Dialect Coach Chris Lang

Dialect Coach for Film, TV, and Live Performance, TED Talk Coach, Media Coach for Athletes. I want to help you rise to the top, be the best, and inspire!

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Breathe.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Before a single sound is made, the accent needs a person to attach to.

Not the character breakdown. The human being. What was the view from the bedroom window? What did the kitchen sound like at dinner?

Skip the identity work and you end up with something that sounds learned.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

The actor starting from zero copies the impression.

The actor with Universal Accent Skills maps the differences. Where is the tongue? How does the jaw sit?

Same model. Completely different process.

https://t.co/DI1mqAaQBc

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Two years on a single voice. Leonard Cohen limited series. Six months before we touched the script. Nightly sessions across four countries.

The ceiling is almost never talent. It is the calendar.

https://t.co/POGKkX2iYN

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Northern English accents are not interchangeable. An actor who conflates them is doing not-southern, not Yorkshire.

Key: the FOOT-STRUT merger. Bus, cup, love, sun all merge upward. It has to be consistent or it breaks.

https://t.co/RM2n8FIUUz

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

There are far more Black speakers of Afrikaans than White speakers. That surprises most people, and it matters for every actor building this accent.

Physical key: front-dorsum arching. Pulls vowels forward.

https://t.co/FFl89tiZ31

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Twang is physics, not a performance choice. The arched back dorsum + spread lip corners create an environment where vowels glide naturally.

Set the posture. Don't manufacture the music.

https://t.co/0nFCgf1xyf

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

"I need to lose my accent." I hear this constantly. Here's something that might sound strange from a dialect coach: nobody wants you to lose it.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

IPA is genuinely useful for actors. But the way it's typically taught gets the whole thing backwards.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

The best accent work on screen is invisible. It starts with decisions made months before anyone steps on set.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

There's no such place as General America. The accent is a generalization from real, place-bound accents. It's an idea of an accent.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Most actors think RP means "posh British." That's one gear, and one gear limits everything else you can do.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Audition tomorrow. Accent required. You don't have it locked down. Here's your plan.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Starting with sounds is backwards. After years of coaching accents for film and TV, I'm certain of this.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

The question I get most: what does accent coaching cost? Real answer: $120-$350/hour from a reputable, working coach.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

People assume I show up on set and tell actors they're saying words wrong. That is not the job.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

There's no such place as General America. The accent is a generalization from real, place-bound accents. It's an idea of an accent.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Most actors think RP means "posh British." That's one gear, and one gear limits everything else you can do.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

Starting with sounds is backwards. After years of coaching accents for film and TV, I'm certain of this.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

The question I get most: what does accent coaching cost? Real answer: $120-$350/hour from a reputable, working coach.

[Dialect Coach Chris Lang @DialectCoachCL]

People assume I show up on set and tell actors they're saying words wrong. That is not the job.