7th World Shakespeare Congress, Valencia 2001

Seminars and Workshops Information


Seminar No. 1.5.

Title:  "...I other accents borrow/ That can my speech diffuse": Accents, Pronunciation and Dialects on the Shakespearian Stage.

Leaders:

Charles Edelman (Edith Cowan University, Australia)
Andrew Gurr (University of Reading, UK)

Respondent:

Peter Holland (Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham)

Participants:

Alison Findlay (Lancaster University)
Richard Fotheringham (University of Queensland)
Brian Gibbons (University of Münster)
Rosalind King, (Queen Mary College, University of London)
Leanore Lieblein, (McGill University)
Jeremy Lopez (Cornell University)
Patricia Parker (Stanford University)
James R. Siemon (Boston University)
Lingui Yang (Texas A & M University)

Abstract:

We invite contributions on subjects such as: Was there a standard English heard in the London playhouses of
Shakespeare's time and, if there was, what did it sound like? Did Shakespeare's audiences hear a variety of 'Englishes',
depending on where the actor came from, or on the regional or foreign associations of the character? Were variations in
speech heard according to the class of the character? Were foreign or regional varieties of English limited to instances
indicated by phonetic spelling in the early texts? Do these factors have any implications for the editing of texts today?
What are the implications of all these factors for modern performances? This is a broad topic and the points given here
are not seen as setting limits to the discussion.



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