Space Marine Speech

[Kilofix]

I wanted to ask about something but hopefully it doesn’t come across as racist in some way. Anyway, here goes:

 

What do you think Space Marine speech sounds like to you personally?

 

What I mean is, not so much the fluff - as I assume they’d sound different depending on Chapter and homeworld.

 

But I was more wondering - what do they sound to you when you think of it in your mind?

 

Just curious because as I listen to some of the audio dramas - sometimes the Marines have a very English accent. Which would make sense for a bunch of Chapters I suppose like say Death Guard from Albia.

 

But in my head I always think of Marines with super deep baritone monotone voices like from the old Space Hulk video game.

 

Anyway, not that it’s a problem either way, just curious as to others’ interpretation.

 

Also, do you ever think of them speaking - not English? Which I realize is kinda a dumb question also because it’s really Gothic, etc.

[DeadFingers]

Like so.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2WEFlQva30

[Klod]

Depends on the character really. When it is the main character speaking or thinking, and the author doesnt specify his demeanor, I just kinda imagine it as a neutral calm speech. Loken, Garro, Khârn, doesnt matter who, the main character has this default speech for me.

 

When it comes to other characters though, it really depends on how they are portraid. Lucius, Eidolon, Grulgor etc. I imagine these guys with kinda of a haughty snob sort of voice.

 

Someone like Tarik Torgaddon I imagine with sort of a cocky but friendly voice. With a charming smug on his face.

 

Guys like Abaddon I imagine with a deep voice. Something like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvQzQYbq_jc

[Ishagu]

I imagine a deep, sophisticated, British voice.

 

In the games and audio books they've done a pretty good voice.

 

The Kratos voice is good too.

[Master Commander Ajax]

I guess it would depend entirely on where they’re from, just like in real life.

[Exilyth]

Space Marines should sound like - slighly larger, genetically enhanced humans. This would most likely lead to a slightly louder & deeper voice.

 

In the fluff, it is mentioned that space marines use high/low gothic when interacting with other imperial subfactions (and, in rare cases, the local language), but use a different language during battle.

 

Whether or which accent a space marine posseses would be dictated by the culture of the chapter (resp. the chapters homeworld) and/or the world the marine lived on before becoming a marine.

[Vermintide]

I always picture Marines having some variation of noble, knightly British accent. It would range between very upper class RP on one end of the scale, and something approaching Gerard Butler's vaguely Scottish accent in 300 at the other.

Then again, it's hard to picture anyone in the 40k universe having a non-British accent. Maybe Catachans are Aussie? Maybe there are hive-world gangers out there with thick oily Brooklyn type accents? There are almost certainly some Guard officers who sound like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, come to think of it.

I bestow the honour of a Yorkshire accent upon Space Wolves.

[SkimaskMohawk]

The first two dawn of war games can give a pretty good representation, though I'd rate the second one in terms of voice acting.

[Machine God]

Orks have Cockney accents

[Brother Tyler]

I find it very easy to imagine in-universe characters with a variety of accents. The game is set thousands of years in the future, with humanity spread across vast reaches of space. It's normal for language to grow and change over time and it's highly unlikely that language spoken in M41 will resemble language spoken in M2. Consider how much language has changed in the short span of recorded human history, now increase that by an order of magnitude.

 

I don't allow the limitations of sound marketing (the languages/dialects that the voice actors use and which will be understood by a modern audience) to limit my thinking of what "reality" is like.

[Aothaine]

I always imagined them as quiet and controlled voices around each other and loud deep voices in public areas like warzones.

[Boldthreat]

This IS how they sound. Anything else is wrong:

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oQVjSRr0axU

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

They would naturally have a deeper voice. Maybe psycho-conditioning eliminates any trace of an accent.

[Gederas]

I always picture Marines having some variation of noble, knightly British accent. It would range between very upper class RP on one end of the scale, and something approaching Gerard Butler's vaguely Scottish accent in 300 at the other.

 

Then again, it's hard to picture anyone in the 40k universe having a non-British accent. Maybe Catachans are Aussie? Maybe there are hive-world gangers out there with thick oily Brooklyn type accents? There are almost certainly some Guard officers who sound like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, come to think of it.

 

I bestow the honour of a Yorkshire accent upon Space Wolves.

Wait, wait, wait.

 

A group of Imperial Guard, who are based on Vietnam War United States Marine Corps.... With an Australian accent? I mean, I get it. The US and Australia are the two former English colonies the rest of the Commonwealth looks at and goes "You lads are crazy", but come on! The only similarity Catachans have to Aussies is that the planet they're from everything is trying to kill them

 

The first two dawn of war games can give a pretty good representation, though I'd rate the second one in terms of voice acting.

I mean, are we talking about Soulstorm?

 

BATTLE BRUVAS! SPEHSS MEHREENS!

 

Orks have Cockney accents

Yes. This is canon and never once has been questioned. They're based on English Football Hooligans

[Kallas]

Wait, wait, wait.

A group of Imperial Guard, who are based on Vietnam War United States Marine Corps.... With an Australian accent? I mean, I get it. The US and Australia are the two former English colonies the rest of the Commonwealth looks at and goes "You lads are crazy", but come on! The only similarity Catachans have to Aussies is that the planet they're from everything is trying to kill them

Catachans are absolutely Australians, thank you very much.

[BLACK BLΠFLY]

Down under for sure !

[Vermintide]

 

I always picture Marines having some variation of noble, knightly British accent. It would range between very upper class RP on one end of the scale, and something approaching Gerard Butler's vaguely Scottish accent in 300 at the other.

 

Then again, it's hard to picture anyone in the 40k universe having a non-British accent. Maybe Catachans are Aussie? Maybe there are hive-world gangers out there with thick oily Brooklyn type accents? There are almost certainly some Guard officers who sound like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, come to think of it.

 

I bestow the honour of a Yorkshire accent upon Space Wolves.

Wait, wait, wait.

 

A group of Imperial Guard, who are based on Vietnam War United States Marine Corps.... With an Australian accent? I mean, I get it. The US and Australia are the two former English colonies the rest of the Commonwealth looks at and goes "You lads are crazy", but come on! The only similarity Catachans have to Aussies is that the planet they're from everything is trying to kill them

 

 

Ehh. I figure Catachans are less based on the Vietnam war and more on the movie Predator. GW has never really seemed to glorify a real world military force like that.

 

But yeah, the whole death world thing is what I was going for

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Like so.

 

This is certainly how I picture a SM communicating in battle, especially the deep, robotic tone, which is what I imagine their voices sounding like through their Vox grill. I’m glad I got to hear this as it brings back good memories. The first was definitely the best in the DoW series of games.

[Domhnall]

Although I don't hear them like this in my head, I would think they would have really deep voices. Think Andre the Giant, but deeper. It is important to not confuse deeper with louder though. 

I doubt we'd ever hear this in any games or videos of marines though, as although deeper voices are considered more authorative and commanding, going too deep just doesn't 'sound' good to our ear and can give the listener the impression that the speaker is slow or less intellegent.

 

Me, I like the voices in the Space Marine game (Mark Strong!) for generic-marines. Once you go for specialist chapters like Space Wolves, Dark Angels etc, they get the stereotypical voices for their theme. 

[Kenzaburo]

To me it depends on the character of the Astartes - if the protagonist is a more sophisticated marine, like Loken, for example, I always have a voice akin to Mark Strong in Space Marine in my head. 

 

But in general, their voices are quite deep, with only a few exceptions in my mind: Lukas the trickster and Lucius. The first one always sounds a bit more youthful, with less dark timbre, the latter will always have a snide, sneering tone. More like an american version of Alan Rickman, maybe. 

 

Speaking through the Vox grille modifies the voice to something more montone and harsh, not unlike the first DoW game. 

 

If we are talking accents though, this is quite difficult. There's only few chapters that I'd attribute with an accent. I think, the wolves in Prospero Burns with that faux-nordic accent were quite spot on. Sometimes I imagine Salamanders with a bit of an african accent, because in my mind their skin is still just dark, not jet-black.

 

Ultramarines will always sound like british soldiers, clipped utterances and the practicality that becomes with being a life-long soldier. As a matter of tone, that's what Know no fear got so right, but that's apart from a certain voice.

[Claws and Effect]

The Raven Guard all sound like Michael Wincott.

[ThatOneMarshal]

It’s probably because I’m an American but I just assume everyone’s got an American accent. I always get surprised when I watch dawn of war or something and hear everyone with British accents and then I remember that the people who created this are British.

 

So I guess that’s on me then.

 

One thing though is that I don’t imagine everyone with deeper voices, some have higher than average others are booming, just like in real life sometimes you run into people like Rick Ashley or people that are like 6’6 with a higher than average voice.

[Dark_Jober]

It’s probably because I’m an American but I just assume everyone’s got an American accent. I always get surprised when I watch dawn of war or something and hear everyone with British accents and then I remember that the people who created this are British.

Well... Now imagine me... I am Spanish... So when I was a kid all the lore was in Spanish... Then DoW is released and all the audio is English. Of course when growing up then my mind changed and I can think in both languages but at the beginning all was really different...

[War Angel]

Not every planet in the imperium speaks gothic. Space wolves for example only learn gothic though the learning machines, and they only use it to communicate with other imperial forces. It’s high gothic so they probably don’t have an accent outside of what’s common to the imperium with it, because it’s data directly downloaded into their brains.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

 

 

I always picture Marines having some variation of noble, knightly British accent. It would range between very upper class RP on one end of the scale, and something approaching Gerard Butler's vaguely Scottish accent in 300 at the other.

 

Then again, it's hard to picture anyone in the 40k universe having a non-British accent. Maybe Catachans are Aussie? Maybe there are hive-world gangers out there with thick oily Brooklyn type accents? There are almost certainly some Guard officers who sound like the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket, come to think of it.

 

I bestow the honour of a Yorkshire accent upon Space Wolves.

Wait, wait, wait.

 

A group of Imperial Guard, who are based on Vietnam War United States Marine Corps.... With an Australian accent? I mean, I get it. The US and Australia are the two former English colonies the rest of the Commonwealth looks at and goes "You lads are crazy", but come on! The only similarity Catachans have to Aussies is that the planet they're from everything is trying to kill them

Ehh. I figure Catachans are less based on the Vietnam war and more on the movie Predator. GW has never really seemed to glorify a real world military force like that.

 

But yeah, the whole death world thing is what I was going for

Really? So the Praetorians weren't Colonial British regiments? The Tallarn aren't Arab regiments? The Valhallans aren't the Red Army? The Mordians aren't Prussians?