Names and Terms from Plays
The files available here are sound files of native speakers pronouncing place names, people names and idioms from well-known plays often produced in the theatre. Frequently the speaker has interesting commentary on these words and terms.
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Dialect Samples
To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To display the various 'save' options, PC users should right-click on the desired sample below; Mac users should press the Control key while clicking. A high-speed connection to the Internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it once or twice.| Sound Sample | Basic Information | Text |
|---|---|---|
| Anna in the Tropics | A native Cuban actor, speaks the place and people names, and other Spanish terms, from the play. | Anna in the Tropics |
| Anna in the Tropics (2) | An ex-patriot Cuban, a south Florida politician, speaks the place and people names, and other Spanish terms, from the play. She also appears as Cuba 3 on the Cuba page | Anna in the Tropics (2) |
| The Bear | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | The Bear |
| Cabaret | Professor Dieter Lohmeier, a native of Kiel, Germany, and a professor of German and French literature, speaks the place and people names from the play. | Cabaret |
| The Cherry Orchard | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | The Cherry Orchard |
| Chess Chess (Half Speed) (electronically slowed to half-speed, making it easier to hear some of the difficult foreign language lines) |
Zsolt Mohi, Maia Kipp, Olivia Prouvost-Allen, and Jenny Baisert, speak the Hungarian, Russian, French, and German names, terms and non-English language dialogue from the musical, Chess. It was recorded by Paul Meier. | Chess |
| The Cripple Of Inishmaan | Well-known Dublin actress speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from the play. She is also Ireland2 under the accents and dialects of Ireland. | The Cripple Of Inishmaan |
| Dancing At Lughnasa | A native of Donegal speaks and talks about the place and people names, and some of the idioms from the play. | Dancing At Lughnasa |
| The Diary Of Anna Frank | Floortje Nijssen, associate editor for Belgium, a Dutch speaker, speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from the play. She is also Belgium1 under the accents and dialects of Belgium. | The Diary Of Anna Frank |
| Enchanted April | Livia Bornigia speaks the lines in Italian from the play. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Enchanted April |
| Fiddler On The Roof | Ben Sayevich, professor of music at the University of Kansas, speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from the play. | Fiddler On The Roof |
| The Forest | Sima Tsykskin, a Russian broadcaster for SBS Radio, based in Melbourne, Australian, speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from Alexander Ostrovsky's The Forest | The Forest |
| Hapgood | Words and phrases from Tom Stoppard's Hapgood: featuring Dr. Harry Walsh, Russian professor, and Carol Worsnop, academic advisor, University of Houston. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Hapgood |
| I Am My Own Wife (1) I Am My Own Wife (2) |
Several native speakers speak the names, terms, and non-English text in I Am My Own Wife, by Doug Wright. Recorded by Jim Johnson | I Am My Own Wife |
| I Never Saw Another Butterfly | Eva Hruska (indexed as Czech4 at IDEA's Czech Republic page), a native Czech, bi-lingual in Czech and Slovak, speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from Celeste Raspanti's I Never Saw Another Butterfly | I Never Saw Another Butterfly |
| Ibsen Character Names One | Speaker is a student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Part 1 of the Ibsen soundfiles has the spoken character names from Ghosts, A Doll's House, Enemy of the People, The Wild Duck and Hedda Gabler | Ibsen Character Names One |
| Ibsen Character Names Two | Speaker is a student at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Part 2 of the Ibsen soundfiles has the spoken character names from Peer Gynt, Pillars of Society and John Gabriel Borkman | Ibsen Character Names Two |
| Ivanov | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | Ivanov |
| The King And I | The speaker is Dana Ingkatanuwat, born and raised in Thailand, and now an accountant in Kansas, USA. She pronounces all the Thai names and terms from the musical, and discusses the play from her perspective as a Thai. | The King And I |
| Last Night At Ballyhoo | Shawn Muller, IDEA's webmaster and technical director, speaks the Jewish names, idioms and prayers from Alfred Uhry's play. | Last Night At Ballyhoo |
| Lend Me a Tenor | University of Houston Italian professor, Alessandro Carrera, speaks the Italian text from Lend Me a Tenor. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Lend Me a Tenor |
| Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Three native French speakers speak the French text from Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Les Liaisons Dangereuses |
| The Marriage Proposal | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | The Marriage Proposal |
| Molly Sweeney | A Northern Ireland native speaks the place and people names from Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Molly Sweeney |
| On The Harmfulness Of Tobacco | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | On The Harmfulness Of Tobacco |
| Philadelphia Here I Come | An Irish authority, Audrey Behan, speaks the unfamiliar terms and names from Brian Friel's play set in Ballybeg. She also gives cultural insight into several obscure expressions and idioms. The list was compiled by Dr. Rick Jones. | Philadelphia Here I Come |
| Playboy of the Western World | Playboy of the Western World words and phrases. Read by Barbara Carswell, files contributed by Paul Meier and Elizabeth van den Berg | Playboy of the Western World |
| Polish Joke | Polish Joke words and phrases. Latin read by Jennifer Allton; Polish read by Eva Grebowicz; Yiddish read by Dr. Sidney Berger. Recorded by Jim Johnson | Polish Joke |
| The Seagull | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | The Seagull |
| So What's New?-One So What's New?-Two |
A native Zulu speaker pronounces all the names and Zulu phrases from Fatima Dike's South African play. | So What's New? |
| Steel Magnolias | Names and place names from Steel Magnolias, by Robert Harling. Recorded with two Natchitoches, LA natives. (This is the real town in Louisiana on which the fictional location is based.) Recorded by Jim Johnson | Steel Magnolias |
| The Three Sisters | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | The Three Sisters |
| Top Girls | Professor Tara Welch of the Classics Department at the University of Kansas, assists with the Latin verses spoken by Pope Joan in Caryl Churchill's Top Girls. | Top Girls |
| Translations/Latin & Greek | Professor Stan Lombardo, Classics Professor at the University of Kansas speaks and discusses all the Latin and Greek text in Brian Friel's Translations. | Translations/Latin and Greek |
| Translations/Irish | Barbara Carswell and Paul Meier speak the Irish and English names, terms, and idioms, in Brian Friel's Translations. | Translations/Irish |
| Trojan Women | Dr. Mary Kuntz, professor of classical languages at Auburn University speaks the names and terms in the play, the Lattimore translation. | Trojan Women |
| Uncle Vanya | Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar speaks the place and people names from the play. | Uncle Vanya |