African Accents A Workbook for Actors [Hardcover]

This is a comprehensive workbook for actors, covering the key characteristics and profiles of a wide range of African accents of English. 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.

Full breakdowns of each accent cover:

• an introduction giving a brief history of the accent, its ethnic background, and its language of origin
• preparatory warm-upexercises specific to each accent
• a directory of research materialsincluding documentaries, plays, films and online resources
• key characteristicssuch as melody, stress, pace and pitch
• descriptions of physical articulationin the tongue, lips, jaw, palate and pharynx
• practice sentences, phoneme tablesand worksheetsfor solo study.

African Accents is accompanied by a website at www.routledge.com/cw/mcguire with an extensive online database of audio samples for each accent. The bookand audio resources guide actors to develop their own authentic accents, rather than simply to mimic native speakers. This process allows the actor to personalize an accent, and to integrate it into the creation of character rather than to playthe accent on top of character.

1. How to Use the Workbook and Reference Materials  2. Uganda  (Luganda)  3. Kenya  (Dholuo)  4. Zimbabwe  (Shona)  5. South Africa  (Zulu)  lã'