Audiobook narrator Matt Haynes shares five highlights from his start on the Greek accent, then uses his favorite practice technique of applying the accent to song lyrics. This week: Paul Simon's "The Obvious Child."
Pretty accurate! My family and i are greek . the sound "sh" in "should" is " ssss" like a snake. "Shit" is really "sit" and " shopping" is " sopping". Go easy on the (k)h sound so you don't come off as russian and and during pauses or in thought they say "....ehhhh..." Like the letter "a" . Keep up the good work.
Also if you didn’t know the Greek accent replaces sh and ch sound with ts and j sound with tz which are both sounds that sound similar to it and are both used in Greek
Additionally, the "ch" sound, as in chair, is pronounced with "ts" sound, as in "hats". If you have problems starting a sentence with "ts", you can practice by putting together 2 words like "bats" and "air", into a nonsense word batsair. Then, remove the "b": atsair. Then finally remove the "a": tsair.
Ok few helpful tips from a greek linguist (me :p): the "ch" like in the word "child" we would say it like "ts" "tsild".. Also the "l" is something that needs fixing, but i cannot describe in words how to pronouciate it properly. The "r" its a good thing you have realized its different from the american, but not that much, cause it sounds russian. Greek sounds closer to italian, but different melody. Good job overall!!! :)
Find a greek and ask him to help you! Any greek would :D As a tip we are not that calm most of the times and we talk fast -no matter the language. Good luck on your project :)
I've just met you in "English/Greek Accent" and love your clarity, simplicity, sense of humour and wonderful accented reading of song!! I Needed to bone up on the accent by tomorrow, dubing English/Greek role.. Thank you! I hope your posts still going. I see this from 2016 ish..
Impressive! So interesting you analysed how we sound and you applied it on your accent..I wonder if native Greek speakers can do the same analysis and apply it on their American accents.
in Greek in regards to the emphasis we use a little mark on top of the vowel that we to be emphasised we call this mark the τόνο or tOno, emphasis on the first o.
I'm not too familiar with the Greek accent, so I can't confirm/deny your accuracy (I actually found this trying to find an example of a Greek accent, haha), but it sound convincing to me! I can read a little Greek, and I know how the letters are pronounced, but I don't know how the people pronounce them, so I've always just read them in somewhat of an Italian accent, but this was really helpful. I knew there would be an obvious distinction from Italian, but I didn't know what it was.
@@1MegArbo Former PM Alexis Tsipras has an very strong Greek accent when he speaks English. Try to avoid the current PM, who speaks fluently with no accent at all.
I want to learn Greek so I can read the original scrolls of the Bible (the New Testament; I’m trying to learn Hebrew for the Old Testament)! I wanted to know the accent; thanks so much! Even years later than the video was made, it’s super helpful!❤️
cool stuff! sometimes I hear greek (formal greek I guess) and if I'm not paying attention I can think someone is talking Castilian (spanish spoken in Spain)
I study ancient Greek language. I think that this might be a useful avenue for this, especially/in particular for things like the aspirated "h" sound, because if you study Greek you can think to yourself of where these sounds come from. For example the aspirated h sounds exactly like an omega with a rough breathing (ὀ) as in οἱ πολλοἰ ("hoi polloy").
Listen to and try to imitate this: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DgzrR5yWsic.html It's actually a chicken wrap recipe, but for your needs, I think it's perfect. It's really an excellent example of how to speak English with a Greek accent.
Not bad! Some notes: - Do not take notice from Greek Americans, they don't have a Greek accent. - The closest accent to the Greek one is European Spanish; in fact, the -kho sound (χο) sounds exactly the same as -jo ( ojo). The cadence in both language is generally flat and we both have very close and short vowels. A, E, I, O and U are pronounced like Spanish without exceptions. - Greek lacks the -sh and -ch sounds. So, if you want to sound Greek, just pronounce sheep like sip (sh and long ee's are absent), etc. - The P and T are not strongly enunciated. Have you seen the episode of Friends where Gary Oldman teaches Joey how to "spit" his t's? Do exactly the opposite. - The x makes ALWAYS a -ks sound (as in six), even (or especially) at the beginning of the word. In fact, the Greek words xenophobia and xylophone are pronounced ksenofovia and ksilofono.
Excellent tips. Yes, I've a couple of times embarrassed myself (younger me) by starting to talk to Greeks in Castilian Spanish! The Sh= s is a real keeper. Very easy to apply. Question, though: If a Greek American doesn't have a general American accent nor (as you say) a Greek one, that *would* you call their accent?
@@narratormatt Well, every second-generation American (born and raised in the US) I've met has a very strong American accent (or closer to an American than a native Greek). I'd call their accent American maybe with a slight Greek inflexion (if that). I don't know many famous Greek Americans to be fair. The accent the Vardalos family had, for example, in My Big Fat Greek Wedding was imposed. My cousins who live in Florida don't have a different accent than their peers and they left Greece when they were 8. Their parents, on the other hand, speak like a typical Greek who has learnt English at school (a little better than the former PM Alexis Tsipras). I've never heard an accent in between. So, if you had to play, say an American born to Greek immigrants, don't do an accent at all because he/she would probably sound like you. Another tip: the -ch sound is more like a -ts (like the -zz in pizza), so cheese would sound like zzese (if that makes sense).
Hi there, My family comes from Athens and i am trying to learn greek. Is there any advice or any websites of such you can advise me about to make it a little less difficult for me?
your accent is really close! as a greek i believe that you should say the letter r with less emphasis and you should open your mouth more so that the words sound fuller
My Greek accent is on point...obviously because my parents came from Greece. But for some weird reason I can sometimes do a really good Russian accent and idk why
@@narratormatt 😀😊 I searched "Greek accents" and it came up. I want to audition for VO gig that calls for a greek accent. It is very difficult. And I'm struggling. Do you perhaps know how to pronounce the word 'dynamite' in that Greek accent?
@@chrystal.clairtv7532 shift the "I" sound closer to an "a" sound, put the tip of your tongue almost between your teeth and give a slightly Italian cadence.
Well... ideally, no, LOL. Which movies are you referring to? If it's Greek myths, then you're right. The go-to for Hollywood produced myths or a historical pic= British
Excellent try, but you're missing some details as the other commenters wrote. If you need help, I live in NYC and could give you more tips to improve your greek accent.
Good job but sometimes it sounds a bit like a Russian accent. Pay attention to avoid the thick 'sh'. The intonation is particular and you should study its patterns a bit more. Emphasis should emphasise one word only in each phrase and de-emphasise the others and the tone is more declarative than high pitched. The vowels also should be simpler, eg all 'u's should sound like oo and words like 'window' would be pronounced like 'ween-doe-oo' (Native speaker)
I'd say you sounded more like a highly educated Greek that has spent many years in the US/UK. Reminded me a bit of Varoufakis! But not the common Greek.
you have a lot of work to do to reach greek accent. You are still sounding american. A greek would sound very different. This accent is an accent of a greek living in US at least for a couple of years. (im a greek guy and I can easily spot the differences)
you talk very fast for greek accent..i Think we all talk a little bit slower...You can understand every word that a greek is saying to you... You should make more clear the endings of the words... example: Go Straight ahead = G(oo) str-ay-it- A-H-ea-D...and A its like OUCH... A-OO-TS = Ouch our h its very clear...we use (ou) its double (o) in english ....The D is very loud and clear too... :D
Ok... ok... i didnt see that comming. Dude you are good! Well this accent is used only by Greeks who know how to speak english... (like 5% of Greeks).The rest (including me) speak way funnier and crapier. Well done tho.
bart hill Well, sometimes people need someone like this because the right accent is unavailable. I can guarantee if (for some strange reason) my local theater needed someone with a British accent on short notice, they would be unable to find one for miles around. Having someone that sounds similar is better than having no one at all.
British accents are easy to do and could pass as real but the fakes that talk in other foreign accents all sound the same they don't know the subtle differences that would make them sound genuine. Want a Spanish accent? I can bring you the real thing in 5 minutes, want a real Italian accent from a real Italian? spend 10 minutes calling pizza places.
