Teach Yourself Accents: North America: A Handbook for Young Actors and Speakers

by Robert Blumenfeld

Overview

(Limelight). Are you doing a play by Tennessee Williams? Or one of David Mamet's plays set in Chicago? Need to learn a Southern or Boston or New York or Caribbean Islands accent quickly, or do you have plenty of time? Then Teach Yourself Accents North America: A Handbook for Young Actors and Speakers is for you: an easy-to-use manual full of clear, cogent advice and fascinating information. Contemporary monologues and scenes for two are included, and an enclosed CD contains the extensive practice exercises. Perfect for the young acting student, the book will help anyone beginning a study of accents to get a rapid handle on the subject and use any accent immediately, with an authentic sound. More experienced actors who need an authoritative quick guide for an audition or for role preparation will find it equally useful, as will speakers who want to improve a specific accent or liven up a presentation with an apt anecdote. This second volume of the new Teach Yourself Accents series by Robert Blumenfeld, author of the best-selling Accents: A Manual for Actors , covers General American, the most widely used accent of Standard American English, as well as Northern and Southern regional accents, AAVE (African-American Vernacular English), Hispanic, Caribbean Islands, and Canadian English and French accents.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780879108083
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/01/2013
Series:	Limelight
Pages:	152
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Robert Blumenfeld (New York, NY) is an actor, dialect coach, and writer. In addition to the acclaimed Accents: A Manual for Actors, his books for Limelight Editions include Stagecraft: Stanislavsky and External Acting Techniques (2010) and Teach Yourself Accents – The British Isles (2013). He has recorded more than 350 audiobooks and has acted in numerous regional and Off-Broadway theater productions.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments xi

List of Phonetic Symbols Used in This Book xiii

Introduction. Teach Yourself Accents: The Elements 1

What Is an Accent? 1

How the Muscles of the Mouth Are Used 4

Rhythm: Stress Patterns 5

Music: Intonation Patterns 6

Phonetics 7

Vowels, Semi-Vowels, and Diphthongs 7

Consonants 8

Some Questions to Ask Yourself 11

An Exercise for Teaching Yourself Any Accent 13

1 The General American Accent 15

Teach Yourself the General American Accent 15

The Ask List 18

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accent 19

Practice Exercises 20

Monologues 22

2 Northern U.S. Regional Accents: The Midwest 25

Teach Yourself Midwestern U.S. Accents 27

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 29

Practice Exercises 29

Monologues 31

3 Southern U.S. Regional Accents 35

Teach Yourself Southern U.S. Accents 36

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 42

Teach Yourself the Traditional Accent of Charleston, South Carolina 42

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accent 44

Practice Exercises 44

Monologues 48

4 African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) Accents 53

Teach Yourself AAVE Accents 55

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 57

Practice Exercises 57

Monologues 59

5 Caribbean Islands Accents 63

Teach Yourself Caribbean Islands Accents 64

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 67

Practice Exercises 67

Monologues 70

6 Hispanic Accents 73

Teach Yourself Hispanic Accents 74

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 78

Practice Exercises 79

Monologues 81

7 Some Urban Accents: New Orleans, Chicago, Boston, New York 87

Teach Yourself New Orleans Accents 87

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 90

Practice Exercises 90

A Monologue and a Scene for Two 91

Teach Yourself Chicago Accents 93

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 94

Practice Exercises 94

Monologues 95

Teach Yourself Boston Accents 96

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 98

Practice Exercises 98

Monologues 100

Teach Yourself New York City Accents 101

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 107

Practice Exercises 107

Monologues 110

8 Canadian Accents: English, French 113

Teach Yourself Canadian English Accents 113

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 116

Practice Exercises 116

Monologues 117

Teach Yourself Canadian French Accents 119

Intonation and Stress: The Music and Rhythm of the Accents 121

Practice Exercises 121

A Scene for Three and a Monologue 123

Selected Bibliography 127

About the Author 133

CD Track Listing 135