African Accents ─ A Workbook for Actors

This is a comprehensive workbook for actors, covering the key characteristics and profiles of a wide range of African accents and dialects. Its unique approach not only addresses the methods and processes by which to go about learning an accent, but also looks in detail at each example. This lets the reader plot their own route through the learning process and tailor not only their working methods but also their own personal idiolect.

A full breakdown of each accent covers:

• An introduction giving a brief history of the accent, its ethnic background, and its language of origin
• Preparatory warm-up exercises specific to each accent
• A directory of research materials including documentaries, plays, films and online resources
• Key characteristics such as melody, stress, pace and pitch
• Descriptions of physical articulation in the tongue, lips, jaw, palate and pharynx
• Practice sentences, phoneme tables and worksheets for solo study

African Accents is accompanied by an extensive online database of audio samples for each accent, providing an essential set of examples for the reader to use as they work. Rather than mimicking a native speaker, this bookand its audio resources empower actors to develop their own authentic accents and use them as integrated tools in the creation of characters.

Beth McGuire is a professional dialect and vocal coach for theatre and film. She is Director of Speech and Dialects at Yale School of Drama.