Before the United States gained independence in 1776, did its inhabitants speak English with a British accent?

Question

I mean around the period of 1776.

Answer 1

Today's British accent did not exist in 1776. All languages and all accents are constantly evolving and changing, so Queen Elizabeth II does not sound like King George III. From the time the earliest British setters arrived in the Americas in the 1600s they arrived from all parts of England, bringing with them the whole variety of British accents at that time. These accents immediately began to change so that by 1776 there were noticeable differences between the speech of the average colonist and the speech of the average person in England. Remember that England has NEVER had a uniform accent. There has ALWAYS been a great range of dialects in England. Such was the case in the colonies as well. The US Southern dialect owes much of its distinctive character to the fact that the majority of settlers came from the rural parts of England and Scotland and therefore started with dialects distinctive in those areas of England. The US New England dialect owes much to the fact that the majority of its settlers came from urban parts of England, especially around the sea ports and therefore started with dialects distinctive in those areas of England. There was never a single "American" dialect just as there was never a single "British" dialect.

Answer 2

Since independent settlement in North America started in the 16th century and continued progressively, no matter what the amount of immigration into the country, once absorbed the form of English there went its own way and developed without reference to its origins. At the same time English in Britain (already very diverse in its dialects) continued to change as well.

The extent to which American English had diverged from British English was already recognised by Noah Webster, as it was the main reason for his proposal to create a specifically American dictionary which would fix a "national" form to make an American identity. His spelling reforms were carried out for the same reason.

Answer 3

Some of them did. The Americans who came from Scotland, Wales or Ireland spoke with their own accents and dialects of English. There were also many different dialects within the main British accent -- rich, poor, middle class, from London, from Liverpool, etc. The American English dialect came into existance after the Americans were seperated from the British, not before.

Answer 4

I'm from Canada and even I know that the bigger fight was between England and France for what would become the USA. So, I guess the accent would depend weither the person spoke french or english.

Answer 5

No ..it was called a Continental accent. Still used today near New England and The Bronx.

Answer 6

yes, that or they spoke dutch. many aristocrats or rich people spoke with an english accent until about the 70's because it showed they were well educated.

Answer 7

well, most of them were british, so yeah
but its not like we would speak with a british accent if we had lost

Answer 8

Yes, most likely, since they had come from Great Britain...