I am interested in finding a present-day pronunciation that I could point to as close to that which was spoken in Shakespeare's era, much as if I were directing one of Shakespeare's plays and were advising performers. I am not seeking information about vocabulary, syntax, or grammar.
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4Check out the transcriptions in Görlach's Early Modern English. From my ear, they sound a lot like a strong modern Irish accent.– John LawlerMay 23 at 16:41
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2However interesting this post may potentially be, it is possibly too broad for our format. You might try asking for a phonetic guide to Elizabethan English, but that will probably end up in meta, where other similar posts usually get migrated to.– Cascabel_StandWithUkraine_May 23 at 16:41
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2Pose this question on YouTube. There's a wealth of videos addressing it.– DJohnsonMay 23 at 17:22
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2An answer here (a reference for Elizabethan pronunciation, would be a very welcome addition to our ELU meta reference guide.– MitchMay 24 at 14:53
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Here's a Wikipedia on the topic.– John LawlerMay 28 at 14:28
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There has been plenty of research on this topic, as well as many popular articles. (For example: bbc.com/culture/article/… or npr.org/2012/03/24/149160526/…) Have you tried looking for information yourself?– MarcInManhattanMay 31 at 2:21
1 Answer
You could certainly do worse than consulting David Crystal's The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation.
The book has a companion website where you can listen to recordings and stuff like that.