Greetings all,

I have recently gone back to the beginning in my acting studies and have been assigned the task of working on an accent and speech impediment.

Can anyone recommend an audio book, podcast, book or any other material I can use to work on this? The accent I would like to work on is Virginian/Southern Belle/Upper Class.

Thank you!

Dominique Jackson
D@DominiqueJackson.net
http://www.DominiqueJackson.net

Hi Dominique,

I assume the accent and the impediment are separate assignments? For the accent work, you could certainly watch films like A Streetcar Named Desire, and for a more contemporary sound, you could look at the International Dialects of English Archive [http://web.ku.edu/idea/index.htm] which has samples of native speakers from around the world.
That will be a phenomenally helpful resource for any dialect you go on to study.

Best,
Amanda
www.expandyourspeech.com

Hi,

Yes, the accent and speech impediment are two separate assignments. Thank you in advance for all of your help!

Dominique Jackson

Do you know phonetics? Study the environment of the area you are attempting to recreate the speech from. The mid-atlantic is a very touchy region for learning a dialect. There are so many dialects here with such subtle differences. Locate the exact region you're trying to learn, and do research on the area. Find out the history of that area, find out the geography of that area, and the social backgrounds of the locals. If what you're going for is a period piece, than history is very important. If you're talking southern belle circa 1800's, then research the heritage of the people who lived in the location you're looking for. Virginia has a little southern fluidity to it, but it also has a hint of backwoods jabberjaw hillbilly to it too. If you're going for grace and civility, be careful its not a Georgia (south) accent. They ARE different. I'd say, pick up some tapes and listen carefully. Don't just get tapes on the region itself, but the surrounding areas so you can pick up on the subtle differences. peace-

Knowing IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is really crucial in knowing how to go about learning a new dialect or accent. You can check out the book Speak with Distinction by Edith Skinner, which is the textbook that a lot of acting schools use for the voice and speech classes to learn IPA. Also, as I see you are located in NYC, you can check out the Drama Book Shop and look at the books by Jerry Blunt, the first one is called Stage Dialects and the other one is called More Stage Dialects. I know that in the first stage dialects book by him, there is a general American Southern chapter that will show you the sound changes needed for that dialect. Also I believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) but David Allan Stern also does many other specific different dialects that come with an accompanying CD that goes through exercises and demonstrates the sound changes for you. Those, I think, can also be purchased at the Drama Book Shop! But you really need to have some grasp of IPA to use these books and to go about learning a new dialect. Hope that helped!