Accents and dialects competition

We're in the process of creating a new collection of voice recordings for the British Library Sound Archive and we need your help!! We’re offering a fantastic prize of six digital voice recorders to one school that helps us capture the ever-changing diversity of young people’s accents and dialects.

Directed mainly at English Language A level classes, but open to students of all ages, this project asks young people nationwide to send us short recordings.  As well as forming a unique document of ‘naughties’ voices, the collection will form an essential part of the Library's popular Sounds Familiar website: we’ll upload selected recordings on to the website’s Your Voices map.

A great project to get your students involved in, we hope that schools all over the country will rally to the cause and send in recordings. It’s easy to take part – record your voices in any format and send them to us – we do the rest.

The first school we hear from in each of a number of BL defined regions (e.g. Wales or East Anglia) will have the opportunity to receive a visit from the Library’s accent and dialect specialist, Jonnie Robinson. Jonnie will give a workshop in each of these schools on the subject of regional accents and dialects.

In June the Library will pick one of these schools to receive a prize of six digital voice recorders. If you’d like to find out more or to take part, please contact soundsfamiliar@bl.uk