The Elven Superiority in Fantasy

[@mikemigasproduction]

Why Fantasy sounds so British? kzbin.info/www/bejne/l3qxi597hch1pqM

[@Aczie042]

When I was a kid I always associated elves with Tolkien's elves, because The Lord of the Rings films were released when I was a kid. Fellowship of the Ring was released when I was seven years old. Also, in Norse mythology Dark Elves and Dwarves are one and the same thing.

[@BerkahSejahtera-n6r]

Elves usually come off as posh, but there are so many types out there, That's a really good point! They're all so different.

[@Dedreea]

In Danish we have different words for the elves you describe. Santas helpers are "nisser", someone like dobby is an "alf" and elves like those in LOTR are "elevere" - so whenever I hear elves in English I always forget that they are all lumped together and basically just think of high fantasy elves. My mental image of them is definitely formed by the LOTR movies as I saw them as a kid.

[@annaa3772]

The German translation used Elben instead of Elfen to avoid people thinking of tiny fairies. Elben was a more obscure term that wasn't widely used before, so that went a long way to establish Tolkien's Quendi as their own thing. Tolkien did something similiar in English, he eschewed the term elfin in favour of his own term elven. He also decided to write the plural of elf as elves instead of the standard plural elfs, because he felt it made more sense and fit better with other plurals like leaf-leaves. Tolkien did say once that he wished he had used Quendi instead of elves to avoid preconceived notions, but I say he was extremely successful in completely changing what people think of when they hear the term elf. There's an interview with Conan O'Brien and Liv Tyler from before the movies were released and when she says she's playing an elf he thinks of small elves and she informs him that Tolkien's elves are very tall. This misconception would never happen today, because the movies are so well-known.

[@mikemigasproduction]

In Polish we only have one word - elf, and it’s used for all

[@fabiomorandi3585]

Now imagine if Elves sounded posh as heck in their mother tongue but turned cockney the moment they start speaking Common.

[@mikemigasproduction]

I’d watch that

[@parallelpinkparakeet]

At 0:13, I think of the high fantasy version of an elf as well. I have to say though I like how the Elder Scrolls attempts to diversify them, especially in ESO.

[@jaygrabias]

It's solidified so hard I never thought of it before but looking at your arguments it does seem like it's logical they speak with RP

[@I_am_no_man123]

0:13 I think of Legolas Is that bad…?

[@mikemigasproduction]

I think that’s they correct way

[@benavery206]

In my current D&D game, a player was trying to sound like a LOTR elf but he somehow sounded more like a New Zealander. We all just decided that the elves of this world would have a Kiwi accent and that is what everyone thinks of as "posh".

[@tomkatt8274]

they are not immortal, just very long lived. and they make good fiction

[@badideagenerator2315]

The problem i have with the use of RP for elves is that it doesn't make them sound wise. It makes them sound ignorant and privileged, like out-of-touch aristocrats from an age that has long passed.

[@p.p.flynch1907]

Lembas

[@satanlover134]

could u stop cutting to rings of power, it just its offencive. I feel shit every time I see it .

[@mikemigasproduction]

:(