that their culture is different from other Pandaren. But there is no way that this accent could've been a fair representation of any kind of real Chinese farmers' accent. Accents just don't work that way.

They could of at least tried. I mean it could not be as bad as the fake english worgen ones I mean those went from "oh god this is so bad" to "So bad it's shameful" to "so bad it's funny" XD

Mindsprocket wrote:I can see why people would be put off by that accent in this setting, but I really like it and don't mind it at all. It's not like the Pandaren are a realistic representation of any real Asian culture and there are plenty of references to Western culture so I think it works quite well.

And to be fair, I don't really see how they could've conveyed an authentic "yokel-style" Asian accent in English. Local accents just don't translate into other languages. For example, if you tried to use a yokel accent in German you'd just end up with an American accent (sorry, but it's true ). Likewise, when Germans speak English you usually can't really tell the difference between a Bavarian or Saxon accent. It's also not really possible to find an exact equivalent of an accent in another language. Bavaria is in the south of Germany and we have the biggest agricultural sector of all German states, but that doesn't mean Bavarian is a perfect cultural equivalent of a yokel accent.

My point is, yes, Blizz could've given those Pandaren a different "Asian-style" accent to show that their culture is different from other Pandaren. But there is no way that this accent could've been a fair representation of any kind of real Chinese farmers' accent. Accents just don't work that way.

Very well said (and learned somethin new!). I also agree completely.

Mindsprocket wrote:And to be fair, I don't really see how they could've conveyed an authentic "yokel-style" Asian accent in English. Local accents just don't translate into other languages.

*nod* This is probably why the attempt wasn't even made, but I'm with Cowmu; trying would have been better than not.

Kalliope wrote:

Mindsprocket wrote:And to be fair, I don't really see how they could've conveyed an authentic "yokel-style" Asian accent in English. Local accents just don't translate into other languages.

*nod* This is probably why the attempt wasn't even made, but I'm with Cowmu; trying would have been better than not.

Well, for all we know they did try, just not publicly. They may have done some testing and found it didn't work. After the complaints about the Worgen's faux English accents they may not want to go down that route again.