why do Americans speak different to people in the UK?

Answer 1

They are from a different continent. Why do cockneys speak differently to brummies. Its the way it goes.

Answer 2

So, were you hoping for one serious answer?

When people who start out speaking the same language, but they do not live in the same place, the language of each group changes differently.

The classic example (sorry, I didn't actually intend the pun) is how Roman (the language of the Roman Empire) changed into Italian, French, Spanish, Portugese, and Romanian.

Portugese moved to Brazil, and Brazilian Portugese is now different from the Portugese of Portugal.

This happened to English, too. Americans, New Zealanders, Aussies, South Africans and other people around the world whose first language is English do not speak the same English as Brits, and Brits have different dialects like Scottish and Irish (I'm talking about Scottish and Irish English, not Gaelic).

Language changes all the time, and the less the two groups who started out with the same language talk to each other, the more the change is different for the two.

Answer 3

The differences are likely caused by the isolation of the two and the time that allowed the American accents to develop. Unlike Australia and South Africa, which were colonized more recently, America's modern history goes back more 500 years. This is plenty of time to allow, along with the diverse groups that joined the English in colonization of America, a distinct accent to develop.

Also, the Revolution that came helped isolate the US even further from British emigration. The US could not be replenished by British-accented people to drown out the local accent. Accents and language evolve just like life does and will continue to do so.

Answer 4

The English language in England has been allowed to develop unchallenged since the 1700s giving the language there it's present form. However the language as spoken in the United States has had to contend with the multitude of languages brought to the New World by the large groups of immigrants. When these groups started speaking in English they found it hard to pronounce certain aspects of the English language such as the letter "r" which is much more harder and pronounced in continental European languages and indeed in Irish Gaelic. So while these immigrants adopted the English language of their new country they left their own mark on aspects of the English language as spoken there. As time progressed these peculiarities became absorbed into the American English language giving it its distintiveness from the language as spoken in England.

Answer 5

The thing that sticks out to me is not how different the languages are but how similar they are. Despite 230 years or so of separation, the English spoken in America seems more or less identical to the English spoken in England. I have no trouble at all understanding Americans, and visa versa, give or take a few slang words, which can soon be easily explained anyway.

Answer 6

My theory:. The people of America originated in many difference European countries. It would be like putting the ingredients of a stew in a pot and stirring it up. Like us in the UK, there are regional accents. How they come about is I suppose due to certain ethnic groups collecting in one part of the country and hence bringing their own dialects/accents. If we go back several hundred years, the same happened in the UK.

Answer 7

Does every one in uk speak the same way? Even In London, cockneys speak in a different way. All areas of England have their local accents.Does it really surprise you if accents change 5000 miles away?

Answer 8

You learn to speak from your parents and school, etc.
if you learn to say your sentences and words a certain way, than that is how you speak.

It might be the same language but school curiculums are different, we see some different things on the tv.
Although the language will remain recognisable, i think it moves further apart.

Cheers, from Ostraya

Answer 9

That's like saying why do scots, scouse, welsh and irish talk differently!!

Americans speak slower with a different timing and inflection. And the most annoying thing is they can't undertand us brits with strong accents and different timings!!

Answer 10

Languages change over time. In the past, the two dialects changed in different ways.

Answer 11

In Belgium they speak french with belgian words and phrases, same for Canada, the french part speak french with canadian phrases.

thats like that for all countries