Help! How to do an English (British) Accent?

Question

I'm in a school play, and my play coordinator said I need to have a British accent, similar to Billie Piper's or Catherine Tate's. Does anyone know any info that could help me?

Answer 1

Don't listen to us. Listen to Billie Piper or Catherine Tate otherwise you'll end up sounding like d**k van d**e

Answer 2

Oh daddy I went wee wee in me britches!!!

Answer 3

If you're listen to movies and mimicking accents make sure the actors that you are learning from are not using accents themselves (they are native British, not American's using a british accent).

Or try using a site of British sound archives.

http://www.bl.uk/collections/sound-archi...

Answer 4

Well, I think you should watch movies like Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee, or any with a British accent in it. Listen carefully to the way these people talk. Then practice by talking at the same time as they are. So if they were to say a simple sentence like, "I'm not weak!" you can say it at the same time to get the pitch and length of vowels correct. Try researching on Billie Piper and Catherine Tate and renting tapes/movies with them speaking on it. Again, listen to a line, then play it over again with you speaking along with it.

Eventually, you'll be able to imitate their accents in any words at all. Try making your own variations on their's and saying them in their accent. Then play over the original sentence and see how close you came. See what you need to improve.

And don't forget, there are the basics:

1. Drop any 'r's at the end of words.

2. Let your vowels go on a bit more than you normally would.

3. Start using words like "fancy", (as in "I don't fancy that")  

         "reckon", and such in your day-to-day life to help you get

         a better feel for it.

(If you can't get a hold of any of those movies, Adventure Camp on Discovery Kids Channel has got British accents too.)

Answer 5

Start off with watching movies like Harry Potter, etc where they use thick british accent.. U just try and immitate them.

Answer 6

Please watch harry potter for you to learn british accent.

Answer 7

well you must try to sound realistic. im not british but here are some tips: Understand that all English accents (barring those from the West country and parts of Scotland) lack a rhotic r; i.e. don't roll your "r"s and that not all British Accents are the same; a Scottish accent varies greatly from an English accent, but are both British.

Know that some English accents may be that the 'T's are not pronounced and that the u in stupid and duty is pronounced with the y sound, not oo as in an American accent; thus it is pronounced styupid, not stoopid, etc. The standard English accent, the a (for example in father) is pronounced aah, not like a like apple.

Pronounce that T as T, and not an American D. (Duty is pronounced Dyuty or condensed slightly to Jooty; not doody).

Pronounce the suffix -ing with the g, so it sounds like -ing rather than -een.

Applying the two steps above, the words human being are pronounced h-yuman being rather than yooman been.

Sometimes 'T's aren't pronounced at all, especially in words with two 'T's grouped together.

Sometimes the 'H' is not pronounced, in some accents.

Realise that some words require the ee sound to be pronounced as ee, such as in the word been. In an American accent, this is often pronounced bin. In an English Accent, this may be pronounced been, a cognate of bean; or just as "bin", depending on where you go. Don't narrow your mouth too much when you say words like 'shark' or 'chance'. The resulting sound may make you sound like a South African. Don't think that you'll get it right quickly either, it is likely that any true British person will know that you're faking it straight away, but it might pass for a real accent to non-'Brits'

Answer 8

It's not just the pronunciation of words, but all languages have what they call a sing-song quality in the sentence structure.

For the British accent the song part is:

1. dee-tee-dee-tee  (high voice)

2. DOOM  (very low voice)

3. da-da-da (middle voice, slowly rising in pitch)

4. dee-tee-dee-tee.  (high voice again)

Try it with this sentence

1. Did you think you

2. REALLY

3. could learn to

4. talk that way??

Answer 9

If you have any movies with people talking in British accents, that could help a lot. Also, pay close attention to people on the streets, like in the mall, grocery center, etcetera, and when you get home try to mimic them in the mirror. When I was in acting, thats what I was told to do, and I found that it helps a lot.

Answer 10

The best thing I have ever learned about faking a British accent is that instead of pronouncing "tube" in the American way (tOOb) you should pronounce it as "chube".

That is all I have to offer.  But that is important to know because Brits love the subway.

Answer 11

well, it is hard to write down..but...

I can't put it into words...you have to listen to someone speakign in this accent and pay close attention to their slurs or different sounds of the letters.

Answer 12

The best way to learn any accent is to adopt phrases like "how now brown cow" and "the rain in Spain falls mainly in the plain" and learn to say them "correctly" in that dialect.  

I recommend watching "My Fair Lady" with Audrey Hepburn and do what she does to learn the proper way to speak.