How should Thor talk?

[t hedge coke]

I think it depends on the story and the tone. If it's a version who has a tradition of bad Shakespeare, then he should have that unless there's a story reason (like in Worldengine for him to talk otherwise. If it's Red Norville, maybe it should even be worse. But, if it's a construction worker or nurse from New York looking like Thor, they should talk like they talk, unless they're doing a voice or there is some other story-based reason.

Movie-Thor wouldn't have had a chance to be so charming if he was thee and thouing it as extremely as traditional Marvel Thor.

[Rod G]

I'm okay with formal speak.

Not too over the top.

[Superfan90]

Fraction speak.

"You never cared for anyone save yourself, you one eyed bastard. "

[Grapeweasel]

I don't care.

Just as long as he starts every sentence with 'Verily.....'

[Mike_Murdock]

I was soooo disappointed that he never said that in Age of Ultron .

At one point he said "I've run out of things to say." I've wondered if that was Joss Whedon subverting the well-known line instead.

As for Thor-Speak, I can take it or leave it. I don't mind it (particularly when it's done subtly), but I also don't think it's necessary. If it turns people off from reading, I'd rather they not do it, but it doesn't personally bother me to have it.

[CaptCleghorn]

I've always fanwanked Thor-Speak as being a form of translated high Asgardian. When the translation is made to English (which has no high form), there can be some odd switches made. That was the obsessive fan-boy in me. Were I a person of normalcy, I'd consider Thor-Speak fun. Verily, b!+c##$!

[Ravin' Ray]

I figure if if they are around for thousands of years and interact with Midgard, their speak would alter over time as well. Plus as Thor has been interacting with humans for so long, his speech patter would flourish too.

No to "thor-speak" to me. It's just sloppy and doesn't make sense that his language would be tied to so many old dialects when the as-guardians still actively interact with other beings.

I can, however, easily envision the more elitist and snobbish Asgardians to hold themselves apart from, and superior to, Midgardians, and would hence speak in a "purer" language than mere mortals. Those Asgardians with regular dealings with Midgard, such as Thor, Loki, Brunhilde and Amora (when it suits her), would speak like humans.

[Captain Haddock]

I am definitely down with the formal speech and slightly old-fashioned linguistics approach (lack of contractions etc.) But the whole ''Shakespearean'' speech never made much sense given we're closer to Shakespeare's time now than the Vikings who worshipped Thor would have been. If you wanted Thor to speak a language appropriate to his origins he'd need to be speaking Norse or similar and speaking as someone whose read Beowulf and the Poetic Edda (original and translated forms), NO-ONE wants that and it would be a real pain for writers besides.

[MyriVerse]

but isn't it kind of like having a Mexican character exclaim "ay caramba" every time they get excited?

Yeah... cuz those old Norse people were always talking like Shakespeare. Verily.

[Von]

Thor speaking "normal"? I SAY THEE NAY!

This.

Stan Lee Thorspeak all the way.

[Ascended]

speaking as someone whose read Beowulf and the Poetic Edda (original and translated forms), NO-ONE wants that and it would be a real pain for writers besides.

You ain't kidding. Beowulf, in any translation, can be a chore. I found Tolkien's translation a bit better than most, but even that was a pain in places.

And it doesnt make much sense for Thor to speak as if he stumbled out of Hamlet either, given the different eras (as you mentioned) but this I chalk up to artistic license. If you want Thor to sound "old timey" that's an easy way to do it without having to try to work out what the vikings actually talked like.

As for Asgardians speaking like a modern day Midgardian....why would they? These guys are immortals (or damn close to it) from a higher dimension. Why would their speech patterns be modeled after our's? I would think it would be the reverse; that humans during the age of vikings spoke in the same fashion as their gods.

I think a decent parallel would be whatever form of slang is popular at any given moment. The kids today use it, but us older people dont care to learn the latest lingo. To my mind, Midgardians would be those kids with the constantly changing language while the Asgardians are the older people who still speak the same way they did decades (centuries) ago.

[t hedge coke]

As for Asgardians speaking like a modern day Midgardian....why would they? These guys are immortals (or damn close to it) from a higher dimension. Why would their speech patterns be modeled after our's? I would think it would be the reverse; that humans during the age of vikings spoke in the same fashion as their gods.

They're not speaking old-timey English, though, of any sort. They're speaking an exaggerated patois of stage-Victorian and exclamation marks.

I think the best "explanation" you can give is that it's just the way the language developed on Asgard. It is their language, or at least, their dialect of English. (Now, why are they speaking English?)

[Overhazard]

I like the Thor Speak, though I imagine it's a pain to write that kind of dialogue.

[Ascended]

I like the Thor Speak, though I imagine it's a pain to write that kind of dialogue.

Nay, my fellow poster! Ye have only to watch Family Guy's "Foreigners who have lived in America ALMOST long enough to sound American!" to get the gist of Thor-speak!

[Ascended]

I think the best "explanation" you can give is that it's just the way the language developed on Asgard. It is their language, or at least, their dialect of English. (Now, why are they speaking English?)

Because we dont speak Asgardian?

What if they're not speaking English at all? What if they're speaking their native tongue and our brains are translating that as a imperfect form of whatever our native language is?

That doesnt make much sense, but its comics, and if higher dimensional, immortal gods can visit our world and hang out with super soldiers and men of iron, then their language having some sort of psychic connotation doesnt seem to be out of bounds.

But yeah, Id assume its just the way language developed in Asgard.