Research
IDEA
Paul is the founder and director of IDEA (International Dialects of English Archive), the world's first online archive of English-language dialects and foreign-language accents for theatre and film artists, which goes hand-in-hand with his work through Paul Meier Dialect Services. IDEA catalogues by continent, country and state or province, nearly 1000 freely downloadable recordings of native speakers who both read and converse in their natural accent or dialect of English. Listen to Cockney, Liverpool, Welsh, Scottish, New York, Australian, French, German, Russian, Newcastle, Hampshire, Received Pronunciation, American English — accents and dialects from all over the world. Nearly 50 associate editors from seven countries contribute to the archive. Among the various resources can be found an invaluable tool: authentic speakers discussing and pronouncing the names, terms, and idioms needed in well-known and frequently produced plays. For example, hear Professor Maia Kipp, a native Russian and Chekhov scholar, speaking the place and people names from all of Chekhov's major plays. (See IDEA's Special Collections.)
VASTA
In addition, Paul is a proud member of VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association), serving from 2000-2007 as Associate Editor for Pedagogy and Coaching for the Voice and Speech Review, a scholarly journal for voice and speech professionals and academics, editing and authoring articles about voice, speech, dialect, and heightened text coaching and teaching. Click here for ordering and subscription information for the five volumes in which Paul's articles appear.
He was also editor for the VASTA newsletter from 2001 to 2003.