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Chicago and other Great Lakes Accents

Chicago & Great Lakes Cities Accent

The stereotypical Chicago accent has become very recognized largely due to all of the Second City improv people who've come out of Chicago and made their way onto Saturday Night Live, such as Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and John Belushi. Da Bears! Da Bulls! Da David Mamet!
$30.00
$30.00

Chicago & Great Lakes Cities Accent Learning Materials

  • The Chicago & Great Lakes Cities accent materials include recordings of AccentHelp coach Jim Johnson guiding you through learning the accent, along with coach Carolyn Johnson - they lived in Chicago for ten years. Jim will also lead you through a monologue in this accent.
  • Jim gathered dozens of native speaker recordings during trips to Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Buffalo, Rochester & elsewhere. You'll be able to follow along with a PDF transcript of these conversations.
  • You'll get a PDF of the teaching materials, plus three more formats of the book: a PDF to print, a MOBI for Kindle, and an EPUB for other portable readers.
  • This accent is appropriate for productions of Proof, Glengary Glen Ross, Bleacher Bums and other plays. You also hear it in films like The Blues Brothers and from people like Bill Murray and Dennis Farina.
  • All of the sound files are in MP3 format so that you can play them on your computer, load them onto your phone, or burn them to a CD.
  • You'll receive a link via email so that you can download all of the materials as ZIP files directly to your computer.
  • You'll also get future updates for free! 

    5% of all profits from these materials go to diversity scholarships for actors at the University of Houston.

Listen to a Sample!

Audio files (274.3MB, 325 minutes)

Volume 1: Learning the Accent

  1. Introduction to Sound Placement, Intonation, and Helpful Hints (9:06)
  2. Consonant sound changes (15:17)
  3. Vowel sound changes (12:56)
  4. changes in Diphthongs (8:18)
  5. Alternate Pronunciations (5:18)
  6. Practice Sentences (3:14)
  7. Text Practice (27:25)
  8. Placement & Intonation Practice (9:35)
  9. Text Example (1:18)

Volume 2: Recordings of Native Speakers

  1. Southwest side Chicago Male reading (:48)
  2. + his conversation (8:11)
  3. South side Chicago Female reading (1:11)
  4. + her conversation (6:47)
  5. Northwest side Chicago Policeman reading (:55)
  6. + his conversation (6:24)
  7. North side Chicago Female reading (:58)
  8. + her conversation (5:28)
  9. West side Chicago Male conversation (profanity) (9:29)
  10. Humboldt Park - a Chicago neighborhood - Female reading (1:37)
  11. + her conversation (8:11)
  12. Wrigleyville (neighborhood in Chicago near the Cubs' Wrigley Field) Male reading (1:27)
  13. + his conversation (7:12)
  14. Lombard IL Male reading (2:23)
  15. + his conversation (4:46)
  16. Detroit MI Center Line Male reading (1:25)
  17. + his conversation (5:21)
  18. East Detroit MI Female reading (1:05)
  19. + her conversation (6:47)
  20. Livonia MI Male reading (:58)
  21. + his conversation (3:41)
  22. East Detroit MI Female reading (1:06)
  23. + her conversation (4:45)
  24. Rochester Hills MI Male reading (1:19)
  25. + his conversation (5:39)
  26. Shelby Township MI Male reading (1:07)
  27. + his conversation (4:52)
  28. Detroit MI Female reading (1:05)
  29. + her conversation (4:59)
  30. West Bloomfield MI Male reading (1:07)
  31. + his conversation (2:41)

Volume 3: More Recordings of Native Speakers

  1. SW Detroit MI Male reading (1:09)
  2. + his conversation (4:16)
  3. Detroit MI Male reading (1:15)
  4. + his conversation (6:05)
  5. Monroe MI Female reading (1:11)
  6. + her conversation (4:13)
  7. Toledo OH Female reading (1:08)
  8. + her conversation (3:16)
  9. Toledo OH Male reading (1:18)
  10. + his conversation (6:56)
  11. Toledo OH Female reading (1:11)
  12. + her conversation (6:30)
  13. Sandusky OH Male reading (1:09)
  14. + his conversation (3:24)
  15. Sandusky OH Male reading (1:07)
  16. + his conversation (2:58)
  17. Sandusky OH Male reading (1:08)
  18. + his conversation (4:00)
  19. Cleveland OH Female reading (1:12)
  20. + her conversation (3:56)
  21. Cleveland OH Female reading (1:03)
  22. + her conversation (3:22)
  23. Erie PA Female reading (1:02)
  24. + her conversation (5:28)
  25. Erie PA Female reading (1:08)
  26. + her conversation (5:20)
  27. Buffalo NY Male reading (1:05)
  28. + his conversation (6:13)
  29. Buffalo NY Female reading (1:32)
  30. + her conversation (5:36)

Volume 4: More Recordings of Native Speakers

  1. Buffalo NY Male reading (:59)
  2. + his conversation (2:37)
  3. Rochester NY Male reading (1:22)
  4. Rochester NY F&M conversation (3:27)
  5. Rochester NY Male reading (1:38)
  6. + his conversation (5:09)
  7. Rochester NY Female reading (1:01)
  8. + her conversation (4:47)
  9. Rochester NY Female reading (:51)
  10. + her conversation (2:27)
  11. Syracuse NY Female reading (1:18)
  12. + her conversation (3:37)

Most of these recordings are made "in the field" so you will hear such things as birds, cars or other people in the background. A transcription of the conversations is included to help you follow along.

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