Linguistic Profiling in the World of Exandria
An examination of the accents of Critical Role’s Matt Mercer
Keywords:
linguistic profiling , accents, characterisation , stereotypes, morality, sociolinguistics, Critical RoleAbstract
Linguistic profiling involves identifying social information through voice and accent, often leading to stereotyping. In video games, accents can help distinguish non-player characters (NPCs) and navigate fictional worlds. In Dungeons & Dragons (D&D), a tabletop role-playing game, characterisation more so relies on voice and accents due to fewer visual cues, and a Dungeon Master (DM) voices all NPCs. Therefore, it might be expected that linguistic profiling is more prevalent here. This paper investigates whether Matt Mercer, the DM of the D&D web series Critical Role, uses linguistic profiling to help his players distinguish between NPC antagonists and allies. In an auditory analysis, I identified the accents of 20 antagonists and allies, predicting that antagonists spoke Standard British English or Foreign-Accented English, while allies spoke Standard American English or Regional British/American English, as supported by previous research. While antagonists tended to be Standard British English speakers, the allies’ accents were more varied. Mercer has acknowledged the potential consequences of linguistic profiling in media and aims to minimise its use, and although NPCs align with accent stereotypes, the balanced distribution of accents in the data set suggests that Mercer does not intentionally use ‘good’ or ‘bad’ accents to distinguish between allies and antagonists.
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