Best Practice
It’s advisable to prepare the dialect before you actually need to use it creatively or for clarity of communication in your professional or business life. Create time to drill the components. Make a game or a hobby of it.
Unless you are very experienced with dialects generally, or have a highly skilled ear, don’t expect that you will necessarily perfect a dialect in an hour or two or even an afternoon or two - particularly if it is very different from your own. The ear needed is essentially the same as an ear for music. Some people have a natural aptitude for mimicry, some find it more difficult. The time it takes to perfect or correct a dialect or accent will vary from person to person, given their aptitude and whether they are beginners or have had previous dialect or speech training. However, with application and daily practice, actors preparing for a role will be able to achieve the sound appropriate for their character, and individuals speaking American English as a foreign language will reap the benefits by being able to be understood the first time, every time.
If you are an actor, select the accents and dialects you may most likely be asked to do and carve out some time to work on each. You may find you wish to perfect and correct yourself in the minutiae of a given dialect on an ongoing basis. Keep the exploration a joyous one. As with anything, your own hard work and perseverance along with an attitude of playful curiosity can get you there. Somewhere out there is a person much like the character you’ll be playing. Seek accuracy of their sound and cultivate empathy for their culture and behavior. Tell their story the way they would have it told.
Tips and Hints
For practice sessions locate the placement or area of resonance within the mouth or lips that belongs to the given dialect. Maintain awareness of that focus. Lock in correct muscle memory before speaking in the dialect, by selecting a few “catch phrases” or a pattern of words that contain the key sound substitutions and whose rhythm or sounds are typical of the dialect.
Always work from a sense of ease and relaxation. Try not to freeze or hold things back – even your own habitual gestures (unless they are very intrusive). Instead, focus on a positive action belonging to the chosen dialect or nationality with which to replace them.
Gesture (movement) can be external or internalized. What are the internal gestures of the nationality or people you are playing? For instance, are they direct in communication or oblique psychologically and physically? Be careful not to play a caricature or an attitude, but to absorb and understand the impulse behind the movement. Explore and identify what is different from your own natural accent, gestures and dynamic. Try out the components; integrate, deepen and own them. Let them resonate within you and they will be brought to centre.
Work to develop conciousness of dialect and movement without self-conciousness.
Be sure your body is not speaking in your native accent while your voice is trying to speak in the chosen dialect.
Keep the exploration a positive one: What is working? What is going right? Why? Can you hear these, as well as the things you may need to correct further?
Toolbox
Substitutions:
Each dialect has its own vowel and consonant usage or signature sounds. Substitute these for the way you would ordinarily pronounce the same in your native accent. Review these key substitutions until you feel you thoroughly understand how they are produced. Noting their placement and production, "program" them into your ear and muscle memory. When venturing beyond General American English, for a specific regional dialect, you may only need to focus on a few of the key subsitutions for a light version.
Muscle memory:
Listen to speech on tape. Repeat. Mimic, imitate every few words or so. Ask yourself: Where’s the focus, where’s the placement? Find where it is in the mouth. Placing the sounds in the right way before you begin will help assure they don’t slip.
Rhythm:
What is the rhythm of the dialect you are working on? What is the rhythm of your own natural accent? What are the differences between them? Also explore the musicality and tempo for the region. What are the key features of each of these? How do they differ from your own? Tempo particularly can differ from region to region or from individual to individual. It can be a dialect choice (however, for actors it’s also a character choice).
Drill:
Before you practice, quickly “mark” vowel substitutions and rhythm. Be careful not to “play an attitude”. In the early stages of study, drill the substitutions each time before you begin to speak longer phrases. Make sure your tongue is ready, and that your ears are awake, your mind focused and attentive before practicing a dialect. If the components need to be strong in a particular dialect, you may also wish to use specific exercises to drill these in order to improve articulation and control.
What is the difference between a dialect and a quality of speech?
Many different sorts of people come from the same town or area. There will be huge variations in how they deal with language depending on gender, character, physiology, age, health and a host of other factors. They may have their own speech impediments or idiosyncrasies. Be aware of those things in their speech that are not dialect, strictly speaking. Separate out these in your mind from the dialect itself. Choose audio examples from individuals of that region that are closest to you (or, in the case of actors, your chosen character) in age and type.
Integration:
Our culture shapes us and our dialect is an expression of that. To what extent is your own identity expressed by your speech? What changes for you when you change your dialect or accent? Explore and discover what may underpin the sound, music and behaviour of a person from a given location.
Integration for actors:
Some people (and characters) have very heavy regional sounds. Choose the weight and intensity of your character’s dialect consciously. Know why you have made that decision. Depending on your character’s job, class, personality and background it may be the right choice to do a very light version of the regional dialect. You can always use a heavier version for practice in order to attain a good muscle memory of how the sounds are made, then soften, integrate and own it. This will help avoid a clichéd approach or any temptation to comment on the character. It’s also a good idea to be sensitive to how your audience will receive what you are giving out. If the accent in incomprehensible to their ears, the message of the piece could be obscured.
Difference between accent and dialect:
Accent: The way that somebody from a particular place or cultural group pronounces words. Unlike a dialect, an accent does not traditionally refer to features of grammar or word usage (Paul Meier makes a further distinction when he says “ Accent is the term I use for the mispronunciation of a language by people for whom it is not their native tongue.”)
Dialect: A variant of a language. The particular manner of speech of person or group of people. This includes accent (the way an individual pronounces words) as well a grammatical features and vocabulary and word usage.
It’s advisable to prepare the dialect before you actually need to use it creatively or for clarity of communication in your professional or business life. Create time to drill the components. Make a game or a hobby of it.
Unless you are very experienced with dialects generally, or have a highly skilled ear, don’t expect that you will necessarily perfect a dialect in an hour or two or even an afternoon or two - particularly if it is very different from your own. The ear needed is essentially the same as an ear for music. Some people have a natural aptitude for mimicry, some find it more difficult. The time it takes to perfect or correct a dialect or accent will vary from person to person, given their aptitude and whether they are beginners or have had previous dialect or speech training. However, with application and daily practice, actors preparing for a role will be able to achieve the sound appropriate for their character, and individuals speaking American English as a foreign language will reap the benefits by being able to be understood the first time, every time.
If you are an actor, select the accents and dialects you may most likely be asked to do and carve out some time to work on each. You may find you wish to perfect and correct yourself in the minutiae of a given dialect on an ongoing basis. Keep the exploration a joyous one. As with anything, your own hard work and perseverance along with an attitude of playful curiosity can get you there. Somewhere out there is a person much like the character you’ll be playing. Seek accuracy of their sound and cultivate empathy for their culture and behavior. Tell their story the way they would have it told.
Tips and Hints
For practice sessions locate the placement or area of resonance within the mouth or lips that belongs to the given dialect. Maintain awareness of that focus. Lock in correct muscle memory before speaking in the dialect, by selecting a few “catch phrases” or a pattern of words that contain the key sound substitutions and whose rhythm or sounds are typical of the dialect.
Always work from a sense of ease and relaxation. Try not to freeze or hold things back – even your own habitual gestures (unless they are very intrusive). Instead, focus on a positive action belonging to the chosen dialect or nationality with which to replace them.
Gesture (movement) can be external or internalized. What are the internal gestures of the nationality or people you are playing? For instance, are they direct in communication or oblique psychologically and physically? Be careful not to play a caricature or an attitude, but to absorb and understand the impulse behind the movement. Explore and identify what is different from your own natural accent, gestures and dynamic. Try out the components; integrate, deepen and own them. Let them resonate within you and they will be brought to centre.
Work to develop conciousness of dialect and movement without self-conciousness.
Be sure your body is not speaking in your native accent while your voice is trying to speak in the chosen dialect.
Keep the exploration a positive one: What is working? What is going right? Why? Can you hear these, as well as the things you may need to correct further?
Toolbox
Substitutions:
Each dialect has its own vowel and consonant usage or signature sounds. Substitute these for the way you would ordinarily pronounce the same in your native accent. Review these key substitutions until you feel you thoroughly understand how they are produced. Noting their placement and production, "program" them into your ear and muscle memory. When venturing beyond General American English, for a specific regional dialect, you may only need to focus on a few of the key subsitutions for a light version.
Muscle memory:
Listen to speech on tape. Repeat. Mimic, imitate every few words or so. Ask yourself: Where’s the focus, where’s the placement? Find where it is in the mouth. Placing the sounds in the right way before you begin will help assure they don’t slip.
Rhythm:
What is the rhythm of the dialect you are working on? What is the rhythm of your own natural accent? What are the differences between them? Also explore the musicality and tempo for the region. What are the key features of each of these? How do they differ from your own? Tempo particularly can differ from region to region or from individual to individual. It can be a dialect choice (however, for actors it’s also a character choice).
Drill:
Before you practice, quickly “mark” vowel substitutions and rhythm. Be careful not to “play an attitude”. In the early stages of study, drill the substitutions each time before you begin to speak longer phrases. Make sure your tongue is ready, and that your ears are awake, your mind focused and attentive before practicing a dialect. If the components need to be strong in a particular dialect, you may also wish to use specific exercises to drill these in order to improve articulation and control.
What is the difference between a dialect and a quality of speech?
Many different sorts of people come from the same town or area. There will be huge variations in how they deal with language depending on gender, character, physiology, age, health and a host of other factors. They may have their own speech impediments or idiosyncrasies. Be aware of those things in their speech that are not dialect, strictly speaking. Separate out these in your mind from the dialect itself. Choose audio examples from individuals of that region that are closest to you (or, in the case of actors, your chosen character) in age and type.
Integration:
Our culture shapes us and our dialect is an expression of that. To what extent is your own identity expressed by your speech? What changes for you when you change your dialect or accent? Explore and discover what may underpin the sound, music and behaviour of a person from a given location.
Integration for actors:
Some people (and characters) have very heavy regional sounds. Choose the weight and intensity of your character’s dialect consciously. Know why you have made that decision. Depending on your character’s job, class, personality and background it may be the right choice to do a very light version of the regional dialect. You can always use a heavier version for practice in order to attain a good muscle memory of how the sounds are made, then soften, integrate and own it. This will help avoid a clichéd approach or any temptation to comment on the character. It’s also a good idea to be sensitive to how your audience will receive what you are giving out. If the accent in incomprehensible to their ears, the message of the piece could be obscured.
Difference between accent and dialect:
Accent: The way that somebody from a particular place or cultural group pronounces words. Unlike a dialect, an accent does not traditionally refer to features of grammar or word usage (Paul Meier makes a further distinction when he says “ Accent is the term I use for the mispronunciation of a language by people for whom it is not their native tongue.”)
Dialect: A variant of a language. The particular manner of speech of person or group of people. This includes accent (the way an individual pronounces words) as well a grammatical features and vocabulary and word usage.