Most actors and directors have struggled with the problem of imitating foreign dialects. The art of achieving an authentic dialect can be both taught and mastered with much study and practice. Marguerite and Lewis Herman have created an essential tool for actors, directors, and writers aiming towards the most authentic performances possible.Foreign Dialects contains an extensive repertoire of dialects which will assist the actor in the preparation for the most difficult foreign roles. Now in paperback, this classic text offers the director or producer a quick, convenient aid for correcting actors and evaluating applicants for authenticity and dialect ability. In addition, it will give writers a sourcebook to guide them in the writing of fiction as well as radio, movie and television scripts.Thirty of the principal foreign dialects of the various national groups are provided, with character studies, speech peculiarities, and examples of the dialects in easy-to-read phonetic monologues. Among the dialects included are Cockney, British, Irish, Scottish, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Polish, Greek, and Yiddish.Included are musical inflection graphs--an important aid to accuracy--which show the pace and pitch of delivery for various dialects, and a simplified visual phonetic system which graphically reproduces speech patterns.