Dialect Impressions  
         Notes & Links to Dr. Howard's Audio Samples                                                                                                    


       Dr. Diane Howard                     
       Voice Bank                       
                                                   Copyright © 2010                                                                                       
                                      

   
 

 

                       (Dialect  and Voice-Over Training is part of Dr. Diane Howard's Voice and Diction course
                    at UMHB. Professor Howard's book with Lainie Frasier, Speak Skillfully and Successfully:
                    A Guide to Developing Diction and Voice-Over Excellence, McGraw-Hill, is available
                    online and at the UMHB Bookstore. Further, Dr. Howard provides private coaching, as
                    her schedule allows.  Fees depend on necessary remediation and degree/time required
                    for needed training. She has coached actors and communicators on-site and at a distance.
                    Dr. Howard has read lines in appropriate dialects in audio files sent in e-mails for actors
                    in feature films and has coached them over the telephone. She has met with actors
                    face-to-face for dialect coaching. Further, she has met with communicators on-site for
                    foreign accent reduction and Standard American speaking.)

 
                             Below are some idiosyncrasies or unique marks of dialects for dialect impressions. 
 
 
  • Standard British Dialect

    a. resonance focused toward front of the mouth

    b. rounded vowels, especially a’s

    c. diminished r’s

    d. liquid u such as in duke

                     e. straight, formal sounding, limited pitch variation
 

  • Cockney Dialect

    a. resonance focused in back of throat

    b. dropped h’s

    c. elongated diphthongs

    d. emotional, great deal of pitch variation

    e. glottal stops with such words as throttle, gentleman
 
  • Irish Dialect

    a. resonance focused a few inches in front of lips

    b. musical dialect, lilting downward in pitch during vowels

    c. a’s pronounced as "ah" as in art, balm; short as in hat, bat;
         or as "aw" as in broad, morning

    d. oy diphthong as in poise, boy

    g. long i as in tight, sight

    h. long o in grow, toe

     i. long oo in blue, soon

     j. long e in see beat, meat

     h. o’s short in shot, tot

     k. short e in ten, when

     i. rolled r’s

 
  • Scottish Dialect

    a. resonance focused under the tongue

    b. trilled r’s

    c. glottal stop substituted for medial and final t’s, such as in bottle, bit, bitter

    d. g dropped in ing endings, such as in singing,  prancing

    e. doesn’t have external musical lilt, but does have internal vowel lilt with
         upward rise in pitch during vowels and diphthongs of stressed words

     f. ah-oo in words such as house, mouse

     g. long a in words such as great,   way

     h. long o in words such as grow,   bow

     i. long e in words such as see, meat

     j. long oo in words such as blue, tune

     k. short oo as in could, stood, boot
 
  • Russian Dialect

    a. tone or resonance focused high and in back of mouth

    b. rolled r’s

    c. w’s become v’s

    d. ending g’s become k’s

    e. long a in great,  they

          f. long o as in go, home

          g. short a as in cat, bag

          h. short i as in sit, sin

          i. short e as in get, met

 
  • Yiddish Dialect

    a. tone or resonance focused tongue tip and front of teeth

    b. musical lilt with pitch rising at end of stressed words and ends of phrases

    c. ending g’s become like k’s

    d. w’s become v’s

    e. long e in such words as see, me

    f. long a in such words as great, day

                    g. long oo as in duke, boot

                    h. long o as in snow, slow
 
  • German Dialect

    a. resonance focused at top edge of bottom front teeth

    b. often dominating, hard, reserved sounding

    c. ach is guttural

    d. short "i" in words such as sit, still

    e. short "e" in such words as get,  tent

    f. short "oo" in such words as good book

          g. th pronounced like a d in such words as they,  therefore

          k. w becomes a "v"   in such words as where, was, what
 

                    a. resonance focused at top edge of bottom front teeth

                    b. th pronounced like a d in such as in father (fader)

                    c. ending d like t in such as in Lord (Lort)

                    d. v pronounced like f such as in love (lof)

                    e. r’s slightly rolled

                    f. w pronounced like slight v such as in we’re (vere)

                    g. ending g not hard as in Russian going (goink) 

                    h. short "i" in words such as sit, still, list

 
 

         a.  resonance is focused in the back of the throat

         b.  full nasal sound which progressively decreases

         c.  extended upper lip

         d.  slight dilation of the nostrils
  
         e.  emphasis on final syllable of words

         f.   long "e" in words such as see, speed, knee, free

         g.  short "i" in words such as city, in, sit, pit

         h.  long "a" in words such as way, say, day

         i.  short "e" in words such as feather, whether 

 
                     Spanish

                   a. resonance is focused at the front of the mouth behind the top teeth

                   b.  single and double trilled or tapped r's with tip of tongue behind top teeth

                   c. th sounds like d

                   d. z sounds like s

                   e.  g dropped at end of ing

                   d.  aggressive tongue

                   e.  long "e" in words such as speed, knee, tree

                   f.  short "i" in words such as pit, sit, split   
 
  When I work with a foreign speaker trying to speak Standard American English or with Americans trying to speak Non-American dialects, I try to show the differences between the focus of the dialects, the general placements and uses of the tongue, and the differences in vowel and consonant pronunciations. For example for a Spanish-speaker wanting to speak Standard American English, I would start with some basic differences between Spanish and Standard American English pronunciation, such as the following:

In Spanish dialects, vowels are often more closed and fluid than they are in Standard American English. Vowels in SAE are more open inside the mouth, more straight, and spoken in the middle of the mouth. The the focus of SAE is in the middle of the mouth with the tongue resting in the bottom of the mouth. SAE is slower, straighter, and more open inside the mouth than Spanish.

a.       Resonance in Spanish dialects are focused often at the front of the mouth behind the top teeth, whereas with Standard American English (SAE) the focus of the resonance in the middle of the mouth

b.   In Spanish single and double trilled or tapped “r's” are pronounced with the tip of tongue behind the top teeth, whereas with SAE “r’s” are pronounced with more of a retroflexed tongue (the back of the tongue is pulled up toward the roof of the mouth)

c.    “Th” sounds like “d” in Spanish, whereas in SAE the “t” is pronounced with the front of the
tongue under the top teeth and the “h” sounded with aspiration (forced breath out the front of the mouth)                          
d.    In Spanish “z” sounds like “s”, whereas in SAE “z” is pronounced with the top and bottom teeth
almost touching and the front of the tongue pulled up toward the top dental ridge

e.    In Spanish “g” is dropped at end of “ing,” whereas in SAE the “in” in the “ing” is                         produced with the “g” pronounced with the middle of the tongue pulled up toward the middle of the roof of the mouth to produce a nasal sound for the “g”

f.   In Spanish the tongue is aggressive and fluid, whereas in SAE the tongue is more relaxed inside and at the bottom of the mouth and behind the bottom teeth. Few sounds in SAE are pronounced with the tongue behind the top teeth where “t’s,” “d’s” and “l’s” in SAE are produced   

g.  The most significant differences are the focus of the dialect (behind the top teeth for Spanish and inside the mouth with SAE) and the general placement and activity of the tongue (more aggressive and fluid behind the top teeth for Spanish and inside the mouth behind bottom teeth for SAE). In general one trying to speak SAE needs to speak slowly and to relax the tongue, let it rest behind the bottom teeth, and use it more inside the mouth

I have coached speakers in face-to-face, on-sight sessions and through audio files and telephone work.
My fees can be paid by Pay-Pal.
 

         
          References-

          David A. Stern's dialect acquisition/reduction audio tapes
 
  • Tips for Good Vocal Delivery for Live or Pre-Recorded Audio:

          Use vocal variety.

          Use good diction.

          Use effective breath support.

          Keep your voice healthy.

    (1) Drink plenty of water.
    (2) Use relaxation techniques.
    (3) Get adequate sleep.
    (4) Don't stress your voice by shouting, whispering, pushing it.
 

 

         Experience

  • 1948- present- learning other languages (Chinese, Japanese, Latin, French, German) 
     
  • 1964- present- performing dialects (American regions, Hawaiian, British, Cockney, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, German, French, Italian, Spanish...)
     
  • 1988- present- coaching dialects and accent reduction, university students
     
  • 2007-present- professional coaching, foreign accent reduction corporate personnel
     
  • 2009-present- professional dialect and language coaching for movie actors
   
 

                                                                                  Contact Dr. Howard    

 Professional Resume | Professional Vitae | Performance Resume | Publications/Presentations |Performance/Communication Curricula Perf. St. Syllabi | Professional Network| Public Speaking/Presenting | Professional Projects | Professional Communication Guidelines  Performances of Autobio. & Lit. | Home