Theatre’s ‘Arkansas Accent’ Film Showcases State’s Accents and Dialects

U of A voice and acting faculty member Ben Corbett.

The Arkansas Accent Project, a new documentary short film by Ben Corbett of the U of A Department of Theatre, will make its Northwest Arkansas debut as part of the Fayetteville Film Festival on Oct. 13 and 14.

To create the film, Corbett, an assistant professor of voice and acting, interviewed more than 100 Arkansans to collect and analyze their accents and dialects and illustrate how each of their accents represents their region of the state.

The project highlights Arkansans in Ashley, Benton, Carroll, Columbia, Craighead, Crawford, Garland, Jefferson, Phillips, Pulaski, Sebastian and Washington counties.

“The film illuminates the incredible wealth of accents and dialects in our state,” Corbett said. “I was thoroughly surprised by how vastly different the geographic regions of Arkansas are from one another, and how the dialects of these areas reflect this as well.”

“The soybean fields, rice fields, swamps, natural hot springs and bayous are all in sharp contrast to the Ozark mountains and cooler temperatures of Northwest Arkansas,” Corbett added. “Even more so, where these regions ebbed and flowed geographically, they also were rich and diverse in their cultures, traditions and shared language.”

Corbett started working on The Arkansas Accent Project in 2021, drawing upon his interviews with people across the five major regions of Arkansas: the Ozarks, the Arkansas River Valley, the Ouachitas, the Coastal Plain and the Delta.

Corbett directed the documentary in collaboration with producer Ringo Jones, assistant professor in the Department of Communication, making the project an interdisciplinary collaboration between the two departments, which are both part of the U of A’s Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences.

“I’ve asked volunteers to speak about their accents, which is a delicate, vulnerable subject to ask someone to speak about,” Corbett added. “I guided the interview, but allowed space for the speaker to get off topic, improv or struggle with the conversation. It’s in those moments of humanity in which art lies.”

While the project was based in Arkansas, Corbett also learned about the Cherokee Tribe, part of which lived in the state during the 18th and 19th centuries, through Lawrence Panther, who is an Exemplary Executive in Residence in the Arts and Sciences at the U of A and a resident of Stilwell, Oklahoma.

Cinematographer Cameron Moiser, left, while filming The Arkansas Accent Project documentary film created by U of A voice and acting faculty member Ben Corbett.

“I hope this film inspires other young filmmakers and artists to stop waiting to be good enough to create,” Corbett said. “Begin creating and the process will inform you.”

The Arkansas Accent Project has since been selected as a finalist for the Best Editing Award at the Oregon Documentary Film Festival and been given an Award of Excellence in the documentary film category of the Broadcast Education Association Conference.

Support for the film was provided by the International Dialects of English Archive, the Arkansas Humanities Society and the University of Arkansas.

About the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences: The Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is the largest and most academically diverse unit on campus with three schools, 16 departments and 43 academic programs and research centers. The college provides the majority of the core curriculum for all University of Arkansas students.

About the University of Arkansas: As Arkansas’ flagship institution, the U of A provides an internationally competitive education in more than 200 academic programs. Founded in 1871, the U of A contributes more than $2.2 billion to Arkansas’ economy through the teaching of new knowledge and skills, entrepreneurship and job development, discovery through research and creative activity while also providing training for professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the U of A among the few U.S. colleges and universities with the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the U of A among the top public universities in the nation. See how the U of A works to build a better world at Arkansas Research and Economic Development News.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.