| dc.description.abstract | Players of the World of Warcraft computer game interact with a variety of non-playing characters, including dwarves. The dwarves speak with a superficially Scottish accent and embody certain character traits, such as rowdy behaviour and a love of alcohol, that are often held to be Scottish stereotypes.
Academic literature is reviewed and shows a variety of Scottish languages, dialects and accents, with distinct grammatical and performative traits. Other literature explores aspects of stylisation in terms of language (including Stage Scots), culture, behaviour and character, as well as the ethics of imputing characteristics to racial groups.
User comments that have been posted on an internet forum discussing the proposal “Dwarf voices and characterisation are racist” are analysed and reveal a broad variety of opinions. These comments discuss whether the Scottish accents sound genuine and whether the characterisation is reasonable.
A questionnaire asked for an assessment of the accents (male and female dwarves separately), for lists of words that were and were not successful imitations of Scots accents and for general reactions to the idea of giving the dwarves a Scottish characterisation. The 20 responses are analysed statistically and qualitatively.
The conclusion is that the dwarf accents contain superficial and inconsistent resemblances to Scots, which irritates many native speakers, but that most users surveyed are relatively unconcerned about the characterisation. | |