How to Develop a Country Accent

Record your efforts to learn to speak in a country accent.

The best way to develop any accent is to surround yourself with people who talk the way you are attempting to learn. Developing a country accent is one of the easiest accents to master.

Things You'll Need

• People
• Books
• Movies
• Tape Recorder

Instructions

1. Hang out with people who speak the way you are trying to learn. Listen as they talk and attempt to mimic the cadence and speech patterns. Pay careful attention to any slang they may use.

2. Read books that have characters speaking with a country dialect. Highlight those dialogue passages and read them aloud, speaking just as the character does.

3. Watch movies that have country speaking characters. Listen as the actors take on the roll of a country person.

4. Practice your country accent with a tape recorder. Listening to the playback can show you where you have the accent right and where you need improvement.

Tips & Warnings

• When you’re around real people and are attempting to speak the way they do, make sure you let them know that you are not making fun of them, but aspire to talk the way they do.

• Remember that actors learn new ways of speaking all the time. If they can do it, so can you.

• Most books and movies set in the Deep South will have characters that talk with a country accent. These are great to learn from, but be cautious that you don’t overdo the accent and end up sounding like a hick.