Origin of American Accent?

Question

What caused the significant difference between the British and American accents? I've always guessed it was a mix of Amerindian, French, and German influence as well as natural isolated change. But you don't see this change in Australia, New Zealand, or South Africa.

Answer 1

This sort of question is often based on a faulty historical assumption (which remains faulty even if Brits and Americans often share it). There is this odd idea that British English has been and is monolithic, that it has stayed constant AND that American English started with British English of a sort very much like modern British "Received Pronunciation", but went its own way. The real story is much more complex than that.

1) Since English is a LIVING language, in both Britain and America, it has, quite properly, changed in BOTH places since colonial times. (Also, the two have maintained contact over the centuries -- each borrowing from the other -- so no simple "tree" model will work.)

2) BOTH groups have kept some older words, forms, etc and innovated in other areas. Thus, if we were to judge by "who is closer to English as spoken & written in the 17th century" (though why we should do so I cannot tell), in some cases the "Standard English" of Britain would win out, but in others (General) American English would. For that matter, some of the forms that would 'win' by this standard of measure would be forms that are not considered "standard" in EITHER country, e.g., expressions preserved only in Appalachia.

(One fairly minor example in the area of pronunciation -- most American dialects preserve "r" sounds that have since been lost to the British dialect that became the standard.)

3) Aside from instances where an American dialect has the "more original" form, many supposed "deviations" of American English are simply preservations of a DIALECT of British English different from the currently dominant one (the "Received Pronunciation", etc.). NEITHER is older or more original!

Both Britain and America have regional dialects (and Britain has many more varieties than ALL of its former colonies put together!) This go far back into British history -- there was great variety amongst OLD English dialects. And the chief AMERICAN regional dialects (typically broken into four groups) are rooted in the BRITISH dialects of the areas where the first settlers came from.

As far as the "foreign influence" on American English dialects, there is no doubt some of that in various regions, but it actually accounts for far less than many think (and continues the false notion that American English is a deviation from recent British English).


As for the fact that Australian English, for example, sounds more like some modern day British dialects than we find in American dialects, this is easily accounted for by the fact that the colonization of Australia took place much later than that of the Americas, after BOTH British and American dialects had changed in significant ways.

Answer 2

Origin Of American Accent

Answer 3

I think there are several reasons why the "british" and the "american " language developed in different directions:

1. It has been calculated that during the foundation of the US there were around 3 Mio people on this continent (and they were even not all from the UK e.g. Dutch in New York, French in upstate NY, spanish, ..) There were several waves of immigration and they all brought their own language and in some way influenced the vocabulary and the pronounciation.

2. The educational system in the US is not as centralized as it is in european countries. In Germany is a "proper German" which everybody learns in school and a lot of local dialect. A bavarian from the south and a person from Hamburg in the north will not understand each other when they speak in their local dialect.

3. The other countries you mention are all part of the british commenwealth and the school system was oriented on the british system for a long time. So the "british" english developed as the "proper" language. I have colleagues in India and they speak a very "britsih" englisch !

Answer 4

I live in Britain, but people keep on saying that i have an American accent! But when i went to America, they say i got an European accent with loads of blends and mixes. I prefer American most of the time, as well as British, but then the dialects there are different, so i have to go with the American.. What about Australian accent? I love that accent!

Answer 5

The cultural mix in this country is absolute astounding
there are also Very Distinct changes in the language within given AREAS of the country
You could take individuals from say---New Jersey---Georgia---Texas--- Minnesota--- and California and have a conversation and it would flip you out as to the differences in not only the accents but the uses of the various slang words and phrases---

We are Very Hep on our individuallity in this place and even the locale of a person's choice will almost demand that they be somewhat attuned to a different set of conversational rules---here in Texas -- if you're not willing to drawl out your words a little people here will think you are trying to be a slicker or something !!

Answer 6

well which part of american are you referring to? in the united states there are various accents. the new england states have one, the southern states have one, the midwest has one, and the west coaster's have one...not to mention all of the various immegrants and the accent they have when they speak english. i think what it boils down to is your location and your ancestory....for instance if i drive a bit south of here, it is predominantly dutch heritage, therefore the have a bit of an accent, and just north of where i am it is predominantly german/norwiegen so a whole different accent....so that's my guess

Answer 7

might have a lot to do with immigration
and i don't remember a revolution in the countries you mentioned ( at least one 200 + years ago ) when we separated from the mother country we formed our own identity and the majority of new citizens did not come from England ( note that the Irish right next door have their own accent because they also had a separate identity )