Why are fantasy world accents British?

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

On the subject of Fantasy and Tolkien, however, I think this is one point where you can see how North America is the major market for the LotR movies, since most of us aren't as attuned to the nuances of accent outside our own ken. Not that I believe everyone in England is a Lalwendë, but there is a much greater blurring of "Englishy" exotic accents in our ears, to the point that we pretty much NEED Gimli to speak Scots just to differentiate him... though I think I'd have preferred him undifferentiated, myself, instead of causing all Dwarves henceforth to be Scottish.

I'm pretty sure all dwarves were inexplicably Scottish long before that. I don't think you can blame the LotR movies for that particular stereotype. (Laziness in going along with it is another matter, of course.)