I was at an AFTRA workshop a few weeks ago. Being French Canadian, having worked all over the world picking up accents and in the USA for 20 years, I have cocktail of accents and have work really hard *and still am* at getting that perfect American Accent just like the CNN hosts. So, I walk in the L.A. AFTRA meeting room and much to my surprise, 70% of the people are… Americans!!! Mid-West, Boston, Chicago, New York, Queens, Alabama and the list goes on.
The veil was lifted: you don’t have to be from out of the USA to work hard at getting the midstream accent. Amazing as it was to experience it, I felt a load of preconceptions falling away such as being from another country you NEED to get that American accent… well you are not alone!
Still practicing!
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I got the reminder to write about my AFTRA moment when I saw this article in the New York Times this morning. A must read about Accent Reduction!:
Unlearning to Tawk like a New Yorker
