Pulling funny faces

Many accent texts focus on the phonemes (the sounds) of an accent. Obviously these are vital, but there’s so much more to think about like rhythm, intonation, pitch, timbre and the face you’re going to pull. Yes - accents really do involve pulling faces! If you’ve studied a second (or third or fourth...) language later in life you’ve probably experienced facial muscle fatigue after practicing unfamiliar sounds and words for hours. Learning a new accent shouldn’t be that different. When working on RP, for example, it might be beneficial to think of lengthening the face and hollowing out your cheeks a little. A cockney accent on the other hand might benefit from a bit of a pout. (Of course, it all depends on your own accent - your starting point.) These micro adjustments to the way you hold your face and shape sounds ultimately create micro changes to the timbre of the resulting sound.

And make sure you stay in accent (which really means staying in character) even when you’re not speaking. It’s always interesting when you see British actors on American tv shows absolutely nailing it while speaking, but somehow looking British when silent. (Not naming names!) Their resting face reflects the use they've put the muscles to for most of their lives. You remedy that by thinking, laughing and crying in accent.

Try pulling some faces yourself and experiment. Do your best (modern) RP, but pull a cockney face. You’ll probably find you get a not very posh/not very common/not quite Estuary either Southern English accent - now that's "castable." Have fun playing.

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