Serbian Accent
First and foremost, intelligibility is at the core of our work; a close second is authenticity. If you cannot be understood by the audience, then all authenticity brought to the dialect is irrelevant. There will be moments when we make a choice that seems less authentic, but always for the purpose of clearer communication.
Rehearse and sing in dialect. Memorize your text in dialect. Revisit sound clips periodically to tap back into the sound/feeling of the dialect. ASK QUESTIONS if you are not sure about anything!
People/History/Culture
Serbia is a landlocked country, boarding nine other countries in a region of Eastern Europe known as the Balkan (as in the Balkan Peninsula). The Republic of Serbia is home to approximately seven million people, and its capital city Belgrade is among the largest and oldest cities in southeast Europe. This land is rich in history, having been inhabited since the Paleolithic/Old Stone Age (3.3 million years ago). Seated in the middle of Slavic migration territory, the country has been controlled by various empires and communist regimes. A civil war broke out in the 1990s, leading to more reassignment of borders — Serbia did not regain independence until 2006.
Following decades of civil unrest, Kosovo emerged independent from Serbian rule in 2008. However, with only partial global recognition this continues to be a topic of dispute in the region. Serbia is working towards membership within the European Union, facing detainment as they occupy a status of “hybrid regime” - meaning they have not fully or successfully transitioned from authoritarian into democratic regime. There is a lot of turbulence as they are still defining land borders and the democratic voice of their constituents. Due to this constant change of population, the Republic of Serbia is recognized for their high numbers of minorities, multi-ethnic populations, and multi-cultural identities within Europe.
With this transient nature, there are many languages that influence the sounds heard. We must recognize the stated ‘standard’ Serbian sound is influenced by many languages: Hungarian, Romanian, Slovak, Rusyn, Croation, Bosnian, Romani, Albania, Vlach, Bulgarian, and Macedonia - just to name a few. Serbia still operates greatly within the Cyrillic alphabet (television broadcasting uses this alphabet), but has adopted the Latin alphabet over the course of several decades. We will be exploring a "umbrella" accent of Serbia.
Oral Posture
- Jaw: less inclined to open, held slightly advanced/forward
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Tonge: sits wide and heavy in the mouth
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tip/blade rests behind bottom teeth, quickly darting to the top teeth when needed, w/out retroflexion
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body (front/middle) is cupped
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root/back of dorsum is slightly raised & retracted, muscularized in order to allow cupping of middle of tongue
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image: scoop, snowboard pipe - sometimes we go down the middle, but sometimes it can fly over the top and edges
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Lips:
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corners limited mobility, some advancement possible
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lips are capable of pursing, but tends to be more lax, particularly with the top lip often being stiff
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Velum: Rests lower, lots of flexibility, some fricative sounds being made here
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Food Image/Taste/Texture: goulash pools in mouth sitting on wide tongue like a wooden spoon scooping it for a taste from the dish
Prosody: Rhythm, Stress, Pitch
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Placement, perhaps: Middle of mouth with tendency to move forward to the teeth..
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There is an easy spreading of the sound. We hear this in the tendency for lateral approximates or lateral plosive action - the breath and sound is completely at home moving along the side of the teeth and even into the cheeks.
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Strong breath flow through sounds. This plays into the elision of words, particularly words/phrases that host multiple fricatives.
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There is a pattern of raising the pitch the the middle of phrases or the first syllable of the last word, ending with a downward, tumbling pitch and patter.
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The pitch and volume move up quickly with energy on the onset, rolling down at a more leisurely energy. i.e., waves washing on the beach, golf ball bouncing/rolling to a stop after drive
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Lengthening and pitch play exists within within words, syllables, and even individual vowels. While pitch is very flexible and agile, it does not move through a wide range.
The Golf Ball Bounce
The pitch and volume move up quickly with energy on the onset, rolling down at a more leisurely energy. i.e., waves washing on the beach, golf ball bouncing/rolling to a stop after drive.
"…the audience and the performer make the piece together.”
The Final Surge
There is a pattern of raising the pitch the the middle of phrases or the first syllable of the last word, ending with a downward, tumbling pitch and patter.
“…and difference between performance and theatre is huge…”
Pronunciation: Salient Sounds
Consonants —
ɹ̈ —>
ɹ / ɾ / r
Serbian language lacks the bunched molar alveolar approximate /r/ [ɹ̈] that we are used to in AmEng. This sound is frequently a lighter sound [ɹ]. When used at the onset of words or syllables or ending -er words, it is present - sometimes even tapped [ɾ] or trilled [r]. When it appears after a vowel, it is very lightly formed, sometimes non-existent, and often paired with nasality.
sorry, rose, gray hair, bird-like, glass of water // where will you go, work, barns, courage
θ & ð →
d̪ & t̪
The /th/ sound (both voiced [ð] and voiceless [θ]) are not present in this language. This sound is frequently a dental plosive [d̪] or [t̪]. A hybrid of a fricative and plosive is found in more fluent English speakers, sometimes formulating as the affricative t͡s , as is present in the native language
the, breath, father, through the trees, earth, north, and then they will take the thorns of the rose
l —> ɫ
The /l/ sound is muscularized in every use. The back body of the tongue is raising/bunching up toward the pharynx (very back of the mouth), while the middle is cupped, and the front body is either cupping or pressing against the alveolar ridge.
glassy pools reflect, flocks, small, my life, strategic goal, revolution, laughing ridiculous looking guys
ŋ —> ɲ
The -ing endings move forward to the hard palate from the velum. Imagine the tongue spreading on the roof of the mouth as you say these words. It is also fairly common for the the release of this sound to end with a plosive [ɳᵏ].
tongue, flashing, breathing, rushing
h —> x
The [h] is not found in Serbian. This sound, like in Arabic, moves forward from the throat (glottis) to scrape agains the velum [x] on the onset of words, and is dropped in the middle and ends of words.
hell, hurt, horses, my heart, the hotel, the hammer
Vowels & Diphthongs — sounds generally move more towards the middle. Front vowel space become narrower; back vowels become rounder.
Lexical Set Keywords
Serbian
Description // Additional Words
FOOT / GOOSE
ʊ̝
ʉ
j̆ʉ
These two sounds move closer together towards the roof of the mouth:
The FOOT sound moves slightly higher in the mouth, pinching a bit [ʊ̝].
The GOOSE sound slides forward along the roof of the mouth [ʉ] and will often include the ‘liquid u’ palatal approximate onset [j̆ʉ]. It can also drop to the FOOT vowel in overcorrection.
woman, took // pools, huge, knew, duty, two, students
PRICE
ɐɪ̯
The front open vowel sound initiating this English diphthong is not present in Serbian. The onset vowel moves more to the middle of the mouth [ɐ] as the TRAP, BATH, and PALM sets do.
(decided, like, white, nightmare, ice, pride)
LOT
ɔ̹
The LOT sound stays in the back of the mouth, rising a bit and rounding
(flocks, foxes, not, sorry)
TRAP / BATH / PALM
ɐ
These lower front and back vowels both move toward the middle of the mouth, cupped in the middle body of the tongue - a 'home base' sound in this oral posturing
black, jazz, slashes, bags, planted, drama, father
KIT & FLEECE
i̽
Both of these sounds move closer to the other
(rip, whispers, inky, vision, quick, sips, little, kitten, big//trees, feel, sleek, cheeses, sheesh)
MOUTH
ɐʊ̯
The front open vowel sound initiating this English diphthong is not present in Serbian. The onset vowel moves more to the middle of the mouth [ɐ] as the TRAP, BATH, and PALM sets do.
(mountains, about, brown, now, around)
CHOICE
o:ɪ̯
This diphthong sees a stress and lengthening of the initial vowel [oː]
(voice, boy)
NORTH/FORCE/CURE
ɔ̹:e˞
oe˞
The onset vowel becomes even more rounded, sometimes to the point of shifting upward to an entirely different [o] sound
(forms, north, horses, fork, before, poor)
GOAT
oː
This diphthong becomes an elongated monophthong, lengthening the sound of the first vowel
(old, cold, coat, opening, you know)
Play with these sounds! The technical work is important, but don’t let it dictate the sounds you are making. Test the boundaries and find the flow of the prosody.
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IDEA - the International Dialects of English Archives: this is a great resource as they have multiple samples of different speakers saying the same text. It will highlight the variance the dialect holds.
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Srdja Popovic TED Talk: How to Topple a Dictator
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Srdja Popovic TED Talk: The Power of Laughitism
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Darko Mandić TED Talk: How to Fail Successfully in Your 20s
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Divac TEDTalk: NBA Champion's Biggest Score for Serbian Youth
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Marina Abramović
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Aleksandar Vučić
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Ana Brnabic