I need a northern accent for a play. I can't do it. Is there a method to lea

Question:There are many accent instruction tapes/CDs that are available that will help you break down the sounds of a certain accent so you are better able to understand the differences between your own accent (yes, we all have an accent), and the accent you are trying to speak with. Things to think about when learning an accent include:

-vowel sounds (e.g. long A sound as in RP British "master" vs. short A in American "master")
-How is the R treated? In what are called "non-rotic" dialects the R sound is generally treated as an "ah" sound, as in RP "master". Conversely, "Rhotic" dialects (e.g. Irish and most notably North American) dialect uses the "rhotic" R, which makes an "er" sound.
-Verbal inflection. Think of this as where the emphasis is placed in a sentence. The words may rise in pitch to a certain word, and then the pitch will fall and sometimes rise again to complete the sentence. This is a very important part of making an accent sound authentic and can only really be learned by listening to native speakers and their pitch and inflection tendencies in speech. Irish accents tend to have a more "sing-song" quality for example than RP British. Northern accents, for example, will start on one pitch, scoop under to a lower pitch and then slide back up to the starting pitch at the end of a phrase (kind of like the "up-speak" mentioned before..think California "valley girl" if this means anything to you)

I highly recommend "Acting With an Accent, Stage Dialect Instruction: British North Country" by David Alan Stern (handbook with CD)
You may even be able to find this at your local library, it is a very popular series of accent instruction books.

Places that are great to hear authentic accents online are the British Library's online collection of accents and dialects at http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collecti... and BBC's Voices project at http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/i... .
You can listen to hundreds of recordings of people speaking in many, many dialects. This is very helpful when trying to figure out the inflection/pitch part of your accent.

Good luck!

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: There are many accent instruction tapes/CDs that are available that will help you break down the sounds of a certain accent so you are better able to understand the differences between your own accent (yes, we all have an accent), and the accent you are trying to speak with. Things to think about when learning an accent include:

-vowel sounds (e.g. long A sound as in RP British "master" vs. short A in American "master")
-How is the R treated? In what are called "non-rotic" dialects the R sound is generally treated as an "ah" sound, as in RP "master". Conversely, "Rhotic" dialects (e.g. Irish and most notably North American) dialect uses the "rhotic" R, which makes an "er" sound.
-Verbal inflection. Think of this as where the emphasis is placed in a sentence. The words may rise in pitch to a certain word, and then the pitch will fall and sometimes rise again to complete the sentence. This is a very important part of making an accent sound authentic and can only really be learned by listening to native speakers and their pitch and inflection tendencies in speech. Irish accents tend to have a more "sing-song" quality for example than RP British. Northern accents, for example, will start on one pitch, scoop under to a lower pitch and then slide back up to the starting pitch at the end of a phrase (kind of like the "up-speak" mentioned before..think California "valley girl" if this means anything to you)

I highly recommend "Acting With an Accent, Stage Dialect Instruction: British North Country" by David Alan Stern (handbook with CD)
You may even be able to find this at your local library, it is a very popular series of accent instruction books.

Places that are great to hear authentic accents online are the British Library's online collection of accents and dialects at http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/collecti... and BBC's Voices project at http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/recordings/i... .
You can listen to hundreds of recordings of people speaking in many, many dialects. This is very helpful when trying to figure out the inflection/pitch part of your accent.

Good luck!

just imagine you are scum

I think just listen to northeners for a bit, maybe from a film or Corrie and then just practice

You will just have to listen a bit harder to their dialogue and practise it.

Ee by gum lass, as tha gorreny cash on thee fot chippy.?
Git thee sen tat book shop, an git a Yarkshir and book.!
Yarkshir lass, barn an bred.

wht is a northern accent?? i'm from wisconsin...but do we really have accents? Or are you talking about, like, Canada? there is no northern accent.

Listen to the accent for a while, maybe a movie or television show. Listen to it over and over, then try and immitate it. Just keep on immitating it until you feel comfortable with those words. Then try to expand using different ones. Good uck! Keep practicing!