1

The villagers in Animal Crossing have distinct speech patterns and I was wondering if there is a name for that in Japanese.

Also, does anyone know what kind of character the unicorn is? (maybe イケメンキャラ?)

https://youtu.be/ufSPBwvxlMY?list=PLku8eVfcRSNRcWzb72rh3BxXSn4NpBZym&t=841

0

2 Answers 2

3

This type of excessively dramatic and "sophisticated" way of speaking is commonly referred to as キザな喋り方. As a noun, such people are sometimes slangily described as キザ男【お】. See: Meanings and etymology of the word キザ

イケメン is not a bad choice, but it primarily refers to one's appearance. By explicitly saying 性格がイケメン(のキャラ), you can refer to one's considerate and courteous personality, but it usually does not specifically point to one's unique way of speaking.

3
  • ahh I see, thanks alot. I do you maybe know what the general term for different speech patterns in media is? I read something about 役割語 but I'm not sure if it is related to these example.
    – torajuro
    Commented Jun 19 at 22:38
  • 1
    @torajuro 役割語 is more of an academic term, and it's basically something based on the character's social status. You can use 口調 to discuss a character's way of speaking based either on their personality or status.
    – naruto
    Commented Jun 20 at 3:50
  • unrelated would like to be language partners? we can add each other somewhere if you like
    – torajuro
    Commented Sep 29 at 7:04
2

Here are some Animal Crossing-specific things:

  • The typical expressions each characters have, for example "ね、キミ" for the guy (ジュリー) you mentioned and "ぷるる" for the villager in 15:16 for the same video (ちえり)are known as 口癖. It seems they are transmissible between characters, and can be set back to the default by telling しずえ (Isabelle) that you are concerned about that villager's 口ぐせ (「口ぐせが気になる」, see a blog post) so it's somewhat official phrasing.
  • The behaviour and personality each villager has is known as 性格 (personality). That guy in your question is actually classified as キザ (e.g.: pixiv dictionary) Several websites I've checked use the same term for classifications (キザ,ハキハキ, etc) so I'm assuming it derives from Nintendo somewhere, but I haven't been able to find a source.
  • As for the language side, I agree with @naruto's answer and I would definitely describe the guy as キザ.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .