Horsthemke, Fiona Ramsay2014-07-252014-07-252014-07-25http://hdl.handle.net/10539/15018Framed by the experiences of the dialogue coaching process for the accent acquisition of the IsiXhosa accent for the role of Nelson Mandela, this study aims to test the methodology I have devised. My tutelage has been rooted in, but not confined to, Western pedagogy, and is present and reflected in the embodied knowledge that I bring to the research. I investigate the use of Received Pronunciation to facilitate this process of accent acquisition and the role a medial point of articulation plays in aiding sound shifts for an accent. From a socio-linguistic perspective the study investigates the elements that constitute and contribute to an authentic accent and examines placement as one of these as action research. I am testing the methodology and as an active participant in the research, while at the same time conducting the research, I am investigating my praxis and process. Favouring a post-structuralist position, I deconstruct and identify good vocal production and question whether this influences the ability to acquire an accent and facilitates this process. The study analyses vocal coaching as a series of modified interventions, which require continual re-modification through the course of action. Language subsists and reflects the cultural paradigm within which it exists. Through an analysis of the characteristics and content of that paradigm I suggest how this knowledge can develop the process of accent acquisition. The study demonstrates the use of Received Pronunciation as a tool coupled with a technical precision and cultural accuracy as valuable and necessary in authentic accent acquisition.enThesis