which reigonal American accent is closest to an English accent?

Question

I was curious what people think about this. Which Reigonal accent of the United States is closest to a middle-class English accent. I would have to say the northeast. What does everyone think?

Answer 1

Are you refering to an American English accent, or a British English Accent? (All English accents are not British accents)... The term "middle-class English accent" does not exist. One's Dialect indicates social class and education, not one's accent.

Based on scientific analysis of defining speech features, inhabitants of the North Midland region speak with the most unmarked dialect of regional American Englilsh. The speech patterns of residents of northern Iowa is closest to an American English accent, but southern Iowa is closer to the default value. For the purpose of analyzing speech phonetic uses, the mainland U.S. is divided as follows: The North, (including the North Central Region, the Inland North, The Eastern New England Region and New York City. The South, The West, and The Midland Cities.

Answer 2

Actually no region of the United States produces an accent that is close to the English middle-class accent. The "Boston" accent that a couple of your respondents suggested is actually much closer to the English working class.

Think about Fergie's accent. It doesn't sound "Boston" and it's not English upper-class.

The American citizen who comes to mind as having had an accent closest to the English middle-class was Katharine Hepburn. She was born in Harford, Connecticut, but to the upper class. Her accent was further refined by the years that she spent in college at Bryn Mawr.

In England, it's fairly easy to tell one's social class by one's accent. I think that Kate would fall into the middle-class sector. However, her accent (being from the upper class) is not typical of all people from Connecticut.

Answer 3

I must beg to differ. I find the accent of the American Southeast to be the closest to an English accent.
In Southern dialects you will still find in use archaic English words. Most of which were widely used in Elizabethan times. The first one that comes to mind is Yonder.

Answer 4

New England for the modern English accent; Appalachia for a more ancient British accent.

Answer 5

Boston? no way New York? too nasal Philly? uh uh
Virgina no yall, south no way hose, hmmm, i'm thinking tony blair now, who speaks proper English.

To tell you the truth, I don't know really.

But nothing I have heard in USA common slang sounds like
British?

Only the wealth educated people who have been trained in Proper Diction, alot internationals. speak proper English w/o the accent.

Or maybe a college professor, diplomat, linguist.

Maybe the great great great great great ancestors of British.

INo you h ave to go to England to hear that dialect. NOt in usa.

Answer 6

boston would be the closest, but it is really apples and oranges, it would be like asking which spanish speaking South American country has an accent closest to spanish in Spain?

Answer 7

Definitely New England. I had a roommate in college that initially I thought had a British accent...and she was from Philadelphia!

Answer 8

New England, Massachusetts in particular.

Answer 9

Maine, Boston, Massachusetts really, new england in general........I guess that's how it got that name, if by northeast you mean that area, you were right on. GOOD ANSWER!!!!

Answer 10

As others have said, maybe Boston or the NE, but I don't think they're all that close.