AccentHelp Blog

Introduction to Accents 1: Accent vs Dialect vs Idiolect

Part 1 of 6 - Introducing how to learn an accent. This session gives a quick overview of what the terms Dialect & Accent mean, and an explanati...

Breathing from the Diaphragm?

Can you "breathe into the diaphragm" or "breathe from the diaphragm?" Yes, and no... Here's an introduction to how the diaphragm works and the basi...

Intonation of Western Irish Accents

The intonation of a western Irish accent is actually very similar to a southern Irish accent - I like to think of western Irish intonation as "Sout...

Breath Support = Abs

Ever heard of Breath Support? Think "Abs!" It's all about the abdominal muscles (or, more specifically, your Transversus - watch for a future post....

Breath Support at the Ends of Phrases

You need even more breath support (ABS!) at the ends of phrases than anywhere else, especially to avoid falling into vocal fry. Breath Support and...

Tongue Stretch to Open the Throat

I had an inquiry from someone about how to improve his sound. He had an issue that tons of people have: tongue tension and a sense that the sound i...

How to Speak Louder and Deeper

YouTube subscriber Ann made an inquiry about how she could learn to speak louder and deeper. Here's a quick run at the basics of breath support. ...

American Southern: Soft-R Introduction

On my recent dialect recording trip to Nashville, I got to visit the home of President (and General) Andrew Jackson. Appropriately enough, a numbe...

Baltimore Is More Hon than Wire

A week of Baltimore accent pursuits yields great recordings, outstanding Hon experiences, and a compromised liver.

New Insights on Cockney Accents

Fresh insights on sound placement for speaking with a Cockney accent - how to get the right feel for speaking with a Cockney accent.

Pennsylvania Dutch Accents

Jim traveled to the Penn Dutch region of Pennsylvania, hosted by a family who set up a number of recordings - and some traditional meals, such as P...

Cajun Accents

Cajun history leads us back to the Acadians of Eastern Canada who were forced to leave the region centuries ago, who then brought their sound to So...

Dialect Coaching Online

In 2015, I finally added the option of online dialect coaching due to inquiries from enough customers. Through that, you're able to work directly ...

Canadian Dialect

Many Canadian dialect speakers sound no different from other North American English speakers. There is a stereotypical Canadian dialect, but the re...

New Orleans Actors

New Orleans actors have experienced a lot of change since 2000 - though many of them haven't been there through all of it. A lot of New Orleans a...

Steel Magnolias Accents

Jim recorded a number of people from the real location the fictional Steel Magnolia Chinquapin Parish is based on, all great examples for the play'...

RP Accent Course

It's not uncommon for me to get an inquiry about an RP accent course, whether online or in person. Standard British and some form of General Ameri...

Texan Dialect

Texas is a big ol' state with more than one accent, so you likely need a proper introduction if yer fixin' to git yer cowboy on.

Cockney Accent

A Cockney accent can mean a few different things... It depends on how specific you're being. A True Cockney Accent Technically, a true Cockney acc...

Speak Southern

"They should speak Southern." That's the response I got from a director yesterday in response to an inquiry I'd made about accents for a musical ...

Received Pronunciation History

Received Pronunciation - commonly called RP or Standard British - is the accent most people mean when they say that they want to learn a British ac...

Flat-A Sound

More on the concept of “flat” with regards to voice and accents. Commenting on a question about the “Flat-A” sound and why even good speakers from ...

How to Speak with Thick Vocal Folds (Chest Resonance)

Recently I shared a vlog post about how to speak with thick vocal folds (as opposed to thin vocal folds) which increases chest resonance. A follow-...

Devoicing for Emphasis

I commented to a client about a tendency to devoice when emphasizing a word, and I thought I pass the clarification on to everybody on the blog. Th...

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