I might not be very clued up on American history, but the american accent as we know it wouldn't have been a thing in 1777? Would it? I mean surely since most of these dudes would have had British accents? I thought ubisoft liked to be historically accurate when they could be?

Stop being so crazy.

The convenient piece of fluff is that the Animus auto-translates to something the user can understand, right?

Sorry, I'll climb down from my radical perch, I'm just sure Thomas Jefferson wouldn't have said 'dude.'

He's using an american accent?!?!? That's it, I'm not pre-ordering this game.

@Ubersmake said:

The convenient piece of fluff is that the Animus auto-translates to something the user can understand, right?

So what you're saying is that George Washington's Cockney accent is so thick that the Animus reads it as an entirely different language?

Ezio also spoke English. Just saying.

@Ubersmake said:

The convenient piece of fluff is that the Animus auto-translates to something the user can understand, right?

HA! A mate pointed the voice thing out to me to, I didn't notice it at first.

@Ninja: I'm glad I'm not the only one who was miffed by this. The AC series has been pretty good with accents, I think, and this obviously American one was offputing.

@Video_Game_King: I want George Washington to say "alright guvnor" to the assassin when he meets him, that's all.

@nohthink said:

Ezio also spoke English. Just saying.

He had a Italian accent though. I'm not speaking about language, I'm talkin' 'bout accent bro.

Northeastern American accent (stereotypical WASPy country club accent) is actually closer to 18th century British than modern RP British is.

More you know.

@nohthink: That made sense, he spoke Italian (you can select it in the options) but the animus translates it, this doesn't make as much sense. That said, if Ubisoft had him speaking with an English ascent they'd just confuse the audiences especially considering how he is seen as an American hero.

Also, it's a video game! :)

@Brodehouse said:

Northeastern American accent (stereotypical WASPy country club accent) is actually closer to 18th century British than modern RP British is. More you know.

I want a source for this lunacy god dammit!

@Ninja said:

@Video_Game_King: I want George Washington to say "alright guvnor" to the assassin when he meets him, that's all.

@nohthink said:

Ezio also spoke English. Just saying.

He had a Italian accent though. I'm not speaking about language, I'm talkin' 'bout accent bro.

So Ezio speaking English with Italian accent doesn't bother you but George Washington speaking English in American accent does?

lol I don't know man. It never bothered me. I'm okay with George Washington with American accents.

@Brodehouse:

What about a Northeastern American accent a la JFK? How close would that be?

http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents

VIDEO GAMES, that's why.

@Winternet said:

VIDEO GAMES, that's why.

END OF DISCUSSION :D

I don't have a problem with Ubisoft taking a bit of artistic license. Once you go down the accent rabbit hole you ended up complaining about every historical epic that Hollywood ever produced.

Everyone knows Lincoln had a thick Brooklyn accent, so this only makes sense.

Proof;

Because VIDEO GAMES. That's like saying "how can Desmond go back in history IN HIS MIND and relive moments from his ancestors life".

Why did Altair have a contemporary American accent in AC1?

how do you know what british sounded like in the 18th century?  maybe british sounded american 600 years ago and the british accent evolved into what it is in modern times and the american accent is the true british accent!!!!

Dude was just ahead of his time.

Also because the animus.

@Ninja: Well he wouldn't necessarily have a british accent seeing as he was born in Virginia. Depends what kind of accents he was surrounded by. His accent is something that we can only guess on. Ubisoft most likely decided "fuck it. lets make him american sounding"

Dude was just ahead of his time.

@peEtr said:

http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents

wow MINDFUCK, also PEOPLE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING!

@Marz said:

how do you know what british sounded like in the 18th century? maybe british sounded american 600 years ago and the british accent evolved into what it is in modern times and the american accent is the true british accent!!!!

So maybe America is actually Britain, and Britain is actually America... crazy thought! :D

On a picky side note, there's no such thing as a British ascent nor is there one American ascent. There's so many variations of ascents in both countries it's sort of crazy. Hell, dudes on the internet think I'm dutch when I speak and I'm only from the Midlands :)

We have no way of knowing what he actually sounded like. Washington was also born in the American colonies. Washington's great-grandfather was born in England but from then on they were born in the colonies.

@Marz said:

how do you know what british sounded like in the 18th century? maybe british sounded american 600 years ago and the british accent evolved into what it is in modern times and the american accent is the true british accent!!!!

Actually, you aren't very far off.

American accents were used back then because it was the british accent that changed as time went on.

I do recall reading an article about how the British didn't develop the non rhotic accent (don't pronounce the R) until after the advent of America. Maybe they were a lot more similar back then.

I don't know what George Washington sounded like, I don't think anyone alive can know what George Washington sounded like, for all we know he sounded like Popeye. Supposedly he would have sounded fairly American but it really doesn't matter.

Frink: "Yes, over here, [...] in Episode BF12, you were battling barbarians while riding a winged Appaloosa, yet in the very next scene, my dear, you're clearly atop a winged Arabian! Please do explain it!

Lucy Lawless: Uh, yeah, well, whenever you notice something like that... a wizard did it.

Frink: Yes, alright, yes, in episode AG04-"

Lucy Lawless: Wizard!—The Simpsons, "Treehouse of Horror X"

Once again the Simpsons has a very appropriate explanation OP it was a Wizard.

Ubisoft felt that the past Assassins Creed games were too historically accurate and so to attract more consumers they gave George Washington (also know as G Dawg* internally) a more modern accent.

*I don't want to spoil anything but keep on the look out for a CRAZY plot twist.

@Brodehouse said:

Northeastern American accent (stereotypical WASPy country club accent) is actually closer to 18th century British than modern RP British is. More you know.

Word, this is exactly it. The way people speak in England today is not the way people spoke in England in the 18th century, even less how colonials spoke. Same thing happened in France when Parisians wanted to distinguish themselves from the people who left for the new world.

History son! Also, video games son!

@Ninja: Could also just be the trailer, the voice actor in the game isn't always the same as in the trailers.

@nail1080 said:

@peEtr said:

http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents

wow MINDFUCK, also PEOPLE READ THIS BEFORE POSTING!

thats asking alot of us. I'd rather not read anything thanks.

@Marz said:

how do you know what british sounded like in the 18th century? maybe british sounded american 600 years ago and the british accent evolved into what it is in modern times and the american accent is the true british accent!!!!

That is actually true.

@Marz: Because people have described accents through books and journals?

Man I learned a cool thing today. Thanks guys!

@Brodehouse:

What about a Northeastern American accent a la JFK? How close would that be?

@peEtr said:

http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents

Yep, that's pretty much it. American accents a closer to the British accents of the 1700s than most modern day British accents are. It's strange how few people know this.

@mustachioeugene said:

Everyone knows Lincoln had a thick Brooklyn accent, so this only makes sense.

Proof;

So what you're saying is Abraham Lincoln is secretly a sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea.

@Kyle said:

@peEtr said:

http://www.nicholasjohnpatrick.com/post/767354896/did-americans-in-1776-have-british-accents

Yep, that's pretty much it. American accents a closer to the British accents of the 1700s than most modern day British accents are. It's strange how few people know this.

Us americans are stubborn folk when it comes to change.

Heck, we still use the imperial system over the metric system.

@Kyle: This is a theory, one that isn't shared by anyway near a majority. Please don't state this as fact. It is way more likely that Americans kept some features of the accent whilest the British kept many more. This whole thing is just another "Wow this is super interesting" and yeah and it is but it's stretching the truth at best, lets not ignore the facts because it's a more impressive story.

@Jaytow said:

@Kyle: This is a theory, one that isn't shared by anyway near a majority. Please don't state this as fact.

Nope, they're into the quoting phase, now. The next ten pages will be people quoting that link and telling the three or so posts on the first page to shut up.

@Ninja: because dumb Americans buy these games -_- you're right though.