Hi Dennis,

The Welsh - Indian accent confusion seems to be pretty common. As it's a
question that's
bound to come up in the actors' workshops I've been investigating a little. Of
course, it's a
tricky one, because the question arises of which Welsh accent, and which Indian
accent (a
much wider selection).
For improv actors though the aim is that the audience can identify the accent,
and that the
actors can slip into it without too much thinking as they also have to maintain
a role and
make up the scene as they go.
I think the retroflex tongue position is useful for both 'Welsh' and 'Indian'.
The difference
seems to lie in the prosodic patterns. (Ok, I have to admit that my research has
mostly
been the series "Gavin & Stacey" and some stand up by Rob Brydon). The 'Welsh
rise' is an
obvious pattern to work with. I've read that Welsh is more syllable-timed, while
Indian fits
a stress-time pattern, but in my own listening and attempts I'm not sure.
Any phoneticians out there with an academic answer?

I checked out some Norfolk accents at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/01/10/voices_audioclips_featu\
re.sh
tml
Have you got any tips on mouth shape or other clues for reproducing it well?

Alex.




--- In iatefl_pronsig@..., "Dennis Newson" <djn@...> wrote:
>
> Alex,
>
> You've explained why my ham attempts to sound Indian sound Welsh.
>
> Don't know if it is of any use, but the intonation patterns of my native
> Norfolk, extremely broad, might provide you with some useful practice ideas.
>
> Good luck,
>
>
>
> Dennis
>