The American accent is quite stable, except for certain cases... then how is it ...?

Question

... that it became so stable? It is not like any other accent in the English language ... and that goes for Canadian English, too.

What were the influences that led to its development and stabilization where it is today?

I was speaking with some young and very well educated German girls who spoke beautiful English, with an American accent with a slight trace of the British accent.... where EVER?!!!!! Is that not strange? I asked them where they had learned such nice English, not only the accent, but the fluency .... it was completely free of regional influence ... you really could not tell where they came from ........ and they replied that in Germany they are required to study it all through school, from the earliest years right on through to graduation.

I found that very impressive and thought how nice it would be if we Americans spoke as nicely, no slang, no lack of vocabulary or weakness in handling our own native language ...

Johnny should read AND speak ..

Answer 1

Language changes over time. Scholars, for example, once maintained that Athenian Greek was 'proper' Greek, while Homeric was primitive, and Koine was degenerate. The truth is that our standard for the 'proper' form of a language is completely arbitrary. In the 17th century people were voicing the same complaints, wondering why the younger generations no longer used 'thee' and 'thou' in every day speech.

The American accent is actually the oldest English accent. In the 17th century, English speakers in Great Britain pronounced English with an accent nearly identical to that used in Maine. The British accent that we hear today was heavily influenced by Celtic languages like Welsh, Cornish and Scots, all of which were assimilated to English in the late 18th century, resulting in the form of English heard in the UK today.

Answer 2

First of all, no accent in any language is stable. The sounds of languages and dialects are always changing. The dialects of American English are changing as we speak (no pun intended). But that is true of all other forms of English as well -- British English, Australian English, Canadian English, and so on. You are absolutely right that different dialects of English sound different from each other. They have diverged from each other over time because of all kinds of factors such as geography, class, gender, and so forth. Perhaps you think American English is unstable because there are different American accents? That's because there actually is no one "American" English, but there are several dialect regions in the United States. The U.K. has even more variety among the dialects of British English. Perhaps you just haven't heard enough British English to be aware of that.

Second, you assumed that the girls you met spoke with a mixture of American and British accents. That could be true, but it seems more likely to me that what you were hearing was a German-accented version of American English. I work with a few very fluent German-speaking learners of English, and they could come across as British sounding because of their vowels. But the accent is related to their first language, German. You are also right that people in many other countries begin studying English as a foreign language when they are still grade-school age. As a result, people all over the world are much more proficient in English than many Americans are in foreign languages.

Third, you are trying to say that you think the best way to speak is to not seem like you come from any region and not use slang. I can't really address that whole concern because my answer to that issue is very long, but I really disagree with you, actually. I recommend that you perhaps read up on some sociolinguistics if you'd like to know more about this issue.

Answer 3

Spelling would be a nice thing to add to your list. It always amazes me that most other countries teach English and other foreign languages starting in early elementary school and here you have to wait until High School.

Answer 4

I think it is strange since many slang words actually became incorperated into the language and are now considered "proper" English.

Answer 5

I quite agree. The same could be said for the UK these days - people's grammar and spelling is quite atrocious.