Trang

Nhãn

Thứ Năm, 28 tháng 8, 2014

Get It Right With British Accent Lessons

By Deanne Shepard


The best actors are also the most versatile ones. Take Meryl Streep, for example. She has played everything from tragic heroines to moms you don't mess with to ditsy ex-hippies. She's also portrayed several real-life characters to great acclaim. Meryl Streep never has to sit around waiting for a great role. They come to her and directors and producers know that if they want a character who doesn't speak standard American English, Streep is the person to cast. If you want to improve your versatility as an actor, a good way to start is with British accent lessons.

One of the main reasons for Streep's success is that she manages to make her characters sound convincing. Compare her in any film she's acted in to, for instance, Kevin Costner who portrayed Robin Hood, one of Britain's most famous heroes, while speaking like an American. Costner's career never really recovered after that while Streep can get any role she wants.

Many people make the mistake of thinking all people in Britain sound like the royal family or like the country's politicians. That posh-sounding way of speaking is indeed what is regarded as standard English pronunciation, formally called Received Pronunciation. Few people speak like that from childhood, though. Even Margaret Thatcher had to learn Received Pronunciation so that she could sound more posh.

Most English people speak in specific regional accents. There are hundreds of these. In England you may find distinct variations even in neighboring towns but especially from one county to another and between the northern and southern parts of the country.

some regional accents in England are typical of specific cities and may even have their own names. In Liverpool, for instance, people speak Scouse while in Birmingham the dialect is called Brummie and in Newcastle it's Geordie. Accents can also be typical of specific parts of a city, most famously the Cockney from the East End neighbourhood in London.

When you travel across England's borders, you'll find that in the UK, English is even more varied than you may have thought. The rolled r is generally typical of the English spoken in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. However, each of these parts of the country has a distinct character reflected in the way its inhabitants speak. Moreover, just like in England, there is often variation among towns and cities.

Of course there's no point in learning how to speak in a specific dialect from Britain if you're going to use American vocabulary. You'll need to learn that in Britain, the fall is called 'autumn', 'corn' is really any kind of cereal and 'pants' are underwear rather than trousers. Vocabulary also varies across dialects and where people in some parts may say 'My mum', others may say 'Me mam'.

Learning different accents mostly involve listening and imitating. A good way to do this is to go live in a region for a while, where you'll constantly be exposed to the way the locals speak. When you're studying for a part in a play or movie, though, you'll need quicker results and a dialect coach may come to your rescue.




About the Author:



Không có nhận xét nào:

Đăng nhận xét

Tổng số lượt xem trang