Everyone has seen X-men TAS and has heard the marvelous & iconic voice acting for Storm.

But there is just one problem. Almost all people assume Storm has an African accent-- Which is completely false.

As we all know Storm was born in New York and eventually moved to Northern Africa. yada-- yada--- etc..

Yes. Storm is considered 'Kenyan'..... But a lot of that is just dazzled up for entertainment sake (Like Aaliyah's Egyptian accent in Queen of the Damned. Nobody knows how ancient Egyptians spoke! It's just made up.)

She doesn't NOT have a Kenyan accent or better yet-- any type of North African accent or voice of any kind. It's actually very Shakespearean and round with a regal plume. Her voice is actually more American than it is African. People just assume it's 'African' because they are ignorant and don't know any better (which it's not their fault for the lack of exposure of African people) .

If ANYTHING-- Storm's accent could be *South* African -- with more of a British ruled tongue... but even that's a stretch. Heck-- Even Halle Berry's accent in X-men1 was more African than Storm's. Maybe when we can understand what it is exactly what we want, that information can help us cast Storm's voice better in the media for future projects.

If you need anymore proof, here is an interview is Alison Sealy-Smith (The voice of Storm in X-men TAS)

Everyone has seen X-men TAS and has heard the marvelous & iconic voice acting for Storm.

I lost sleep trying to determine whether she had an accent or not. Thank you

I'll accept a British tone, due to the fact that she's lived in America for a very long time, and she's fluent in multiple languages.

I'll also accept Jill Scott's voice over work, but a deeper tone.

I thought she sounded more English in the show than anything.

I never liked her voice on X-Men TAS she sounded old... like she was Prof X's age... to me... when I was a kid. I haven't watch the show since then though. I also didn't speak English so... yeah

(+)

@poisonfleur: Agreed on the educational videos. I thought she did a good job on voicing Storm. I did not know Alison was from Barbados. She sounds SO MUCH like my grandmother (all of my Mom's side of the family is from St. Michaels Barbados) with a less heavy accent.

Interesting

I remember playing Rise of the Imperfects and was seriously confused by why she had a British accent.

@Blood1991 said:

Interesting

I remember playing Rise of the Imperfects and was seriously confused by why she had a British accent.

Why was that one of my favorites for her :-)? It was weird, since before I ever saw Storm on any game or tv series I always imagined an american accent for her (though it doesn't really matter to me), but when I heard her on Marvel Nemesis, I was like...why does this sound fitting for her even though she isn't british...

@poisonfleur said:

Everyone has seen X-men TAS and has heard the marvelous & iconic voice acting for Storm.

But there is just one problem. Almost all people assume Storm has an African accent-- Which is completely false.

As we all know Storm was born in New York and eventually moved to Northern Africa. yada-- yada--- etc..

It is now my official headcanon that Storm has a New Yawk Accent.

She was like what 10 or 11 when Charles found her. Her not having at least traces of an accent would be very illogical.

@Icarusflies said:

@poisonfleur said:

Everyone has seen X-men TAS and has heard the marvelous & iconic voice acting for Storm.

But there is just one problem. Almost all people assume Storm has an African accent-- Which is completely false.

As we all know Storm was born in New York and eventually moved to Northern Africa. yada-- yada--- etc..

It is now my official headcanon that Storm has a New Yawk Accent.

I'm now imagining Storm sounding like Fran Drescher. Horrifying and hilarious.

@Yung ANcient One said:

I never liked her voice on X-Men TAS she sounded old... like she was Prof X's age... to me... when I was a kid. I haven't watch the show since then though. I also didn't speak English so... yeah

(+)

Yeah, I agree. She sounded a lot older than the other X-Men. Like, in her 40s.

I agree. Storm's accent is not african

@cattlebattle said:

@poisonfleur said:

Everyone has seen X-men TAS and has heard the marvelous & iconic voice acting for Storm.

Iconic?? I hated that depiction of Storm. She had to make a big production whenever she used her powers "I summon forth the gales of the great arctic winds of..." you know what I mean. The rest of the post was educational though

I can understand why you dislike it. It can be a bit 'extra' sometimes. But I loved the voice and the 'commands & speeches' because in the comics, Storm started off bright, but a little insecure-- It was only when she 'commanded' the winds, her confidence made her into the strong boss character she is today. That was the start of it all-- in Storm's origins. (Not to mention her whole goddess complex.) I believe that complimented her character's history and I don't want that mucked up too much. Because the more 'Americanized' she gets 'vocally', the more plain she seems. She is a variant-- and a real original character! Let's keep her that way. :)

Maybe just toning the speeches down a little but still finding a way to voice & display her powers that works for everyone.

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@poisonfleur: Agreed on the educational videos. I thought she did a good job on voicing Storm. I did not know Alison was from Barbados. She sounds SO MUCH like my grandmother (all of my Mom's side of the family is from St. Michaels Barbados) with a less heavy accent.

Omgosh! You have island decent too? I am half Jamaican (my mother was born there.) I thought Alison is an Amazing voice actress. Not only did she sounding like Iona's original voice of Storm-- She did her research and knew what a legit African Accent sounded like. I am on the same page with you. I really appreciated her voice too. The only other voice that has been that on point since Alison's take of Storm was Susan Dillan's run in Marvel Vs Capcom 3.

@John Valentine said:

@Yung ANcient One said:

I never liked her voice on X-Men TAS she sounded old... like she was Prof X's age... to me... when I was a kid. I haven't watch the show since then though. I also didn't speak English so... yeah

(+)

Yeah, I agree. She sounded a lot older than the other X-Men. Like, in her 40s.

Wouldn't it make a little bit of sense tho?

I hear what you are saying. And I agree-- (Still loved Alison's take on Storm.) I mean if you grew up worshiped as a deity & everyone looked up to you-- even people older than you and maybe even elders. I think a bit of the maturity and voice could be emulated due to her position in her society.

Give you an Example: Think of Queen Amidala in Star Wars Episode 1. She sounded much different when people looked up to her compared to when she was just plain old padame. Maybe something comes along when you are in a place of power?

I can understand why you dislike it. It can be a bit 'extra' sometimes. But I loved the voice and the 'commands & speeches' because in the comics, Storm started off bright, but a little insecure-- It was only when she 'commanded' the winds, her confidence made her into the strong boss character she is today. That was the start of it all-- in Storm's origins. (Not to mention her whole goddess complex.) I believe that complimented her character's history and I don't want that mucked up too much. Because the more 'Americanized' she gets 'vocally', the more plain she seems. She is a variant-- and a real original character! Let's keep her that way. :)

Maybe just toning the speeches down a little but still finding a way to voice & display her powers that works for everyone.

I like her with some hint of accent. She has one in my head when I read her.

I would be convinced if Chris Claremount told me.

@poisonfleur said:

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@poisonfleur: Agreed on the educational videos. I thought she did a good job on voicing Storm. I did not know Alison was from Barbados. She sounds SO MUCH like my grandmother (all of my Mom's side of the family is from St. Michaels Barbados) with a less heavy accent.

Omgosh! You have island decent too? I am half Jamaican (my mother was born there.) I thought Alison is an Amazing voice actress. Not only did she sounding like Iona's original voice of Storm-- She did her research and knew what a legit African Accent sounded like. I am on the same page with you. I really appreciated her voice too. The only other voice that has been that on point since Alison's take of Storm was Susan Dillan's run in Marvel Vs Capcom 3.

@John Valentine said:

@Yung ANcient One said:

I never liked her voice on X-Men TAS she sounded old... like she was Prof X's age... to me... when I was a kid. I haven't watch the show since then though. I also didn't speak English so... yeah

(+)

Yeah, I agree. She sounded a lot older than the other X-Men. Like, in her 40s.

Wouldn't it make a little bit of sense tho?

I hear what you are saying. And I agree-- (Still loved Alison's take on Storm.) I mean if you grew up worshiped as a deity & everyone looked up to you-- even people older than you and maybe even elders. I think a bit of the maturity and voice could be emulated due to her position in her society.

Give you an Example: Think of Queen Amidala in Star Wars Episode 1. She sounded much different when people looked up to her compared to when she was just plain old padame. Maybe something comes along when you are in a place of power?

I'm Puerto Rican and I have an accent too or so they say.

@poisonfleur: I guess it does makes sense, but I didn't understand exactly what they were saying at the time. I understood very little, and I used my own imagination with the images, and their voices to decide what was going on, like their tone.For me as a kid she had a elderly voice, and white hair so I thought she was old. I don't know why, but I only liked Rouge out of all the X-Women. Storm was part of the old x-men like Magneto, and Prof X, Jean was annoying, and Rouge made me feel weird(crushing). That is how I looked at it, and again I didn't like her voice.

thats just me tho

(+)

@Kallarkz said:

I lost sleep trying to determine whether she had an accent or not. Thank you

@Teerack said:

She was like what 10 or 11 when Charles found her. Her not having at least traces of an accent would be very illogical.

At that age, she was in Cairo. She hadn't even trekked to Kenya yet

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@Blood1991 said:

Interesting

I remember playing Rise of the Imperfects and was seriously confused by why she had a British accent.

Why was that one of my favorites for her :-)? It was weird, since before I ever saw Storm on any game or tv series I always imagined an american accent for her (though it doesn't really matter to me), but when I heard her on Marvel Nemesis, I was like...why does this sound fitting for her even though she isn't british...

Some African dialects sound VERY British.

@White Mage: She wasn't born there. I guess we can assume she was like 7 when the shadow kind found her. She would still have an accent.

@Teerack said:

@White Mage: She wasn't born there. I guess we can assume she was like 7 when the shadow kind found her. She would still have an accent.

She was born in America. Her parents moved to Cairo when she was 6 months old. She lived their, with her parents, until they died when she was 6. She trekked to Kenya when she was around 10/11, met Black Panther when she was 12, and was worshipped as an African Goddess until she was (possibly) in her late teens/ early 20's. That's why her powers were fully mastered when Xavier found her.

@White Mage: Storm isn't African? /mindblown

I don't see why having an African accent is even a deal. Do you have a problem with them?

I question whether or not Storm had an accent, at least according to canon. Both eL'Gibar and her Kenyan tribes could speak English to her. It's possible that she simply has a deep, but formal voice, and that's all.

@Teerack said:

@White Mage: Storm isn't African? /mindblown

She's viewed as African, and if asked where she's from, she'll say she's Kenyan

Africa was the only continent she ever knew. America came MUCH later. She's literally African American, or she fits into some loophole that makes her African. Her mother was Kenyan, and her father was American

@Storm Calling said:

I question whether or not Storm had an accent, at least according to canon. Both eL'Gibar and her Kenyan tribes could speak English to her. It's possible that she simply has a deep, but formal voice, and that's all.

I think she definitely has an African accent. She grew up knowing English because of her parents (till 6 years old), but she also grew up in Africa. She should at least have a nice blend, I think.

@White Mage said:

@Storm Calling said:

I question whether or not Storm had an accent, at least according to canon. Both eL'Gibar and her Kenyan tribes could speak English to her. It's possible that she simply has a deep, but formal voice, and that's all.

I think she definitely has an African accent. She grew up knowing English because of her parents (till 6 years old), but she also grew up in Africa. She should at least have a nice blend, I think.

She did grow up in Africa, but by six and her advanced coordination skills, and the fact that many of the people that she knew spoke English(eL-Gibar, Tourist that she's encountered, her Kenyan Tribe, and so forth), I don't think she ever stopped using English. I'm sure she learned other languages, but her first language appears to be English first and then Kenyan second(from her mother). I'm assuming she probably spoke more English around her parents considering her Father, but likely learned some things from her mother. Given those facts, it's unlikely that she ever gained an accent considering I think it's common to gain one from not learning the language before the others first.

@White Mage: So her accent should be a mix of Egyptian and Kenyan then... still doesn't make any sense for her to have an american accent if she didn't grow up in america.

@White Mage said:

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@Blood1991 said:

Interesting

I remember playing Rise of the Imperfects and was seriously confused by why she had a British accent.

Why was that one of my favorites for her :-)? It was weird, since before I ever saw Storm on any game or tv series I always imagined an american accent for her (though it doesn't really matter to me), but when I heard her on Marvel Nemesis, I was like...why does this sound fitting for her even though she isn't british...

Some African dialects sound VERY British.

Ah...then that makes sense.

she did have an african accent in Black panther cartoon series.\

I like her with an accent. But I feel her voice is best with a small accent. Considering she has lived in America for a some time now... she has had some time to lose a lot of her accent but most people cannot lose their accents completely.

So I respectfully disagree.

@Storm Calling said:

@White Mage said:

@Storm Calling said:

I question whether or not Storm had an accent, at least according to canon. Both eL'Gibar and her Kenyan tribes could speak English to her. It's possible that she simply has a deep, but formal voice, and that's all.

I think she definitely has an African accent. She grew up knowing English because of her parents (till 6 years old), but she also grew up in Africa. She should at least have a nice blend, I think.

She did grow up in Africa, but by six and her advanced coordination skills, and the fact that many of the people that she knew spoke English(eL-Gibar, Tourist that she's encountered, her Kenyan Tribe, and so forth), I don't think she ever stopped using English. I'm sure she learned other languages, but her first language appears to be English first and then Kenyan second(from her mother). I'm assuming she probably spoke more English around her parents considering her Father, but likely learned some things from her mother. Given those facts, it's unlikely that she ever gained an accent considering I think it's common to gain one from not learning the language before the others first.

We all know Storm speaks English well. You're further saying that because of this, her accent cannot be African. This doesn't make any sense. How someone stresses words has nothing to do with their mastery of a language; you probably don't know how accents work. Plus, there is no such language as "Kenyan".

@Prodigy P: No, I said because she learned English first, she most likely wouldn't have an accent while speaking the language. As for her speaking "Kenyan", I wasn't being specific with what sort of language they speak, considering there are many.

when I've heard Erza from fairy tail, she reminded me of Storm

@poisonfleur: Yup :-). My mom was born in St. Phillips but lived and grew up in St. Michaels Barbados. My dad is Czech/American. I loved Alison's her voice work for Storm. And of course Iona's as well. I wasn't that crazy about Debra's work on the Wolverine video game, but it wasn't too bad.

@Storm Calling said:

@Prodigy P: No, I said because she learned English first, she most likely wouldn't have an accent while speaking the language. As for her speaking "Kenyan", I wasn't being specific with what sort of language they speak, considering there are many.

OH...I misread that badly. Forgive me.

@Teerack said:

@White Mage: Storm isn't African? /mindblown

She's viewed as African, and if asked where she's from, she'll say she's Kenyan

Africa was the only continent she ever knew. America came MUCH later. She's literally African American, or she fits into some loophole that makes her African. Her mother was Kenyan, and her father was American

@butterflykyss: But her accent would be affect by where she grew up, not where she was born.

@cattlebattle: I agree LOL but she was definitely the first to set a standard

@poisonfleur: I would think living a large part of her life in Africa she might have a slight accent, after all accents are not a genetic thing or a physical trait to inherit, she MAY have just started speaking like the people around her, as a result a slight "African accent". Assuming she has one isn't necessarily ignorant, yes true Storm fans know where Storm was born, but I'd think she wouldn't have a thick accent, just something very subtle

like I have a friend whose mother is from St. Thomas, when she speaks you can't really hear an accent but when shes with friends and family from St. Thomas you definitely hear her accent coming out

not sure if I rambled LOL but my point is Storm might have had a slight accent due to being around people in Africa who did and she probably picked up on it

@butterflykyss said:

@White Mage said:

@Teerack said:

@White Mage: Storm isn't African? /mindblown

She's viewed as African, and if asked where she's from, she'll say she's Kenyan

Africa was the only continent she ever knew. America came MUCH later. She's literally African American, or she fits into some loophole that makes her African. Her mother was Kenyan, and her father was American

She was born in America so that would make her American.. and though she spent my her youth and teens in Africa I am sure she is considered American native as I am sure her father didn't change her citizenship when she was on assignment in Cairo...

http://www.immigration.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=104&Itemid=142

I guess she has duel citizenship, and can choose to identify as either?

@StormyWeather said:

@cattlebattle: I agree LOL but she was definitely the first to set a standard

@poisonfleur: I would think living a large part of her life in Africa she might have a slight accent, after all accents are not a genetic thing or a physical trait to inherit, she MAY have just started speaking like the people around her, as a result a slight "African accent". Assuming she has one isn't necessarily ignorant, yes true Storm fans know where Storm was born, but I'd think she wouldn't have a thick accent, just something very subtle

like I have a friend whose mother is from St. Thomas, when she speaks you can't really hear an accent but when shes with friends and family from St. Thomas you definitely hear her accent coming out

not sure if I rambled LOL but my point is Storm might have had a slight accent due to being around people in Africa who did and she probably picked up on it

It's not just general people around her though. N'Dare had an accent, she grew up in Africa, and her father was the only American in her life.

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@poisonfleur: Yup :-). My mom was born in St. Phillips but lived and grew up in St. Michaels Barbados. My dad is Czech/American. I loved Alison's her voice work for Storm. And of course Iona's as well. I wasn't that crazy about Debra's work on the Wolverine video game, but it wasn't too bad.

Debra Wilson should be shot in the face for that HORRIBLE-- HORRIBLE voice acting.... I award her no points...

@StormyWeather: I hear you. I guess my point was that everyone assumed Storm's voice portrayals are African when they are pretty far from it. Poor Halle went on set with a pretty reasonable accent and got shot down. LOL She didn't stand a snow flakes chance in hell because Storm's voice was never portrayed like a typical Kenyan.

@poisonfleur said:

@THUNDERBOLT30 said:

@poisonfleur: Yup :-). My mom was born in St. Phillips but lived and grew up in St. Michaels Barbados. My dad is Czech/American. I loved Alison's her voice work for Storm. And of course Iona's as well. I wasn't that crazy about Debra's work on the Wolverine video game, but it wasn't too bad.

Debra Wilson should be shot in the face for that HORRIBLE-- HORRIBLE voice acting.... I award her no points...

co-siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigned

The thing about Storm is that I always felt in my head Africans thought her American and Americans thought her African giving her an otherness wherever she was.