# ST: TOS. Was Scotty’s accent Scottish or Irish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 8, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695 "2022-03-08T18:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nars\_Glinley](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nars_glinley/32/8177_2.png) [@Nars\_Glinley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nars_Glinley)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/1 "2022-03-08T18:08:29Z")
I know that James Doohan was Canadian, but to my untrained ear, Scotty sounded more like Rory McIlroy than Gordon Ramsay. Am I off base here? ---
**Author:** ![vislor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vislor/32/5933_2.png) [@vislor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vislor)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/2 "2022-03-08T18:14:37Z")
Scotty is Scottish. However, you are not off base. Years ago on Craig Ferguson’s show, he talked about how when they saw the Original Series Star Trek back home in Scotland, no one recognized Scotty’s accent. When they found out Scotty was supposed to be Scottish, they all wondered what had happened to him that he spoke so poorly. He may have been saying that as comedy or exaggeration but I don’t think he was impressed. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/3 "2022-03-08T18:16:38Z")
Doohan claimed he picked up the accent from a service buddy who hailed from Aberdeen, Scotland. However, I asked a Scottish girl I once knew if it was authentic. She said “Not at all.” ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/4 "2022-03-08T18:18:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Doohan claimed he picked up the accent from a service buddy who hailed from Aberdeen, Scotland. > > However, I asked a Scottish girl I once knew if it was authentic. **She said “Not at all.”** - Sure. For _this_ century. 🖖 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/5 "2022-03-08T18:25:12Z")
When Doohan was auditioning for the part, whose nationality had not yet been established, he read from the script in a number of accents that included Swedish and German. He was finally asked which nationality he thought the character should be and said “If he’s an engineer-r-r on a star-r-r ship, he ought to be Scottish.” He essentially created his own character, like John Ratzenberger invented Cliff Cleven on _ **Cheers** _. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/6 "2022-03-08T19:38:16Z")
It is Scottish to the same degree that Sean Connery’s accent is Russian in “The Hunt for Red October”, or Dick van Dyke’s was a “Cockerney” i.e. nominally, but not actually. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/7 "2022-03-08T19:45:52Z")
I thought it was a pretty accurate representation of how North Americans in the '60s sounded when they put on a Scottish accent. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/8 "2022-03-08T19:50:07Z")
I recall a response to somebody identifying Scotty’s accent as “Aberdeen” – “Aberdeen Proving Ground, maybe”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/9 "2022-03-08T20:33:33Z")
It’s about as Scottish as Chekov’s accent was Russian. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/10 "2022-03-08T21:01:52Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > It is Scottish to the same degree that Sean Connery’s accent is Russian in “The Hunt for Red October”, or Dick van Dyke’s was a “Cockerney” Or Patrick Stewart’s “French” accent? > [@BigT](#): > > It’s about as Scottish as Chekov’s accent was Russian. Russian is super easy to learn; it is basically English if you just replace the the ‘v’ sound with ‘w’ and slur all your words like you’ve just downed a fifth of vodka. The real problem is that their keyboards are all defective so the letters are wrong or pushed together. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/11 "2022-03-08T21:03:00Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Russian is super easy to learn; it is basically English if you just replace the the ‘v’ sound with ‘w’ and slur all your words like you’ve just downed a fifth of vodka. Nucleeyur wessels. In Alameeda. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/12 "2022-03-08T21:03:16Z")
> [@vislor](#): > > Years ago on Craig Ferguson’s show, he talked about how when they saw the Original Series Star Trek back home in Scotland, no one recognized Scotty’s accent. When they found out Scotty was supposed to be Scottish, they all wondered what had happened to him that he spoke so poorly. He may have been saying that as comedy or exaggeration but I don’t think he was impressed. I came to mention this. “We had no idea he was supposed to be Scottish. ‘Mom, why is the man with the Pakistani accent called Scotty?’” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/13 "2022-03-08T21:11:29Z")
I’ve heard it described as “Music Hall Scottish.” ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/14 "2022-03-08T21:13:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sure. For _this_ century. Hah! Good point. > [@BigT](#): > > It’s about as Scottish as Chekov’s accent was Russian. How authentic was Spock’s Vulcan accent? ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/15 "2022-03-08T21:14:17Z")
Not bad. He sounded pretty close to Tuvok. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/16 "2022-03-08T21:23:50Z")
I’ll point out that Jean-Luc Picard was French. He was born in La Barre, France. He spent his entire childhood growing up on his family’s French vineyard. So, then you might ask, why doesn’t he speak with a French accent? It’s because by the 24th century, French is an obscure local language that is rarely heard. > **[Star Trek: Why Notable Frenchman Jean-Luc Picard Speaks With a British Accent](https://www.cbr.com/star-trek-why-jean-luc-picard-speaks-british-accent/)** > > Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Picard is a French character who speaks with a British accent, but there is a good explanation as to why. > The show took care to address the discrepancy, although the way it did so was rather oblique. In _The Next Generation,_ Season 1, Episode 3, “Code of Honor,” Data refers to French as “an obscure language,” which draws a brusque response from Picard. The obvious insult to Gallic pride notwithstanding, the exchange neatly explains away his English accent. If French were an obscure provincial language in the 24th century, Picard likely had to learn English before attending Starfleet Academy, and conceivably learned it so well that he could speak it without a trace of French. > > Indeed, the notion holds up, even as the concept is stretched further. As a little-spoken language, French might not work with the universal translators, for instance, which explains why Picard mostly speaks English but occasionally lapses into (untranslatable) French. It also adds weight to his ambivalent attitude towards his family, who wanted him to work the vineyard and all but disowned him when he left for Starfleet. Given that it is official on-screen canon that languages can and have changed dramatically from the 20th to the 24th century, it’s not that much of a stretch to presume that a Scottish accent might be different in the 23rd century (the time of TOS) than the 20th/21st century. Consider that they’ve had the internet and social media for centuries. We’ve only had those things for decades. I expect it’s not that unrealistic for languages to change a lot as the world gets smaller. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/17 "2022-03-08T21:25:49Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Sure. For _this_ century. That was how I explained Picard’s accent to myself. I just figured that by the 24th century the French accent had changed, and just happened to sound like a 20th century English accent. Another explanation I’ve heard is that Picard is actually speaking French and his universal translator is translating it to English for us. He just has his translator set to received pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/18 "2022-03-08T21:40:08Z")
Picard may have been French, but he clearly served in the British Royal Navy. Why else would he know the lyrics to “Heart of Oak”? [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T7Vadzjac6g/hqdefault.jpg "Picard Singing in Ten Forward") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7Vadzjac6g) When it comes to Russian accents, I can assure you that the average Russian male trying to speak English sounds more like Steve Martin’s Georg Festrunk than Walter Koenig’s Pavel Chekov: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dpFNC7puU2M/hqdefault.jpg "Steve Martin: The Television Stuff (5/11) Best Show Ever Clip") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpFNC7puU2M) ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/19 "2022-03-08T21:44:42Z")
I always thought Ackroyd had the more convincing Slavic accent than Martin in those. He was much more comfortable with the accent, too. Steve Martin’s accents are generally terrible. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695/20 "2022-03-08T21:48:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Picard may have been French, but he clearly served in the British Royal Navy. Why else would he know the lyrics to “Heart of Oak”? He also had a surprising fondness for Shakespeare. One might have expected a Frenchman to be more into someone like Moliere or Racine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/st-tos-was-scotty-s-accent-scottish-or-irish/960695.md?page=2)