The origin of various English accents?

Question

I was wondering how the various accents in America, U.K and canada came about? How did the southern drawl form and where the eh come from, eh?

Answer 1

There is no single answer to this question but a combination of several answers.

First of all, Modern English developed from the languages of three Germanic tribes Jutes (from northern Denmark), Angles (from Friesland) and Saxons (from north central Germany) all speaking different dialects of Old English. Eventually, the pronunciation and vocabulary of the Angles predominated in northern England and that of the Saxons in southern England but the Jutes in Kent probably still left behind a substratum.

Secondly, in the eighth and ninth centuries there were numerous Viking raids followed by a large Viking settlement. Thus, a Norse (Scandinavian) element was added to some dialects of English. Norse influence is still strong in Yorkshire English.

Thirdly, England was always a class-ridden society too.. Especially after the Norman conquest. People in the various lower, middle and upper classes didn't mix with each other much, if at all. As a result, each class group develped their own form of English.

It is interesting to note that after his defeat at the battle of Yorktown (1783), Lord Cornwallis refused to meet George Washington and sent his second in command to deliever his sword to Washington as a token of surrender. Under the English class system, even planter / slave owner George Washington was not high enough in the hierarchy to talk to an English lord.

Fourthly, before the advent of modern transportation and communications - the horse and buggy days - English communities were relatively isolated from one another and an English farmer or blacksmith in one village often never heard the English spoken in another English village only twenty miles away. Inevitably, lots of regional English accents developed as a result of this.

In the late 18th century, the London dialect began spreading throughout England. However, North America was sttled before the London dialect began spreading, so older regional English accents and pronunciations survived in the U.S. and Canada.

Finally, there are also immigrant influences on American English absent in Britsh and even Australian and New Zealand English. For example, some Yiddish and possible Dutch influences in New York plus German, Polish and Scandinavian influences in the upper midwest.

Some Canadians speak with an obvious Scottish accent and some linguists believe that their are Scottish influences in much of the northeastern and midwestern parts of the United States.

Answer 2

In England the accents came from the isolation of villages and towns over hundreds of years, and few people traveled until the early twentieth century. In the USA it was English accents mixed with other English accents, Irish and Scots and Welsh,then added to that as others learned English they would add their own take on the language and the outcome would be, Southern, North Eastern, Western accents all slightly different.

Answer 3

little eccy is right, in London alone there are many distinct accents just like in Boston there are many depending on class and exact location.

You can find many similarities in the US to various English dialects. For instance the Boston tendency to aspirate final "T" sounds is just like Irish.