AccentHelp Blog

dialect recordings for actors learning accents

Dialect Recording on the Road

Every year, I put in thousands of miles and hours of travel to gather new dialect recordings, mostly to add to the accents you've already purchased...

Standard British Changes Queen Elizabeth

Evolution of Standard British

Standard British has changed significantly over time - Jim explains the history or RP at Buckingham Palace.

French and German Accent Challenge for Actors

Actors often struggle shifting to a German accent when they're trying to be French - or cross the border the other way. Here are the keys.

The Evolution of the Cockney Accent

St Mary-le-Bow church is the center of Cockney history - you needed to be born within the sound of Bow Bells!

The Russian Accent and Beyond

Russian accents were the default "bad guy" accent, but Eastern European accents aren't all the same, even if most share a Slavic origin.

Chicago South Side CTA train from the 1990s

African-American Vernacular English Accents

AAVE accents often have more in common with another black speaker who lives 1000 miles away than with a white speaker 1 mile away.

Listening to Learn an Accent - Ear Training

Ear Training for Learning Accents

Learning an accent by ear is a great idea, but the reality is that you need training to truly make it useful because you can't hear what you can't ...

John Proctor Is the Villain Accents

Digging into the accents for John Proctor Is the Villain is essential so that you add to the story and don't detract from it.

American Southern Non-Rhotic Accents

Southern accents vary from one place to another, but there is also a big shift that has happened over time, so learning the history is essential be...

Greek Accent Intonation

Greek accent intonation is very similar to Italian, but with a heavy flick.

History of Scottish Accents

Rather than sounding Scot-ish, learning the elements of a Scottish accent, as well as some history and insight into regionalisms, can help you drop...

Italian Accent Intonation

Learning the Italian cycling intonation - in Bergamo, Italy!

Slavic Accents for Actors

Learn more about a variety of Slavic accents on this hike up to my favorite view in Prague!

NYC Accent Variations

Yo - I'm talkin' here!!! Get the lowdown on New York accents.

Transatlantic Mid-Atlantic Accent for Actors

There's too much BS out there about Transatlantic / Mid-Atlantic accents... Here are the keys.

Comparing Aussie and Kiwi Accents

Though they have a lot in common, the accents of Australia & New Zealand aren't the same.

Cajun Accent Tutorial

Cajun accents have almost as much spice as Cajun food, especially when you understand the history.

Dropping the G

When a word like going is pronounced more like goin', it's commonly described as "Dropping the G" - but the reality is that it's not! It's actually...

Curved Line on a Beach like the Australian Accent Intonation

Aussie Intonation Elements Shared with Other Accents

Though accents all have their own intonation, they typically have a lot in common with other accents, enough that we can categorize them together. ...

Buoyant Lightness Intonation

Accents & Intonation One of the big keys for actors learning accents is getting the musicality right. It's often called Intonation, or even Pro...

New York City Accent Essentials

There are always variations in accents, especially as you move from a heavier to a lighter version of an accent. No matter the degree of the accent...

Today Show Interview

I was contacted by the NBC Today Show for a segment on Southern accents, and we jumped through lots of logistics to set up an interview. We spent o...

Boston Red Sox Fan speaking with a Boston Accent

Boston Accent Intonation

The intonation of an accent is the musicality or prosody, and though there is some degree of variation from one person to another, any accent has s...

3 RP Intonation Tricks for All of Your Acting

RP - Received Pronunciation - is also known as Standard British, Standard English, the Queen's English, and sometimes BBC English. It has changed a...

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