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Help with a New Hampshire Accent

dovrar

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dovrar

dovrar

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Hello Hive,

  Two of my kids are going to, Lord willing, be in Our Town this summer. They would like to be able to hear a legitimate New Hampshire accent before they audition. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where they can hear a good long sample. Especially of a female voice. I am having trouble finding a sample online that doesn't have foul language in it.

Thanks so much!

Debbie

 

Thanks

 

 

  

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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New Hampshire accents are not that hugely different than the rest of New England. Where are you from that you'd need to make a big accent change? Midwest or West Coast I think would not need to be an enormous change, but very different from Southern,  yes.

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Kalmia

Kalmia

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These should be helpful. Most importantly, it has the same quirk as Maine (where I am from): "R"s are dropped or softened and Rs are added to the end of words that normally end in a vowel sound. "Lobster" becomes "Lobstah" and "Idea" becomes "Idear". "A"s and sometimes "O"s are often pronounced with the "ah" sound. So Concord (capital of NH) is pronounced "Cahn-cuhd".  There is a clip of the accent at the end of each article:

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/talk-new-hampshire-accent/

 

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/lifeinnewengland/Essays/accents.html

Edited by Kalmia
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klmama

klmama

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If you want actual instruction, learnaccent.com has instruction in a New England accent from a terrific dialect coach, David Alan Stern.  My dc has learned several accents using his Acting with an Accent products, and we've been very happy with them.

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Tanaqui

Tanaqui

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2 hours ago, Kalmia said:

These should be helpful. Most importantly, it has the same quirk as Maine (where I am from): "R"s are dropped or softened and Rs are added to the end of words that normally end in a vowel sound. "Lobster" becomes "Lobstah" and "Idea" becomes "Idear". "A"s and sometimes "O"s are often pronounced with the "ah" sound. So Concord (capital of NH) is pronounced "Cahn-cuhd".  There is a clip of the accent at the end of each article:

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/talk-new-hampshire-accent/

 

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/lifeinnewengland/Essays/accents.html

 

Because I never, ever skip a chance to be pedantic about linguistics terminology and also because I love the word*, the term we're looking for when we discuss "dropping" /r/ at the end of a word is non-rhotic. New England, NYC, and the American South have typically non-rhotic accents, as does most of the UK.

Interestingly, in the UK rhotic accents are less prestigious and in the US it's the other way around. The linking r you describe intervocalically is also quite common in non-rhotic accents.

* You're just lucky you didn't say something that'd allow me to squeeze the words "schwa" and "schwi" into the conversation. Oh, whoops, there it is.

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dovrar

dovrar

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9 hours ago, klmama said:

If you want actual instruction, learnaccent.com has instruction in a New England accent from a terrific dialect coach, David Alan Stern.  My dc has learned several accents using his Acting with an Accent products, and we've been very happy with them.

I actually saw this, but we don't have a whole lot of time to invest in learning the accent and therefore don't want to spend $50 either.  Just at least want a gist so that they have a better chance at getting a part. It looks like an amazing product and I'll definitely start earlier next time they're planning to be in a play. Thanks for the review on the product!

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dovrar

dovrar

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10 hours ago, Kalmia said:

These should be helpful. Most importantly, it has the same quirk as Maine (where I am from): "R"s are dropped or softened and Rs are added to the end of words that normally end in a vowel sound. "Lobster" becomes "Lobstah" and "Idea" becomes "Idear". "A"s and sometimes "O"s are often pronounced with the "ah" sound. So Concord (capital of NH) is pronounced "Cahn-cuhd".  There is a clip of the accent at the end of each article:

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/talk-new-hampshire-accent/

 

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/lifeinnewengland/Essays/accents.html

I actually ran across the first link, that was the only sample that I found without foul language. I had forgotten about that. I'll be sure to have them listen to that. Also, if your kids get bored and you don't mind I would love to have another long sample of someone speaking with a New England accent.  Another thought, would I do well to look for local news reports? I figure that the reporters won't have much of an accent, but the locals probably will.

Thanks for the links!

Debbie

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dovrar

dovrar

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10 hours ago, Matryoshka said:

New Hampshire accents are not that hugely different than the rest of New England. Where are you from that you'd need to make a big accent change? Midwest or West Coast I think would not need to be an enormous change, but very different from Southern,  yes.

Actually, we are in South Carolina.  ; )

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klmama

klmama

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12 minutes ago, dovrar said:

I actually saw this, but we don't have a whole lot of time to invest in learning the accent and therefore don't want to spend $50 either.  Just at least want a gist so that they have a better chance at getting a part. It looks like an amazing product and I'll definitely start earlier next time they're planning to be in a play. Thanks for the review on the product!

You're welcome.  FYI, the price per accent is only $15.95.  

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MEmama

MEmama

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4 minutes ago, whitehawk said:

Boston accents, which should be much easier to find, will generally be close enough. (If you hear wicked used as "very," equivalent to the California hella, these are the right people.) A lot of people in southern and western New England have a more neutral accent, so I wouldn't think of it as a New England accent generally.

Kalmia's examples were spot on. They should also practice softening Ts to Ds: "better" is "bedduh."

Lol. I think of wicked as 90s slang and hella as more modern. In all the years I’ve lived here I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone actually say wicked, unless they were being obviously ironic and throw back. Hella is normal among teens though. 
I don’t hear the accent here much either though, only from old timers. I’ve never heard a young person (that is, not boomer or older) with one. 
I get what you’re saying though. I just think expectations are funny. Years ago when my mom came to visit (from California) she was obsessed with finding “real Mainers”. I’m like what? She wanted old, hard to understand grizzled fishermen I think. Lol (fwiw I work in an old, grizzled fishing community and I rarely come across what she was so desperate to experience). It’s like going to a California and being disappointed in not finding valley girls. Like oh my gawd! 😂

Good luck to the OP in her quest. Maybe include the word “stereotypical” in your search?

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Matryoshka

Matryoshka

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54 minutes ago, dovrar said:

Actually, we are in South Carolina.  ; )

Okay, yes, that will be very, very different!  😄

The non-rhotic thing is fading in New England, and even in Boston, though it's still around in some populations.  I am rhotic, as is dh, and we both grew up here.  But when I take an accent test, it always knows I'm from here - it's the vowels.  We have the Don/Dawn conflation (those words sound identical), and the Caught/Cot one too (those are also identically pronounced).   Heck, all four of those have the same vowel sound here.  But on the other hand Mary/merry/marry are all pronounced differently.  This last one would likely be a waste of time for you to figure out! lol.

And we do not have the pen/pin conflation that some southern (and midwestern??) accents have.  Those sound completely different.

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They should also practice softening Ts to Ds: "better" is "bedduh."

Yes, this too.  Except since I'm rhotic I say 'bedder" and "wadder" (water) rather than bedduh and wadduh.

Edited by Matryoshka
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hippiemamato3

hippiemamato3

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11 hours ago, Kalmia said:

These should be helpful. Most importantly, it has the same quirk as Maine (where I am from): "R"s are dropped or softened and Rs are added to the end of words that normally end in a vowel sound. "Lobster" becomes "Lobstah" and "Idea" becomes "Idear". "A"s and sometimes "O"s are often pronounced with the "ah" sound. So Concord (capital of NH) is pronounced "Cahn-cuhd".  There is a clip of the accent at the end of each article:

https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/talk-new-hampshire-accent/

 

http://www.theheartofnewengland.com/lifeinnewengland/Essays/accents.html

Heh...no, none of this is accurate. lol 

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