Pronunciation?

[jason216]

I have a few words I struggle with, and was hoping to get some opinions on this...
There are several words and short phrases I would like to throw out.
All of these have the same question.When is it proper to say these words?

1. For - said like four...or when can you say fer as, as in "I just went for/fer a moment". Or..."go for/fer it"...and I don't mean over the top hick-sh..just normal speech.

2. "To" as in today...like... "on sale - Tahday or always twoday"?

3. "Want to" or "wanna" as in "I want to scream, or I wanna scream"

4. When they ask for conversational, and the copy has the phrase "I am"...which I don't normally say in regular speech, is it ok to change the copy to "I'm" in order to sound more natural.

5. "You're"..as opposed to the copy that reads "you are". I can't get the Carson thing out of my head as in... "you are correct sir!!!" and in a quote I would say "you are", but in normal speach I would use the contraction.

6. When is it cool to change copy for auds, or scripts as far as acting goes? Do prospectus frown on that? I know we all get crap to read and sometimes I just want to/wanna scream.

There's a few others I can't think of right now but these will do for the moment.

Thanks for your help,
Jason

[JoeActor]

Good questions, Jason.

The answers are: it depends ;-)

When in doubt, I use the standard pronunciation, not the more relaxed one.
1) For = Four
2) Today = Two-Day
3) Want To = Want To
4,5) Contractions... er, sometimes - see 6
6) Changing the copy - check with the person in charge of the project

Sometimes the end result can come off a bit stuffy depending on the copy and the character.

Fer me, it's all based on the specs fer the job, including the copy, market, characters, etc.

Hmmm... maybe there isn't a right answer!
Joe J Thomas
Joe J. Thomas Acting Portfolio

[jason216]

Joe,
Thanks,
I don't however sound like Jethro when saying these words....Taday is real common...as are the others...

As in your cleverly worded sentence...I would say.. Fuh me, it's all based on the specs for the job...etc. It all depends on how it rolls off my tongue. But I guess I'll stay with the stuffy...

I appreciate the response...just trying to get a handle on some things...

Jason

[JoeActor]

No problemo Jason - happy to lend my opinion.

I lived in Dallas for about 10 years, and "normal speaking" there just ain't the same as out here in La-La-Land !

Joe J Thomas
Joe J. Thomas Acting Portfolio

[DBHavens]

Sometimes I "loosen up" my pronunciation for something directed as conversational, relaxed -- it depends on what it is, as you guys have said.
Being from the Northeast, it's a little too easy to sound "elitist" if I really go by Webster's all the time.
Now, I find out that standard American speech is supposed to sound as if you come from Midwest/Ohio -"Midland America" they call it. I find the sound of short "a" is much more nasal/closed, noticeable in words like "camera" in that dialect.
I don't know who made this decision -- I guess I missed the meeting!

[jason216]

Joe, Diane,
Thanks for chiming in Di...

I've lived in Texas for a while, but grew up in Boston and Baltimore (ahh the divorced thing). Then toured for ten years all over the country. After all that, my accent is pretty neutral. The questions I was asking is not related to dialect however...most people say tahday no matter where they are from. I just wanted some opinions on what's proper and what's not..there has to be some rules and guidelines.

Jason

[SilverSurfer3001]

I hear the vast majority of spots read the word with the schwa e.

Very seldom is it read as too-DAY unless it is being read by a learning reader.

Merriam Webster list the only pronunciation as "tə-ˈdā"

As far as changing the copy - being a former CD, I would say never ever ever ever change the copy, unless and until you have gotten the approval from the writer, and they have let you you know the effect they were going for with the text as is. If you are comfortable with the writer, and feel like engaging with him/her to plead your case, then by all means, try and get them to let you change it up. Otherwise, I think the best route is to read what ya get - as painful as that can be sometimes (okay... many times)....

anyways... that's my .02.

[DBHavens]

Jason, I agree with you on "today" -- I rarely say "two." Yes, it's the schwa, Jody.
(I just thought I'd bring up the regionalism issue while we were talking pronunciation.)
I don't think there are any real guidelines here, like so much it seems in this business. It's a case by case judgment call.

[Lee Gordon]

I am in total agreement with Joe's list. However, due to the nature of on-line auditioning, it is virtually impossible to check with anyone prior to turning in a demo. Some of the leads I see from Voice123 and Voices-dot-com appear to have been written by people for whom English is not their primary language, or by people whose writing skills are so weak, they just seem to be non-native speakers. When I encounter typos or glaring grammatical errors I will generally fix them in the demo.
If it's an actual job and I do have the opportunity to communicate with the client, I will generally ask about anything I doubt is correct, or, if I don't have a chance to discuss it, I will record it their way and give them an "alternate" version along with an explanation of why I did so.

[JoeActor]

Lee! Good to hear from you.

I like the "alternate version" idea - works well for shorter stuff, and probably saves a lot of confusion and time...

Cheers,
Joe J Thomas
Joe J. Thomas Acting Portfolio