British Accent Help

Well, first of all, DON'T listen to other Americans (assuming you're a Yank, like me) performing even the best of British accents.

You'll want to listen to NATIVE speakers. A lot. But DON'T just pick them randomly. You'll want them all to have the SAME British accent.

The question is, are you trying for RP? Cockney/East end? Coastal? Something more rural? There are just as many British accents as there are ones in the States and it wouldn't do, in reverse, to sound like half your accent is from Texas and the other half from New Jersey.


One of my favorites is listening closely to and emulating Geoffrey Palmer in "As Time Goes By" for a nice, posh, plummy sound (Martin Clunes for something similar but more modern and laid back, yet still very proper sounding.) Philip Bretherton, also in "As Time Goes By" for something along the same line, but more breezy.)

And you CANNOT mix that with "'ERE! Oi foun' me a woild rabbit!"


When you develop an ear for a particular accent, find lots of people who use it, listen, listen, listen, and practice, practice, practice. Then LISTEN to your recordings. Make notes of the mistakes you keep making over and over and be aware of when you make them. Soon, they'll stick out, and they'll be jarring to your ear. Then you'll correct them over and over. First intentionally. Then it will be habit, and you'll have your accent. ; )

Also, I feel i was a bit rash in saying don't listen to other non-native speakers. Those who are good might offer some excellent advice or tips. Though when training your ear, the authentic article is the best. And keep listening closely to yourself as well. Best of luck!

Absolutely right! You can't freeze. Just relax and it'll go a lot better. If you freeze, you sound unnatural, and it's solely due to nerves.

Funny story:  I've done a British accent for studios in the UK before, and talk about a nerve-wracking!

I didn't realize the studio asking for "either American or British accent" was in the UK, when I provided both.  When realization hit, I just KNEW they were going to say "yes, please, don't ever do that again."  What they actually said was "oh, the British one is lovely, that's what we're looking for right there."

At which point I got a small pit in my stomach that didn't go away until the final lines were approved. XD

But the awesome part was they didn't find any fault with it, and it gave me a wonderful confidence boost that's helped out a lot.

I STILL get nervous performing an accent in front of native speakers though. ; )

I LOVE hearing non-native people do American accents, myself. When it's spot-on, it's fun to hear what someone would sound like if they were from your neck of the woods, and even when it's off, it's delightful and all in good fun. It also gives me unique ideas for new character voices. = )

Which English accent are you referring to? If you're going for a standard English accent, unfortunately for you, there's no standard accent, well not anymore anyway. (Just like here in the US, there's no standard accent, just 3-5 general accent groups, with General American being the most prominent) However if you wanted to learn an English accent, listen to Duffy's advice on listening to native speakers and also, if you can read the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), try using an IPA chart of the accent you're going for, to reduce the chances of mixing up your accents and give you a general idea where your tongue should be while speaking.

Also, don't flap your non-initial Ts, as most English accents usually have you either drop them or pronounce them as Ts.