Meryl Streep is the queen of accents. When she portrays an Australian, she sounds like she's really from Down Under. In 'Sophie's Choice', she even managed to speak German the way a Polish person would. It's probably not surprising that she has been nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress more often than any other actress in history. If, as an actor, you're going to portray a character from the UK, you may want to show Streep's level of commitment and take some British accent lessons.
One of the things that Meryl Streep is most famous for is her ability to imitate different accents. This has kept her career interesting and healthy and has earned her the record for most Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. In contrast, someone like Kevin Costner saw his career take a nosedive after playing Robin Hood while he was at the height of his fame. The reason was mainly because his Robin Hood spoke in an American accent.
When you learn to speak like someone from Britain, it's important to remember that there are hundreds of accents in the country. What most people think of as a British accent is actually called Received Pronunciation and it is regarded as the standard pronunciation. Some people, such as the royal family, speak like this naturally. Others, such as former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, took elocution lessons to sound more upper class.
Not every character from Britain that you might portray will be from the upper classes. Instead, you may play a Scottish highlander or a Welsh coal miner. Only in England there are hundreds of ways to pronounce a word and the way that you do it can tell people whether you're from Yorkshire, Cornwall or Northumberland, for instance.
some regional accents in England are typical of specific cities and may even have their own names. In Liverpool, for instance, people speak Scouse while in Birmingham the dialect is called Brummie and in Newcastle it's Geordie. Accents can also be typical of specific parts of a city, most famously the Cockney from the East End neighbourhood in London.
Adding to the rich variety of English spoken in the UK are the accents of other parts of the country. To the untrained ear, the accents from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland often sound the same because of the way speakers roll the r. However, they're actually quite different and even within each of these regions you'll find variation. Someone from Edinburgh, for instance, speak a different kind of Scots than someone from Glasgow.
Once you start working on different accents, you also need to learn the vocabulary. In some parts of the USA, people will talk about 'soda' while others might say 'pop'. The situation is similar in Britain and vocabulary may differ from region to region. It's also important to learn the differences between American English and British English in terms of vocabulary.
The best way to learn an accent is to go live in the area where that dialect is spoken and just listen to the locals as they speak. However, this is not a practical approach if you're rehearsing for a movie or a play. For faster results, a good option is to invest in the services of a dialect coach.
One of the things that Meryl Streep is most famous for is her ability to imitate different accents. This has kept her career interesting and healthy and has earned her the record for most Academy Award nominations for Best Actress. In contrast, someone like Kevin Costner saw his career take a nosedive after playing Robin Hood while he was at the height of his fame. The reason was mainly because his Robin Hood spoke in an American accent.
When you learn to speak like someone from Britain, it's important to remember that there are hundreds of accents in the country. What most people think of as a British accent is actually called Received Pronunciation and it is regarded as the standard pronunciation. Some people, such as the royal family, speak like this naturally. Others, such as former prime minister Margaret Thatcher, took elocution lessons to sound more upper class.
Not every character from Britain that you might portray will be from the upper classes. Instead, you may play a Scottish highlander or a Welsh coal miner. Only in England there are hundreds of ways to pronounce a word and the way that you do it can tell people whether you're from Yorkshire, Cornwall or Northumberland, for instance.
some regional accents in England are typical of specific cities and may even have their own names. In Liverpool, for instance, people speak Scouse while in Birmingham the dialect is called Brummie and in Newcastle it's Geordie. Accents can also be typical of specific parts of a city, most famously the Cockney from the East End neighbourhood in London.
Adding to the rich variety of English spoken in the UK are the accents of other parts of the country. To the untrained ear, the accents from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland often sound the same because of the way speakers roll the r. However, they're actually quite different and even within each of these regions you'll find variation. Someone from Edinburgh, for instance, speak a different kind of Scots than someone from Glasgow.
Once you start working on different accents, you also need to learn the vocabulary. In some parts of the USA, people will talk about 'soda' while others might say 'pop'. The situation is similar in Britain and vocabulary may differ from region to region. It's also important to learn the differences between American English and British English in terms of vocabulary.
The best way to learn an accent is to go live in the area where that dialect is spoken and just listen to the locals as they speak. However, this is not a practical approach if you're rehearsing for a movie or a play. For faster results, a good option is to invest in the services of a dialect coach.
About the Author:
If you have an interest in taking up British accent lessons, there are many classes in your local area. The one you should join right now is available at http://www.windsor-cunningham.com.
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