"[P]eople there in fact speak with an identifiable Midland American, for instance merging words like “cot” and “caught” to sound the same."
In what world do these two words sound different???
In what world do these two words sound different???
7
E.g. my world growing up around New York City: cot "caht" vs. caught "cawt".
1
I grew up in Michigan and Illinois, and they do sound different. 'cot" sounds like "caht" while “caught” sounds like "cauwt."
2
In the real world: "Cot" is prounced caht and "caught is pronounced "cawt."
1
The best portrayal of an accent I have ever seen was Meryl Streep speaking German with a Polish accent in Sophie 's Choice. I have lived in Germany and worked with Poles. She got it exactly.
10
So lets get this - you are judging Meryl Streep's characterization of a pre-WWII Polish character based on post-war speech in Germany?
Really???? This would be like using 2017 New Yorkers appear in a WWII Midwest film..... no relationship to the real pronunciation.
You just confirmed my earlier post.
Really???? This would be like using 2017 New Yorkers appear in a WWII Midwest film..... no relationship to the real pronunciation.
You just confirmed my earlier post.
1
When did nasal-speak become the norm? Remember enunciate, speak from the diaphragm? I sang in a choir and that's what the musical instructor always demanded. I also teach and most of my students' speech is so nasal they cannot be heard nor understood. Speech coaches....change the norm.
4
Watching even the best actors massacre the Boston accent is very distracting. Very few are successful at it, I'm not sure why.
8
exactly. that's what I have been saying. NY, most actors can do. Boston is harder (last sentence to be pronounced indigenously). Lol.
2
Hypothesis: British actors do better at learning and switching accents than American ones because daily life in Britain requires more code-switching than it does in the U.S. The existence of RP and the need to "switch" to it to (attempt to) cross extremely hardened class lines. It's probably softened over there, and hardened over here, but I always get the idea that accents of English mean more and are more directly influential on personal identity and success over there than here. Then again, maybe I'm just watching too much Rex Harrison Henry Higgins.
6
I've lived in the Boston area all my life. My father's family was from the South so I'm very conscious of these accents. Authentic regional accents are usually terrible! Sorry, Tom Hanks.
4
Damien Lewis is an outstanding example of a highly trained UK actor who sounds perfectly "American" in wildly differing roles in Homeland, Band of Brothers, and Billions. It is startling, then, to hear him speak naturally on interview shows -- or as Henry VIII opposite the equally talented Mark Rylance. Bravo, sir.
11
Meryl Streep and her perfectly accented portrayal? Which language was the accent from? It clearly wasn't Polish - it was the American image of what a modified Slavic accent sounds like. Clearly there was no attempt to define what part of Poland the character came from and what her educational level was - because guess what? there are a variety of accents and language permutations in Poland, and particularly pre-war Poland.
Perhaps the Oscar was deserved for other reasons but not pronunciation.
Perhaps the Oscar was deserved for other reasons but not pronunciation.
4
Not when Slavs speak German. Then the regions and even the countries fade into insignificance. Think of the myriad languages of W.Africa. Do their speakers sound different when they speak English?
You may be more discerning, but I can't tell.
You may be more discerning, but I can't tell.
2
There are plenty of American actors who have put on an accent and "stolen" British actors' roles, so the amount of pearl-clutching from commenters is silly. What is this, "make America great again"? The best actor should get the role.
I can't imagine anyone else but Kate Winslet in Titanic, nor anyone but Renee Zellwiger as Bridget Jones.
I can't imagine anyone else but Kate Winslet in Titanic, nor anyone but Renee Zellwiger as Bridget Jones.
15
interesting story.
i'm canadian and when i travel people think i'm american--even americans. when i ask where they think i'm from they tell me they know i'm american, but my accent sounds neutral. i don't say eh or oot and aboot.
apparently in the old days, american networks used to send scouts looking for canadians in the news biz because they said canadians were well trained by cbc and the accents were easier to break than most americans.
finally, i lived in japan for a number of years. i taught english and also married a japanese woman. they, without fail, told me canadian accents were the clearest for them.
i'm canadian and when i travel people think i'm american--even americans. when i ask where they think i'm from they tell me they know i'm american, but my accent sounds neutral. i don't say eh or oot and aboot.
apparently in the old days, american networks used to send scouts looking for canadians in the news biz because they said canadians were well trained by cbc and the accents were easier to break than most americans.
finally, i lived in japan for a number of years. i taught english and also married a japanese woman. they, without fail, told me canadian accents were the clearest for them.
10
At DLI I was taught to change into at least one different piece of clothing and try to study in a different room for each language or Chinese Mandarin pronunciation I was working on. That way my brain had a better chance of knowing where it was and how to sound and hear.
I suspect that actors will best practice a regional pronunciation and dialect by changing their watch or jewelry, hats, and clothing. Even put on the clothing of the character as you practice with your teacher or tapes and not just when are rehearsing or recording your role. Also, move and stand and act less me you are in that region. Don't copy the region, but mimic the sounds, movements, and postures of the region.
My mom was the best I have ever encountered at changing regional dialects. She was still herself, but she was in that region. (We moved to 22 different military bases in 18 months during WW II. A Dartmouth Medical School doctor stopped me in the hall and got right all 22 bases and what age and when I was in each! Mom was astonished when he telephoned to check and was exactly right. One of our DLI intermediate Chinese students horrified some of the teachers by correctly identifying where they had lived and when for their whole lives. He was a radio intercept listener and was never wrong.)
I suspect that actors will best practice a regional pronunciation and dialect by changing their watch or jewelry, hats, and clothing. Even put on the clothing of the character as you practice with your teacher or tapes and not just when are rehearsing or recording your role. Also, move and stand and act less me you are in that region. Don't copy the region, but mimic the sounds, movements, and postures of the region.
My mom was the best I have ever encountered at changing regional dialects. She was still herself, but she was in that region. (We moved to 22 different military bases in 18 months during WW II. A Dartmouth Medical School doctor stopped me in the hall and got right all 22 bases and what age and when I was in each! Mom was astonished when he telephoned to check and was exactly right. One of our DLI intermediate Chinese students horrified some of the teachers by correctly identifying where they had lived and when for their whole lives. He was a radio intercept listener and was never wrong.)
9
See George Bernard Shaw in Pygmalion.
2
Ok, I'm not from the Midwest, but I can't hear a difference between "cot" and "caught" when I say or. I sense my mouth is moving slightly differently, but the sounds seem exactly the same. I have to hear someone saying these words "properly"! I don't know what I'm missing. If ever there was an occasion for an NYT hyperlink, this is it!
9
... I can't hear a difference between "cot" and "caught" ...
---------- kAHt vs CAW-t . . .
---------- kAHt vs CAW-t . . .
14
I completely agree. I have to suspect this is some contrived difference or even a ploy.
1
No, it isn't. Cot and caught are clearly different in the South, where I grew up. They are clearly different in Australia, where I live now. The areas in North America where they are identical are Canada, parts of New England, and the Far West. I did dialectology under William Labov. Believe me, I know this stuff.
When I was a kid watching baseball games on TV with commentators from California, it always irritated me to hear one of them say "he wokked him", even though I didn't know what a wok was at the time. Wok ("walk"), tock ("talk"), hock ("hawk") there are oodles of minimal pairs which are different in most of the US and identical in the west. What I found really funny in later years was Canadian actors in the X-files playing characters from, say, Arkansas, saying things like "Ay don't know who you're tokking aboat."
When I was a kid watching baseball games on TV with commentators from California, it always irritated me to hear one of them say "he wokked him", even though I didn't know what a wok was at the time. Wok ("walk"), tock ("talk"), hock ("hawk") there are oodles of minimal pairs which are different in most of the US and identical in the west. What I found really funny in later years was Canadian actors in the X-files playing characters from, say, Arkansas, saying things like "Ay don't know who you're tokking aboat."
1
In the 1940s, Lewis Herman and Marguerite Shalett Herman published two dialect coaching manuals, Foreign Dialects: A Manual for Actors, Directors and Writers (1943) and Manual of American Dialects for Radio, Stage and Screen (1947). Both are incredibly detailed (400 and 300 pp, respectively) and accurate. So it's not the case that there was no attention to accuracy in the representation of dialects before, but it may be that attention had slipped somewhat before the present revival.
8
I have a suggestion: if you want someone to sound Southern in a TV show- especially an American one- why don't your hire American Actors in the first place? There are plenty of home grown without the English, Irish, Scottish and all the rest.
If we emptied the Canadian and British employees from US media we might be able to employ some American Journalists, Media Executives and Actors. How many Americans get to work at BBC, Sky or ITV? How many get to head British newspaper companies? How many Americans get to work in the same in Australia? How many Americans get to narrate TV commercials in the UK or Canada?
There are well over 300 million Americans. I think we can grow our own and send the Brits and Canadians back home. When we cast a show calling for a Brit that is fine- otherwise go back to Channel 4.
If we emptied the Canadian and British employees from US media we might be able to employ some American Journalists, Media Executives and Actors. How many Americans get to work at BBC, Sky or ITV? How many get to head British newspaper companies? How many Americans get to work in the same in Australia? How many Americans get to narrate TV commercials in the UK or Canada?
There are well over 300 million Americans. I think we can grow our own and send the Brits and Canadians back home. When we cast a show calling for a Brit that is fine- otherwise go back to Channel 4.
12
Fine sentiments, but many of these shows and films of which you speak are international productions, or are shot in Canada because the US is too expensive, or has too many lawyers/stoners/phonies hanging around Hollywood.
And just to present the opposite viewpoint: creeping Americanization has long been a fear in other parts of the world, with American commercials even being re-dubbed for local consumption. Kellogs Frosties commericals were always a hoot to watch, once you were old enough to realize that there were no suburban ranch houses with swimming pools in your country.
And just to present the opposite viewpoint: creeping Americanization has long been a fear in other parts of the world, with American commercials even being re-dubbed for local consumption. Kellogs Frosties commericals were always a hoot to watch, once you were old enough to realize that there were no suburban ranch houses with swimming pools in your country.
8
I've long wondered how actors learn to change how they talk. Thanks for publishing this.
9
How about just hiring American actors in the states? Rarely are American actors allowed to work in Europe.
18
While not comprehensive, for people who want a graphic overview of American dialects, this is a standard online reference map:
http://www.aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap1Right
http://www.aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap1Right
9
Fascinating. Thanks.
6
I have always been puzzled as to why similar accents can vary in their ease of imitation.
For example : A NY accent is easier than a Bostonian, Irish easier than Scottish, U.S. southern easier than a Texas drawl.
Any thoughts about it?
For example : A NY accent is easier than a Bostonian, Irish easier than Scottish, U.S. southern easier than a Texas drawl.
Any thoughts about it?
4
There is no one Southern Accent. The same is true up North.
The differences have lessened over time, but Fayetteville Arkansas and Fayetteville North Carolina do not sound the same. The same for Jackson Tennessee and Jackson Mississippi. Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson are all Southerners and have markedly different accents.
The differences have lessened over time, but Fayetteville Arkansas and Fayetteville North Carolina do not sound the same. The same for Jackson Tennessee and Jackson Mississippi. Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, Bill Clinton and Lyndon Johnson are all Southerners and have markedly different accents.
11
Because when you hear those "accents" reproduced you're not hearing anything close to the real accent bit a stereotypical pastiche that borders on offensiveness. Think of Pepe LePew or Speedy Gonzales.
3
It is surprising how little emphasis is given to the lips and tongue position in teaching foreign languages in America. This is also they key to learning dialects in English and other western languages. When a student struggling to learn a sound by imitation is told where to position her tongue, everything becomes easier.
10
The Accents in Fargo wildly over guns, and educated professionals have much less of a Minnesota - North Dakota accent then those who stay and never leave. A doctor or a lawyer would have hardly any Fargo accent. Even for the local-Yokel-who's-never-left-the-small-town character the accents are grossly exaggerated on the TV series Fargo.
8
They are for everybody else too, when their particular regions are represented.
5
I wonder if she's worked with Nicole Kidman and Naomi Watts. When those two Australians speak American, they sound so much alike in their attempts to sound American. It's still off putting, for me.
7
Still trying to work out how "Game of Thrones" features the only decent Geordie accent in US TV - from an Irish actor!
4
Amazing that someone like Ms. Bay can help "set the bar high" for actors to bring more authenticity to their roles.
2
On CMT's Nashville, one character hails from England and another from Australia. They both have such believable mid-South accents that it's a shock when you see them interviewed and they speak in their usual dialect. By the way, they are both actors who sing, not singers who act.
6
"Cot" and "caught" are pronounced the same in central Indiana??? Whatever dialect coach came up with that had better go back for brush-up classes at Prof. Higgins' Institute!
3
It's true! Look where I live!
7
Well I was born and raised in Indianapolis and went to school in Bloomington and I certainly don't pronounce them the same...and my accent was/is the same as that of everybody around me!
4
I would love to know who worked with Ruth Wilson and Dominic West on "The Affair." First watching it to see more of the amazing Ruth Wilson after "Luther" and then waiting to see if they ever reverted - and the story wasn't bad either! Can hardly wait for season 4 - maybe they will slip up this year!
3
Seriously? I always thought Ruth Wilson and Dominic West have the worst American accents on television. Their vowels sounds technically correct, but the fluidity and elision are stilted.
4
A very good article, about a very important specialty.
I work on films from the other end -- editing and tweaking the recordings of an actor's performance, long after they've left the set -- and it's always great to hear lines that both nail the character, and bring out every nuance in the writer's script. Kudos to Bay and people like her.
And two pieces of advice if you're making films with less-than-stellar budgets, beginning actors, and no dialog coach:
After you think you've got the right dialect or regionalisms, back it off by half. Let the character's thinking and emotions outweigh any overlaid pronunciations.
Then, work twice as hard as communicating the meaning of your words. Consider that every word has a reason for being in the line... and that the most important thing to stress is the NEW information that the other characters aren't supposed to know.
I work on films from the other end -- editing and tweaking the recordings of an actor's performance, long after they've left the set -- and it's always great to hear lines that both nail the character, and bring out every nuance in the writer's script. Kudos to Bay and people like her.
And two pieces of advice if you're making films with less-than-stellar budgets, beginning actors, and no dialog coach:
After you think you've got the right dialect or regionalisms, back it off by half. Let the character's thinking and emotions outweigh any overlaid pronunciations.
Then, work twice as hard as communicating the meaning of your words. Consider that every word has a reason for being in the line... and that the most important thing to stress is the NEW information that the other characters aren't supposed to know.
11
This is also good advice in written dialogue, in fiction for example. There are definitely differences that can come out when written, but there's no need to really focus on regional/national variations to the detriment of what they/the author is trying to say.
As a teen I went through a period where I wanted to reproduce sounds exactly. Like Twain in Huck Finn. For a long time after that I still used -n' in written dialogue for people who wouldn't pronounce -ing's. It worked, sort of, for Chris Claremont comics.
As a teen I went through a period where I wanted to reproduce sounds exactly. Like Twain in Huck Finn. For a long time after that I still used -n' in written dialogue for people who wouldn't pronounce -ing's. It worked, sort of, for Chris Claremont comics.
Preach! All about operative words!
1
they can't find any American actors to play these parts ???? Really? I can always hear the wrongness of English actors' accents. No matter what part of the country they are supposed to be from. I don't understand why they keep hiring British actors... snob appeal ?
14
One's accent is a crucial part of one's identity. It can classify you in a number of ways, rightly or wrongly, in terms of class, educational level, region and religion. Actors from around the world work to achieve that middle-American accent that can expand their work opportunities ten-fold, and American actors know that a repertoire of several accents is a skill that is prized by directors and casting agents. But even a regular Joe can pretend he's someone else with just a little tweak. Walk into your office with the salutation: "'ello Guv'nah!" and I guarantee someone will answer in kind!
5
Appears from the article that the majority of the dialect coach's work is teaching American regional accents to British actors/actresses. Why so many from among the pond taking Hollywood's roles? Aren't their enough good American performers to play the parts?
And speaking of accents, I rarely hear actors not born in the Chicago area make proper use of the Chicago accent. Here's how: replace "th" sound with "d" and plural "s" with "z," as in "dem guyz dere." Except for the word "three," which is pronounced "tree" as in "dem tree guyz dere." Then incorporate the "Great Lake Vowel Shift" into your speech. Too complicated to explain it in 1500 words so Google the subject. Finally, a very staccato cadence.
And speaking of accents, I rarely hear actors not born in the Chicago area make proper use of the Chicago accent. Here's how: replace "th" sound with "d" and plural "s" with "z," as in "dem guyz dere." Except for the word "three," which is pronounced "tree" as in "dem tree guyz dere." Then incorporate the "Great Lake Vowel Shift" into your speech. Too complicated to explain it in 1500 words so Google the subject. Finally, a very staccato cadence.
3
In the Northern Territory of Australia, "territory" is more clipped in its promounciation. Say "teh-ruh-tree". Three syllables, not four.
5
I want to cringe when I hear gifted actors try to sound Southern, Cajun Louisianian or New Orleanian. "Treme" used some New Orleans actors for authenticity, I suppose, but in spite of the vast acclain of "The Big Easy," Dennis uaid does NOT sound New Orleans. I'm from downneah. Dough mess wit' me, unnustan'?
6
I enjoyed this article and appreciate Samara Bay's gift. A well-executed dialect, like Richard Dormer in Fortitude, makes a huge difference. Still, I'm left wondering, is there no local talent?
1
Kudos to Bay and to all the great dialect coaches out there, especially to my daughter, Eva Breneman, in Chicago!
7
A little bit of cultural reference might be interesting here --
Ava Gardner was born in a small town in North Carolina - the child of a barefoot tobacco and coal-mining upbringing --
Her regional accent was so thick that when she was brought to Hollywood to do a screen test for MGM - it was decided to remove her voice completely from the film before showing it to Louis B. Mayer, who - having only seen her face on the test - asked to meet with her in person --
After signing with MGM - Gardner was taken away for six months to work on removing her very heavy Southern, regional accent, to ensure she spoke "properly" -
The results - which can be seen and heard in her films - "speak" for themselves...
Ava Gardner was born in a small town in North Carolina - the child of a barefoot tobacco and coal-mining upbringing --
Her regional accent was so thick that when she was brought to Hollywood to do a screen test for MGM - it was decided to remove her voice completely from the film before showing it to Louis B. Mayer, who - having only seen her face on the test - asked to meet with her in person --
After signing with MGM - Gardner was taken away for six months to work on removing her very heavy Southern, regional accent, to ensure she spoke "properly" -
The results - which can be seen and heard in her films - "speak" for themselves...
9
Fascinating. I started life with a German accent in Brazil. Moving to Massachusetts at age nine, I developed a New York accent in learning English at a private school where the majority of students were from the city. Then, in Laos, I learned that students who had learned English from French speakers had a hard time understanding new Yorkeese. Furthermore, the French I learned there was inflected by my Portuguese learned in Brazil. Linguistically trained people now tell me that my English comes from the upper mid-west where I have never been!
13
I am in awe of anyone who can learn another accent and then act a role without the accent being the focus.
When I've studied foreign languages, good pronunciation has been elusive because I did not grow up hearing some sounds and therefore not only can't make them but can't even hear them. I suppose the ubiquity of American accents in media makes them easier to acquire than in the past.
Actors are doing Chicago pronunciation (such as it is) better than they used to, thank goodness!
When I've studied foreign languages, good pronunciation has been elusive because I did not grow up hearing some sounds and therefore not only can't make them but can't even hear them. I suppose the ubiquity of American accents in media makes them easier to acquire than in the past.
Actors are doing Chicago pronunciation (such as it is) better than they used to, thank goodness!
5
There are no fewer regional accents in the UK than in the US, and they are all difficult to imitate for the non-natives. One thing is sure, though : hardly any American actor manages any kind of British accent (even the received pronunciation), whereas British actors can be quite convincing when they try their hand (so to speak) at American accents.
4
Well Dick van Dyke tried his best!
5
I remember comparing Clark Gable's American-accented Fletcher Christian in 1935's version of "Mutiny on the Bounty" to Marlon Brando's decent attempt at a British accent on the 1962 version. That was rare back then, and took some guts amongst an all-British cast.
I do think the accent autenticity has improved greatly, and I marvel at British actors and actresses who can level their accent to mimick various US accents--we don't see many Americans doing the reverse, except Gwyneth Paltrow--the less said about her, the better. I hope that script writers would do a better job with the dialogue. I often catch anachronisms in period pieces, with idiomatic expressions used in the wrong era. It also drives me nuts when I watch History Channel documentaries about World War II, and they show the maple leaf Canadian flag that became official only in 1965 to show where the Canadian forces were deployed in Normandy in 1944.
I do think the accent autenticity has improved greatly, and I marvel at British actors and actresses who can level their accent to mimick various US accents--we don't see many Americans doing the reverse, except Gwyneth Paltrow--the less said about her, the better. I hope that script writers would do a better job with the dialogue. I often catch anachronisms in period pieces, with idiomatic expressions used in the wrong era. It also drives me nuts when I watch History Channel documentaries about World War II, and they show the maple leaf Canadian flag that became official only in 1965 to show where the Canadian forces were deployed in Normandy in 1944.
11
One of the hardest dialects to master is the Philadelphia accent. I've heard many actors try, but only those who grew up in or near Philadelphia have gotten it right. Most come off with some variant of a New York accent.
3
Those of us in the industry like to clarify for our students that they are not “losing” their accent per se, but are, in fact learning a new one. Accents and the variations in human expression are one of the most delicious spices in life, and for those who are afraid “losing” their accent will mean losing their identity, fear not! It’s like learning another language. If you learn to speak French, you will not lose the ability to speak English. Mastering an American accent is just another skill to add to one's personal repertoire, and not just for actors.
6
Thank you for writing this piece. Non actors and some actors don't realize how much work goes into either creating an authentic sounding character or masking your natural speech. Some, like Idris Alba or Meryl Streep or Tatiana Maslany, are naturals who can switch as what seems seamlessly between them, but others, like me, have to work and work and work and still sound off. This was a great article!
11
Slight divergence, but connected. When Peace Corps volunteers teach English in other countries they often imbue their own accents on to the English spoken by their students. My favorite involved bumping into a Thai student who'd studied with a volunteer from South Carolina. I was startled when Wirarat, the student, greeted me with a ,"how y'all doing?" I knew right away who his teacher had been.
13
Most enjoyable article I've read in some time. Thank you.
6
But, it's odd to see an article like this that does not mention the play Pygmalion, or the musical, My Fair Lady. The whole point of those pieces was about how much accents influence how one is heard.