How to Submit a Sample

Thank you for your interest in submitting dialect recordings and documents for publication on IDEA.

STEP ONE: Please familiarize yourself with our website by examining samples from the DIALECT & ACCENTS tab on the navigation bar. Also, please read our SUBMISSION GUIDELINES and RECORDING GUIDELINES, and make sure your submission adheres to those guidelines and standards. Your recording must include a reading of Comma Gets a Cure, plus one to two minutes of unscripted speech.

IDEA’s value depends upon the accuracy and completeness of the information you submit, though certain fields (phonetic transcriptions and scholarly analysis, for example) are not required. Also please keep in mind that the best IDEA subjects have lived most of their lives (or at least their formative years) in the places they are representing and are, therefore, representative of the speech of a specific place or culture. Above all, we are looking for real-life dialects and accents, not ones that have been modified or changed on purpose. For this reason, actors, speech professionals, and those who have undergone extensive accent modification or “reduction” don’t always make the best subjects. Please keep in mind, however, that there is no single “correct” version of a dialect or accent, and we welcome variety and diversity in all forms.

STEP TWO: Please click “Submit a Sample” below. You might find our Field Recording Guide helpful in collecting your subject’s information. Please note: All subjects (even you, if you’re recording yourself) will be asked to submit a signed Subject Waiver (click to open, save, and print) and assent to the terms and conditions it outlines.

Submit a Sample

Click “Submit a Sample” above. This is the form to use whether you’re an existing IDEA editor, a person wishing to submit just a single sample, a person who wishes to continue submitting samples in the future and eventually become an editor, or a person submitting a sample of your own voice (a self-submission). However, if you wish to make a contribution to our Special Collections (such as Play Names & Terms), you will need to USE THIS FORM instead. However, before you do that, please e-mail Executive Editor Cameron Meier at editor@dialectsarchive.com to discuss the submission.