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Name that tune (and dialect)

Karen Burgos

Have you ever noticed that singers’ dialects don’t necessarily match their speaking voices? Or that sometimes the singers use dialects and accents to either make a cultural statement or simply embrace their own regional dialects of English?

Linguist Karen Burgos returns to the podcast for the November 2024 episode to discuss this very topic: American and British dialects in popular song. She and Paul are joined by podcast co-producer and frequent guest Cameron Meier.

In a Manner of Speaking podcastThey play clips from songs ranging from the first decade of the 20th century to today, analyzing the singers’ dialects. In many instances, singers’ dialects don’t match their speaking voices, while, at other times, the singers use dialect to either make a cultural statement or embrace their own regional dialects.

Go here to listen, or find it on your favorite podcast channel or index.

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Listen to voices of the Civil Rights Movement

Jacqueline Springfield

The voices of the American Civil Rights Movement are the focus of this month’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast. Actor, director, voice/dialect coach, and IDEA Associate Editor Jacqueline Springfield returns to the podcast to discuss and analyze 11 speeches, ranging from Booker T. Washington in 1895 to President Barack Obama in 2017. Paul and Jacqueline look at dialect, content, style, and historical context.

Go here to listen.

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What’s in a (place) name?

David Crystal
David Crystal

Happy Labor Day weekend to those of you in the United States. Speaking of labor, few people work harder than legendary linguist David Crystal, who has just completed three years’ work on his new website, TraceThatPlace.com. The site allows users to explore “the story and sound of place names on the road signs and railway stations of Britain.”

David joins Paul on this month’s episode of the In a Manner of Speaking podcast to discuss the site and the history of place names in Great Britain. Go here to listen.

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Welcome Joel Goldes to the podcast

Joel Goldes
Joel Goldes

Please welcome renowned dialect coach and IDEA Associate Editor Joel Goldes to Paul’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast. Joel and Paul discuss dialect coaching, specifically two of Joel’s most prominent projects: Come from Away and The Woman King.

Go here to listen, or find the podcast on your favorite podcast channel of index.

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Explore the old Transatlantic dialect

Barrie Kreinik

Have you ever wondered where that old movie sound came from? You know the one: when actors sound not quite British but not quite American.

Wonder no more, as Paul explores the Transatlantic dialect on this month’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast. Paul’s guest is Barrie Kreinik (actor, singer, writer, dialect coach, audiobook narrator and IDEA editor), who has recently released The Queen of Fourteenth Street, an audiobook celebrating the life of actress Eva Le Gallienne, who spoke with a Transatlantic sound. Paul and Barrie are joined by podcast co-producer and film critic and historian Cameron Meier. Go here to listen.

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Welcome Lukas Hassel to the podcast

Lukas Hassel

Paul welcomes celebrated Danish-American actor, writer, and director Lukas Hassel to his In a Manner of Speaking podcast this month. Go here to listen, or find the episode on your favorite podcast channel or index.

Paul and Lukas are joined by film critic and co-producer of this podcast, Cameron Meier. The three discuss Lukas’s career, life on the film festival circuit, and the challenges of acting in a second language. Accent modification or “reduction” is central to this discussion.

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Zoom masterclasses begin June 1

Paul’s new series of Zoom masterclasses begin on Saturday, June 1. As of the date of this post, there are still a couple of spots left, so act now if you want to participate! Topics for the June courses are “Received Pronunciation, Cockney, Estuary, and Transatlantic” and “Acting in a Foreign-Language Accent.”

For more information, visit the masterclasses page.

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Windows ebook technical problems

We are currently experiencing technical problems with the download/registration process of our Windows dialect/accent ebooks. These are the popular LiveCode-format ebooks that we sell on this site. If you have already bought and registered your ebook, this problem does not affect you. The problem exists only when you try to download and register your newly purchased ebook.

We apologize for this inconvenience and are working to fix it. Until the problem is fixed, please e-mail paul@paulmeier.com if you are interested in purchasing a Windows (LiveCode) ebook. If you just purchased an ebook and are having trouble downloading and registering it, e-mail Paul and he will guide you through the process.

Please keep in mind that the purchase process for all our other products is working fine. And our iTunes ebooks (Apple Books) are unaffected by this temporary glitch.

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African-American voices, through time

Patricia Cukor-Avila

Join Paul and his podcast guest, Patricia Cukor-Avila, this month on In a Manner of Speaking for a fascinating conversation about historical African-American English. Paul and Patricia, president of the American Dialect Society and professor of linguistics at North Texas University, discuss Black American dialects from Colonial times to early 20th century. Go here to listen.

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New masterclasses: You pick the topic!

After a two-year hiatus, Paul’s Zoom masterclasses are back! They are scheduled for June and July of this year. And the best part is: You get to help select the topic! Possible subjects are:

  1. The Art of Voice-Over
  2. Received Pronunciation (RP), Cockney, Estuary, and Transatlantic
  3. Audiobook Narration
  4. Secrets of Great Shakespeare Performance
  5. Shakespeare’s Original Pronunciation
  6. Dialects of the British Isles and Ireland
  7. Acting in Foreign-Language Accents
  8. Working with Accent-Modification Clients
  9. IPA Proficiency and Standard Lexical Sets

Just e-mail Paul at paul@paulmeier.com and tell him which topic you prefer. (You can pick more than one.)

For information on the dates, prices, and more, visit the masterclass page.

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Loud and proud

Ever wonder how loud a person can get? It was that wondering that inspired this month’s episode of Paul’s In a Manner of Speaking episode. Go here to listen, or find the podcast on your favorite podcast channel or index.

Paul explores loudness, or the lack thereof. Just as he examined extremes of the human voice’s pitch and speed in past episodes, Paul discusses the extremes of volume, specifically  looking at world records for loudness while reflecting on the rarity of true silence.

Image (iStock-174789753) courtesy of SKrow.

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We love our shorts!

Paul Meier Dialect Services and the International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) are proud to sponsor this year’s Love Your Shorts Film Festival in Sanford, Florida. Go here for more information about the 14th annual festival.

PMDS Vice President and IDEA Executive Editor Cameron Meier was at the festival on Thursday evening for Education Day, meeting filmmakers and discussing accents and dialects. Thanks to everyone at Love Your Shorts for making this possible!

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Remembering Tom

Image copyright Larry Busacca/Getty Images

The sudden, unexpected death of Tom Wilkinson has hit me hard, not simply because he was one of the finest actors of our generation, but because our friendship goes back to our college days.

I dialect-coached both Tom and his wife, Diana Hardcastle, in several films and plays over the years. My wife Marilyn, our son Cameron, and I had been guests at their London home. He left us far too soon, for I am sure he had even greater performances to add to his astonishing 130 movie credits and untold number of stage performances. For me, his greatest role was Arthur Edens in Michael Clayton with George Clooney.

Our condolences to Diana and their children, Alice and Molly. Farewell, Tom.

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No spaces between words? Reading aloud?

Paul Saenger

Did you know that reading aloud was once more common that reading silently? And it was more common than not to see NO spaces between words in written text?

In the final In a Manner of Speaking episode of 2023, Paul dives into this topic with Paul Saenger, curator of rare books, emeritus, at Chicago’s Newbury Library and author of Space Between Words: The Origins of Silent Reading.

Go here to listen to the podcast episode, or find it on your favorite podcast channel of index.

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Holiday discount and free Christmas gift!

Looking for a great gift for an actor this holiday season? Or looking to save money while improving your own dialect and accent skills? My book, Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen, makes the perfect stocking-stuffer for the actor in your life! He or she will love mastering its 27 accents and dialects, using the book’s fun exercises and accompanying sound files.

And to make it more affordable, from now until January 5, I’m offering $10 off on both the Deluxe Streaming print edition AND the iTunes ebook (Apple Book) version. That’s just US$69.95 (or US$69.99 on iTunes) instead of the usual US$79.95.

The Deluxe Streaming edition is a printed book with the sound files available via streaming audio from any internet-connected mobile device or computer. It’s available for this discounted price on this site (select Deluxe book w/streaming audio) until January 5. (The iTunes ebook must be purchased directly on iTunes by the account holder who wishes to use the ebook, but what a great inspiration for an iTunes gift card!) The original CD version of my book is still available for its usual price of $99.95 but does not contain Jamaican, Estuary, or Birmingham.

Please note that the discount is not available on Amazon. However, if you are outside the United States, you might find it cheaper to order the book through your own country’s Amazon, such as Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.ca.

And now … my gift to you: my audiobook reading of Charles Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol. Just click the link to start listening absolutely free. (The link will expire January 5.)

As 2023 draws to a close, may your holidays bring peace and joy to you and all your family.

 

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Textbook season is here

If you are teaching a dialect course during this coming semester, Paul’s Accents & Dialects for Stage and Screen, Deluxe Streaming Edition, is your perfect textbook!

Less expensive than the older CD version and containing three additional dialects (a total of 27), the Deluxe Streaming Edition has been the top textbook for the last two years. (It’s still a printed book, just with the sound delivered via streaming audio.) Preview it quickly here, or more fully in a new 13-minute video. It’s also available as an iTunes ebook (Apple Book).

Want a free instructor’s copy? Get one with your order of five or more copies, plus a 15% academic discount! For details, see Information for Instructors.

Of course, you and your students might prefer to purchase it on Amazon, where discounts are also available and postage might be cheaper.

E-mail Paul with questions or to place your order, and a big thank-you to those who have ordered in the past.
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Shall I compare thee to a summer’s podcast?

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate,” Shakespeare wrote in Sonnet 18. Though not quite as lovely as Shakespeare himself (or the Fair Youth he was addressing in the sonnet), Paul’s first In a Manner of Speaking podcast episode of the summer is nevertheless quite inspiring, as it’s all about the Bard!

Whether you’re an expert or just beginning your Shakespeare journey, you should get some enjoyment and inspiration from the July podcast, which you can listen to here, or on your favorite podcast channel of index.

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Say my name, say my name

Praveen Shanbhag

Getting people to say your name — and pronounce it correctly — can often be a challenge. Enter Namecoach, the company founded by Praveen Shanbhag that allows people to record their name and embed the resulting sound file into their e-mail signatures and social-media accounts.

In this month’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast, Paul Meier talks to Praveen about Namecoach and pronunciation in general. Listen to the podcast episode here, or on your favorite podcast channel or index.

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Summer sale on plays and musicals

For the first time ever, Paul is offering a summer sale on his popular dialect/accent recordings for plays and musicals. Normally priced at $349 for an entire play/musical, the recordings have been reduced by $100. So that’s just $249 for the dialect/accent design for an entire production, delivered via streaming sound files. The sale runs through July 31 and includes complimentary copies of the appropriate accent/dialect ebook. Go here for more information and to see if your play or musical is among the many that Paul offers.

If your show is not among the many that Paul offers a complete package for, you can still take advantage of the sale. If Paul offers only some of the characters in your play or musical, E-mail Paul and he’ll be happy to discuss a special offer.

And, as always, if you don’t see your production listed, Paul is happy to talk to you about preparing new recordings just for you!

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‘The Oxford English Dictionary’

Catherine Sangster

The latest topic for Paul’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast is the venerated Oxford English Dictionary. And Paul’s guest is Dr. Catherine Sangster, executive editor of pronunciations at Oxford Languages. She has been in charge of the Oxford English Dictionary’s pronunciations for 11 years. Listen to the podcast here, or on your favorite podcast channel or index.

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Let’s talk Irish

Malachy O’Neill

Please welcome Professor Malachy O’Neill to the In a Manner of Speaking podcast. Paul and Malachy discuss all things related to the Irish language. Listen here, or on your favorite podcast channel or index. (But be advised that you can get all the free extra content related to this podcast only on PaulMeier.com.)

Professor O’Neill is also the latest IDEA subject: Northern Ireland 9.

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Exploring Roy Hart’s legacy

Roy Hart

In the December edition of the In a Manner of Speaking podcast, Paul and his guests, Enrique Pardo and Linda Wise of Pantheatre, discuss the legacy of the intriguing and often controversial actor and vocalist Roy Hart (1926-1975). Pardo and Wise have spent decades building on the legacy of Hart, who is known for his almost superhuman vocal range, avant-garde performances, and work with German singing teacher Alfred Wolfsohn. Listen to the podcast here.

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Holiday sale and a Dickens of a Christmas gift!

Looking for a great gift for an actor? Or looking to save money while improving your own dialect and accent skills?

Paul’s book, Accents and Dialects for Stage and Screen, makes the perfect stocking-stuffer! With its 27 accents and dialects, the book is packed with fun exercises and accompanying sound files.

And to make it more affordable, from now until January 5, we’re offering $10 off (or a 12% reduction) on both the Deluxe Streaming print edition AND the iTunes ebook (Apple Book) version. That’s just US$69.95 (or US$69.99 on iTunes) instead of the usual US$79.95.

The Deluxe Streaming edition is a printed book with the sound files available via streaming audio from any internet-connected mobile device or computer. It’s available for this discounted price on my site (select Deluxe book w/streaming audio) until January 5. (The iTunes ebook must be purchased directly on iTunes by the account holder who wishes to use the ebook, but what a great inspiration for an iTunes gift card!)

The original CD version of the book is still available for its usual price of $99.95 but does not contain Jamaican, Estuary, or Birmingham.

Please note that the discount is not available on Amazon. However, if you are outside the United States, you will still find it cheaper to order the book through your own country’s Amazon, such as Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.ca.

And now … our gift to you: Paul’s audiobook reading of Charles Dickens’ beloved A Christmas Carol. Just click here to start listening absolutely free. (The link will expire January 5.) And please don’t forget that Paul offers coaching for every character in A Christmas Carol, in addition to dozens of other plays and musicals.

As 2022 draws to a close, may your holidays bring peace and joy to you and all your family.

Finally, for a free video preview of Paul’s book, see below:

 

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David Crystal: ‘Sounds Appealing’

David Crystal

A discussion with the great linguist and author David Crystal always sounds appealing. But on this month’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast, David and Paul are taking the phrase literally: by discussing David’s 2018 book, Sounds Appealing. They discuss various topics related to the book, including pronunciation, phonetics, phoneticians, speech melody, intonation, and stress patterning.

Go here to listen to the podcast and learn more about David Crystal.

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Language vs. reality

Nick Enfield

Paul’s podcast guest for August 2022 is Nick Enfield, professor of linguistics at the University of Sydney. Inspired by Nick’s 2022 book, Language Vs. Reality: Why Language Is Good for Lawyers and Bad for Scientists, Paul and Nick discuss how language is not always the best tool for conveying and representing reality.

Go here to listen to the podcast, or find it on your favorite podcast channel or index. (But keep in mind that to access all the free extra content, you must visit the  podcast page at PaulMeier.com.)

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Summer sale continues through August 15

Exhausted by inflation? We are too. That’s why we’ve decided to buck the trend and drop the price of Paul’s signature product, Accents & Dialects for Stage and Screen Deluxe Streaming Edition, by 10% for a special summer sale. That’s US$67.45 instead of the regular $74.95.

The sale runs through August 15. The lower price is available on this site, Amazon, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk, and also applies to the iTunes ebook (Apple Book) version. (If you live outside the United States, please check your country’s own Amazon, as that might be the cheapest way to buy when you factor in shipping.)

And if you’re a professor or anyone else wishing to buy five or more copies, you still receive the bulk discount on top of this sale, which means a further savings!

All good things must eventually end, though, and, unfortunately, we’re not immune to rising paper and ink prices, and Amazon and iTunes fees. So when this sale finishes on August 15, Accents & Dialects for Stage and Screen Deluxe Streaming Edition will start selling at its new, permanent price of $79.95. This means that there will never be a better time to buy the book (or ebook) than now, during this summer sale.

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Summer sale!

Tired of inflation? We are too. That’s why we’ve decided to buck the trend and drop the price of Paul’s signature product, Accents & Dialects for Stage and Screen Deluxe Streaming Edition, by 10% for a special summer sale. That’s US$67.45 instead of the regular $74.95.

The sale runs through August 15. The lower price is available on this site, Amazon, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk, and also applies to the iTunes ebook (Apple Book) version. (If you live outside the United States, please check your country’s own Amazon, as that might be the cheapest way to buy when you factor in shipping.)

And if you’re a professor or anyone else wishing to buy five or more copies, you still receive the bulk discount on top of this sale, which means a further savings!

All good things must eventually end, though, and, unfortunately, we’re not immune to rising paper and ink prices, and Amazon and iTunes fees. So when this sale finishes on August 15, Accents & Dialects for Stage and Screen Deluxe Streaming Edition will start selling at its new, permanent price of $79.95. This means that there will never be a better time to buy the book (or ebook) than now, during this summer sale.

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May podcast tackles dialect coaching

Edda Sharpe

For the May 2022 edition of his In a Manner of Speaking podcast, Paul welcomes dialect coaches Edda Sharpe and Jan Haydn Rowles, authors of How To Do Accents and leading figures in the world of voice, speech, and dialects. The three discuss dialects in the English National Opera revival of My Fair Lady (coached by Edda) and the film Belfast (coached by Jan). They also engage in a larger discussion of dialects and accents, including the ones featured in those productions: Received Pronunciation (RP), Northern Irish, and Cockney.

Jan Haydn Rowles

To listen, go here or search for the podcast on your favorite podcast channel or index.

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A “Window” into Shakespeare

Following the successful launch of the iTunes ebook (Apple Book) version of Paul’s Voicing Shakespeare earlier this year, we’re pleased to announce an updated edition of the original Windows version. To purchase the ebook, go here. (Mac users will need to purchase the iTunes version.)

The ebook, which sells for $29.99, features embedded audio and video. You will enjoy seven major sections, all divided into short and easy-to-read chapters, unlocking all the secrets you need to perform Shakespeare’s great work with confidence, clarity, and power. The ebook thoroughly explores verse; prose; voice, speech, and dialect; physical performance; musical dynamics; and Shakespeare’s rhetoric. In addition to readings by Paul, the ebook includes performances from 17 well-respected actors and theatre professors: 76 performances in all.

A big thanks to Curt Ford for the ebook’s development.

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March comes in with ‘The Power of Voice’

Denise Woods

Paul’s In a Manner of Speaking podcast guest for March is Denise Woods, successful Hollywood dialect coach, theatre professor at the California Institute of the Arts, and author of the recent book The Power of Voice, published by HarperCollins.

In addition to the two dialect coaches discussing the finer points of their profession, Paul and Denise talk about the contentious terms “accent reduction/modification” and how to help clients who believe their accent is holding them back socially or professionally. They also discuss coaching Black actors and delve into the changing landscape of audiobooks and how a single narrator can respectfully voice scores of characters who differ in age, gender, dialect, nationality, and ethnicity.

You can find the podcast where you normally go to listen to podcasts, or just click here.

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‘You Are What You Speak’

Lane Greene

New month, new podcast! And February’s episode of In a Manner of Speaking features Lane Greene, language columnist and Spain correspondent for The Economist. The podcast episode takes its title from one of Lane’s books, You Are What You Speak (2011), and Paul and Lane tackle a variety of topics related to linguistics, accents, and the myths, fears, and politics surrounding language. Go here to listen to the podcast, or look for it on your favorite podcast channel or index.

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New Zoom masterclasses to begin soon

Paul’s new series of Zoom masterclasses will begin soon, and spaces are still available! The first two courses, covering voice-over and Shakespeare, begin February 5 and 6, respectively, while three more courses begin in early March. Topics for the March classes include British and Irish dialects, accent modification, and foreign-language accents.

For more information, go here. Or e-mail Paul at paul@paulmeier.com.