Dialects and Accents Development

Speaking Without an Accent: Training in Non-Regional Dialect

(paperback & cASSETTE)

by David Alan Stern, Ph.D.

 $115.00
Complete Set (8 books and 8 Tapes)

You Save $20.60

Are you an actor with a strong regional dialect or foreign accent? If the casting director is looking for your particular dialect, you’re in luck. But often, a heavy accent will affect your ability to get that call-back. Don’t worry. You aren’t alone. One of our most requested accent reduction programs come from actors that grew up surrounded by Broadway: New York. Another accent many working actors attempt to soften is the American southern accent. But whatever regional/foreign dialect your early language training developed, the skilled actor can adjust, turning an apparent “no sale” into a marketable asset. [more]

Book Overview/Description

There are several different English dialects as well as American English dialects. You need to be able to identify your region before being able to develop a non-regional American dialect. You also need to give yourself some time to turn using this non-regional dialect into a habit. Once that happens, your previous regional/foreign accents become part of your skill set on your professional resume!

There are several methods on the market to help you to reduce your accent. Not all of them are created equal. And since you’re going to put some effort into learning a non regional dialect, work with some of the best!

David Alan Stern, Ph.D. has taught thousands of actors and broadcasters to put on foreign accents and regional dialects. He’s worked in Hollywood since 1980 as an accent and dialect coach for the motion picture and television industries. He has served on the faculties of both Wichita State and Penn State Universities while his directed learning system is used in over one thousand college theatre programs and by professional actors around the world! Among his students are Mike Farrell, Jack Klugman, Edward James Olmos, Bronson Pinchot, Lynn Redgrave, Forest Whitaker, and Michael York as well as Oscar Winners Geena Davis, Olympia Dukakis and Sally Field.

Patterns you learned in childhood will take focus to reduce. Focus on non-regional muscularity, resonance, and pronunciation along with sustained repetition are key to speaking without an accent. David Alan Stern’s tapes and books provide you with a systematic lesson system to achieve accent reduction and improve diction.

David Alan Stern, Ph.D. has taught thousands of actors and broadcasters to put on (or take off) foreign accents and regional dialects. He’s worked in Hollywood since 1980 as an accent and dialect coach for the motion picture and television industries. He has served on the faculties of both Wichita State and Penn State Universities while his directed learning system is used in over one thousand college theatre programs and by professional actors around the world! Among his students are Mike Farrell, Jack Klugman, Edward James Olmos, Bronson Pinchot, Lynn Redgrave, Forest Whitaker, and Michael York as well as Oscar Winners Geena Davis, Olympia Dukakis and Sally Field.

There are 8 one-hour cassettes with manuals teaching non-regional muscularity, resonance and pronunciation to speakers with the following regionalisms:

• New York City and North Jersey

• American South and Texas

• Pennsylvania, South Jersey, and Delmarva

• Boston and Eastern New England

• Chicago, Detroit, and Great Lakes

• American Urban and Rural Black

• Mid-West Farm Belt

And a special articulation tape:

• Elevated/Classical American Diction

To soften or minimize a regional accent in your speech, Stern’s cassettes and workbooks will help achieve success in record time.