Dialect coach
Encyclopedia
A dialect coach assists an actor in assuming a certain regional or foreign accent
to perform convincingly in radio, theatrical or film productions. Dialect coaches are skilled in pronunciation
and phonetics
(a branch of linguistics
), and do not necessarily have to have the accent that they are teaching, though it may be helpful. This profession is often confused with that of a dialogue coach, a person who helps performers with their acting. This distinction gets even more confusing sometimes because a really good dialect coach frequently wears both hats.
Many accents are very difficult for native English speakers because, in order to sound well, the actor would have to use muscles in the tongue and mouth that the speaker never used before. The coaching can here become very similar to that of a gym coach: a muscle is a muscle and training the tongue and the mouth requires warm-ups, exercises and a lot of practice.
Contrary to popular actors' belief, mastering the correct pronunciation, like rolling one's rs, for example, is not enough for an authentic-sounding accent, only half of the problem. Acquiring the correct native pitch, the musicality of the language, is the second and equally important part of the equation.
The best dialect coaches specialize in specific accents and languages and come from a variety of backgrounds.
Accent (linguistics)
In linguistics, an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation.An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside , the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language In...
to perform convincingly in radio, theatrical or film productions. Dialect coaches are skilled in pronunciation
Pronunciation
Pronunciation refers to the way a word or a language is spoken, or the manner in which someone utters a word. If one is said to have "correct pronunciation", then it refers to both within a particular dialect....
and phonetics
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
(a branch of linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
), and do not necessarily have to have the accent that they are teaching, though it may be helpful. This profession is often confused with that of a dialogue coach, a person who helps performers with their acting. This distinction gets even more confusing sometimes because a really good dialect coach frequently wears both hats.
Many accents are very difficult for native English speakers because, in order to sound well, the actor would have to use muscles in the tongue and mouth that the speaker never used before. The coaching can here become very similar to that of a gym coach: a muscle is a muscle and training the tongue and the mouth requires warm-ups, exercises and a lot of practice.
Contrary to popular actors' belief, mastering the correct pronunciation, like rolling one's rs, for example, is not enough for an authentic-sounding accent, only half of the problem. Acquiring the correct native pitch, the musicality of the language, is the second and equally important part of the equation.
The best dialect coaches specialize in specific accents and languages and come from a variety of backgrounds.