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The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation by David Crystal (view source)
Revision as of 13:07, 28 February 2018
, 13:07, 28 February 2018no edit summary
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|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation
|sort=Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation
|isbn=978-0199668427
|website=http://www.davidcrystal.com/
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For a less scholarly approach to the Bard, we can recommend [[Shakespeare on Toast by Ben Crystal]], [[Nine Lives of William Shakespeare by Graham Holderness]], [[The Shakespeare Handbook by Michael Schmidt and Robert Maslen]], [[The Cambridge Shakespeare Guide by Emma Smith]], [[Oxford Illustrated Shakespeare Dictionary by David and Ben Crystal]] and [[Shakespeare and the Stuff of Life: Treasures from the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust by Delia Garratt and Tara Hamling (editors)]].
'''Online Audio Platform'''
I've just had the most tremendous fun with the online platform for ''The Oxford Dictionary of Original Shakespearean Pronunciation''. Just log in and you have access to a male voice speaking the words in the dictionary. Where there are different pronunciations available, they follow the same order as in the dictionary. The spoken words are clear and you can repeat them as often as you wish until you're happy with your own pronunciation.
I would have liked a simpler search function - the ability to enter a word and to be taken directly to a page which showed the pronunciation - but with a little practice I found that I could enter the first few letters of a word and be taken to a page on which I would find it. Equally, if you're working from the printed version of the dictionary you can search by page number, which probably makes my search idea redundant. Familiarity does improve the ease with which you find words.
Any Shakespearean production which aims for authenticity would do well to invest in a copy of this book. I was surprised by how different even well-known speeches could sound with the authentic pronunciation. 'Caesar', for instance, is commonly pronounced ''sees 'er'' and sounds quite different when emphasis is placed on the second 'a'. Similarly I'm used to the 'i' in Portia being silent and the name is quite different when it's given voice - 'Porsia'.
You can access the online edition in several ways; through your institutional or public libraries, logging in at home/in the office using your library card number, if the library has licensed the title as part of their Oxford Reference package, if a university has subscribed to Oxford Reference with this title in their package, etc. More information about logging in, subscribing, and registering can also be found [http://www.oxfordreference.com/help/Logging_on/logging-on here].
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