Accents, Dialects and Idiolects, oh my . . .

Let's start with some concepts and definitions:

Accent: The sounds of one’s native language carried over into another language.  For example, a German person speaking English will speak English with a German accent.  An American speaking French will do so with an American accent.

Dialect: A variation in speaking a single language.  For instance, someone from Pittsburgh, PA might speak English with a Pittsburgh dialect.  Similarly, an Irish person speaks English with an Irish dialect. 

Idiolect: An individual’s manner of speaking.  Each of us has an idiolect.  Our own way of speaking is influenced by where we grew up, the way our caregivers spoke, our role models and influences as a child, the speech of our peers, and various other factors.  Just as your entire upbringing contributed to your speech patterns, the character you are playing also has an idiolect shaped by her/his upbringing.

While there is technically a difference between an accent and a dialect, many people use the words interchangeably.  Even dictionaries conflate the definitions, so we think you can feel free to use whatever word you prefer.