Finding an authentic westcountry voiceover can be like searching for a needle in a haystack in a barn in Cullompton!
Born and raised in Plymouth Devon, I also provide westcountry voiceover recordings alongside my regular, more neutral accent.
The Devonshire accent has rather an interesting history. It is derived from the West Saxon dialect, which later developed into what is known as Old English, which was spoken broadly across the UK.
As immigration into larger cities grew, this led to their dialects evolving.
Meanwhile, in the more geographically isolated South West, the lack of immigration meant the Old English accent changed less radically.
So, if you want to know how a Shakespeare play would be performed back in the day, the modern westcountryw accent provides a good starting point! In more recent times, the west country accent is most well known as the basis for international pirate talk!
If you are still searching for a reason to cast a westcountry voiceover, may I hasten to remind you that the Plymouth accent was voted the 30th sexiest accent by Lovin’ Manchester (though surprisingly, Manchester came first in this completely unbiased survey).
For more details, please do get in touch!