get different English accents?

Mooninya · Post by **Mooninya** » August 9th, 2020, 7:52 pm

Hi Librivoxers,
I had been starting on Librivox and Fiverr for searching work opportunities a month ago, and I did practise a lot in terms of narrating audiobooks. I am really glad I am in the welcoming communtiy as you guys really help me in terms of technical skills.
It is just about the accent I am using. As I am going through Fiverr requests, I can see requests such as British female accent or even South African accent. I am concerned that since I am from Malaysia and while I am used to American accent, I just don't know how to do accents in other countries as maybe it can help me get more work opportunities. And is it ethical to claim foreign accents (more notably British ones) for training even though I am not from English speaking countries?
Please let me know in the comments, and maybe we can chat in the messages for details.

Regards,
Mooninya

KevinS · Post by **KevinS** » August 9th, 2020, 8:28 pm

Ethical or not, people will spot a 'fake' accent very quickly. To claim more than what one can deliver is not a wise way of doing things.

Post by **Availle** » August 9th, 2020, 8:38 pm

Sweetie, they don't care where you live.

When people ask for a "British Accent", they want you to be able to speak it, not just "being used to it" (which means imo "I can understand it"). If you cannot speak in a certain accent, then don't even bother applying - you'll waste everybody's time. The moment you're sending a sample you're out already and you'll be lucky if people even get back to you.

Of course, you can train yourself speaking a language with a particular accent, actors do it all the time - and they sometimes fail quite miserably.

There should be accent trainers online who can help you with this. If you're ready to go into that direction, it's probably worth investing in. However, it won't be cheap and it's not a quick fix. I would guess that it would take months to speak a foreign accent properly.

So, if you're looking for something _right_now_, I would suggest to look for opportunities in your own country/in your own language. You can always branch out from there.