If you’re getting ready for your next show and are looking to get the English accent or dialect of your character just right, check out these two great online resources:
International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) specializes in English-language accents and dialects heard around the world. Access to the archive is free and contains about 1,400 samples from 120 countries and territories.
IDEA also has an exhaustive list of dialect links and resources covering the following topics:
Dialect Resources Online
Languages/Linguistics
Pronunciation Dictionaries and Resources
Recording Software
Shakespeare
Voice, Speech, and Phonetics Sites
Suggested Reading
The Speech Accent Archive provides you with free access to about 2,600 speech samples from a variety of language backgrounds – both native and non-native speakers of English.
In the Resources section, you’ll find a long list of sources consulted for the archive along with links to several helpful websites.
If you prefer to go old school and happen to have access to a CD player, or an old cassette player, then check out some of the numerous resources available at our library, including Jerry Blunt’s Stage Dialects and More Stage Dialects, dialect resources by Gillian Lane-Plescia, and David Alan Stern’s Acting with an Accent series. The resources might be a bit “oldish” but they’re still invaluable.
~ Solveig and Chris, Librarians
Note: All of the above links can be found in our Accents & Dialects Subject Guide.
