Character Voices for Reading Dialogue
Basics on the topic Character Voices for Reading Dialogue
Character Voices for Reading Dialogue
Do you want to find out how to identify the dialogue in a story and how to voice act a character? Learn about reading dialogue and creating a character voice through our video and article!
Dialogue in Stories – Definition
When you read stories or chapter books, you can often see dialogue.
Dialogue is a part of a text in which two or more characters talk to each other. You can identify dialogue by looking for quotation marks.
If a character is talking alone or to themselves, we call this a monologue, as a dialogue needs to include two people or more.
Quotation marks are used to signal dialogue in a text. For example:
In the sentence, *”Hello, I am Ari.” there are quotation marks at the beginning and at the end of the sentence. This signals that this sentence is dialogue.
Usually, dialogue tells you which character is talking, either before or after the speech. Have a look at the example:
In the first sentence Ari said, “Hello.”, the name of a character stands before the speech, while in the second sentence “Hello.” Ari said., it comes after. Both sentences have exactly the same meaning and help us identify that the character named Ari is talking.
How to Do Character Voices when Reading Dialogues
Each character in a book has a unique character’s voice – a specific way they talk in a story. When reading dialogue, it is best to read dialogue with expression and to voice act characters. This makes reading more fun for both the reader and the audience!
There are three simple steps you can follow during dialogue reading practice to use character voices effectively:
| Step 1 | Step 2 | Step 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Pause and identify which character is talking. |
Ask yourself: “What does that character sound like?” |
Read in a matching voice for the character. |
Let’s take a look at the example:
The old professor said, “I can’t believe you made this experiment all by yourselves!”
First, let’s identify which character is talking. We know that it is an old professor because this is what the text tells us. Then, we ask ourselves, how the character is talking. The old professor might have a deep voice, and in this sentence he sounds surprised. We can identify this with the help of clues from the text – he can’t believe, which means he is surprised. Finally, we can read the dialogue with the matching voice for the character.
Character Voices for Reading Dialogue – Summary
Let’s review what we learned about character voices for reading dialogue.
Dialogue is a part of a story in which two or more characters talk to each other. Dialogue can be identified by the presence of quotation marks. The word, sentence, or several sentences inside the quotation marks tell you what the character is saying.
To read in a voice for the character, follow the three steps: identify who is talking, think to yourself, “How does this character talk?”, and read the dialogue in a matching voice for the character.
Now you know a lot about character voices for reading dialogue. Watch our video to hear character voice examples and practice more!
Frequently Asked Questions about Character Voices for Reading Dialogue
Transcript Character Voices for Reading Dialogue
"And so the young girl said, why yes, I would love to buy some of your cookies. She picked up some cookies to buy, 'you're the only one who has bought my cookies today,' the baker exclaimed happily." "I can't sleep unless you do the voices!" Let's join Ari's bedtime story, as we learn all about character voices for reading dialogue. When reading stories, we often see dialogue. Dialogue tells you when a character is talking in a story. Quotation marks are used to signal dialogue in a text. This is how you know when there is dialogue, or speech, happening! The word, sentence, or sentences inside the quotation marks, tell you what that character is saying. Sometimes, dialogue doesn't tell you who is talking, but usually it tells you who is talking before the speech, or after the speech. Why is it important to be able to identify dialogue in a story? It helps you become a more fluent reader! To read in a voice for the character, first, pause and identify which character is talking. Second, think to yourself, how is the character talking? Third, read in a matching voice for the character! Let's practice using the first dialogue that was read by Zayd. The first dialogue was and so the young girl said, why yes, I would love to buy some of your cookies. First, we think, which character is talking? We know it is the young girl because the text tells us here. Second, we think, how is the character talking? Said doesn't tell us a lot, so we look at the dialogue itself for clues. Since the girl said, I would love, we can add a positive tone to the voice! Now, Zayd can match his voice to the character as he reads! "And so the young girl said, why yes, I would love to buy some of your cookies." Now let's take a look at the other dialogue from the story, and see if you can remember the steps for reading in character voices! It says she picked up some cookies to buy. You're the only one who has bought my cookies today, the baker exclaimed happily. Which character is talking here? The baker is talking, because after the dialogue it says the baker exclaimed. How is the character talking? Here it says happily, so we can read it in a happy voice. Let's listen to Zayd read in a matching voice for the character now! "She picked up some cookies to buy. You're the only one who has bought my cookies today! The baker exclaimed happily." While Zayd finishes reading to Ari, let's review! Today, we learned about character voices for dialogue. To read in a voice for a character, first, pause and identify which character is talking. Second, think to yourself, how is the character talking? Third, read in a matching voice for the character! "Keep reading, Zayd! Oh no! I guess doing those character voices was tiring work..."
Character Voices for Reading Dialogue exercise
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What does dialogue tell you?
HintsQuotation marks tell you what a character is saying in a text.
You can see quotation marks around dialogue.The words inside the quotation marks tell you what that character is saying.
SolutionDialogue tells you when a character is talking.
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Does the sentence use dialogue?
HintsQuotation marks are used to signal dialogue in a text. This is how you know when there is a dialogue, or speech, happening.
The words inside the quotation marks tell you what the character is saying.
SolutionWe know these sentences use dialogue because of the quotation marks. These sentences have dialogue:
- "I hope the bedtime story is not scary." Ari said nervously.
- "I can't wait to learn all these new recipes to cook!" Zayd shouted excitedly.
- Nervously and excitedly can help us with our character voices.
- Ari wants to be a magician because they like to do cool tricks.
- Zayd is reading a book about planting a garden.
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Match the character voices with the dialogue.
Hints"I would love" adds a positive tone to the character voice when reading.
"Exclaimed happily" adds a happy tone to the character voice when reading.
SolutionThe highlighted parts of the dialogue show how the character is talking. We look at this to help us decide how to read dialogue and give our character's voices.
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Does the voice use a character voice to read dialogue?
HintsListen to how the character is speaking/feeling. For example, do they sound confused? Then think whether the voice you hear shows that feeling.
Does the character sound excited?
Does the character sound happy?
SolutionA character voice to read dialogue is used for these:
- "I love to brush the horses!" Maya said excitedly.
- "The food does not taste very good here." Koko said with disappointment.
- Koko felt confused and said, "Which way do we go?"
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How do you know when there is dialogue, or speech, happening in a text?
Hints"Hello" is in quotation marks so we know that it is speech.
This is an example of dialogue happening in a text.
SolutionQuotation marks show that there is dialogue, or speech, happening in a text. The word, sentence, or sentences inside the quotation marks tell you what that character is saying.
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Highlight the parts of dialogue.
HintsThere are four dialogue sentences to highlight in green.
The baker is the character that is talking and happily is how the character is talking.
Solution- green highlight: the dialogue
- yellow highlight: which character is talking
- blue highlight: how the character is talking
