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Philip Posted 19 years ago
Speech & Pronunciation

Accents

0I assume that when the first people from England arrived in the colonies they spoke just like the people they left behind. During the years since then, American pronunciation has undergone quite a few major changes (including a splintering into Southern, Midwestern and Eastern divisions). This can be attributed to normal evolution of language. I am told that the Québecois French is very similar to that of 16th Century Parisian French and has undergone less change that Parisian French itself has since the time of Molière.02br
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00Questions: 1) Is Eastern AE closer to what was spoken in England at the time than the other American patterns? 2) Has BE evolved as much as AE during the same period of time? 3) How did the "southern accent" come about? 01b004) Does anyone know of a book that discusses these things?02b02br
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00Thanks, Friends.02br
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00Philip0-
  

Top answer

0Hi Philip,02br 02br 001) No, I believe Western American English accents are closer to British English from the past. 02br 02br 002) It depends on the American/British accent. General American is closer to earlier British English accents than RP (quite a new accent) and most other accents familiar from the south-east of England.

— Englishuser

  • 0Hi Philip,02br 02br 001) No, I believe Western American English accents are closer to British English from the past.
  • 02br 02br 002) It depends on the American/British accent.
  • General American is closer to earlier British English accents than RP (quite a new accent) and most other accents familiar from the south-east of England.
  • On the other hand, some regional British accents retain many features typical of earlier accents of English.
  • 02br 02br 00Englishuser0-
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1 Answers
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0Hi Philip,02br
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001) No, I believe Western American English accents are closer to British English from the past. The western part of the United States used to consist of more isolated communities than did other parts of the country.02br
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002) It depends on the American/British accent. General American is closer to earlier British English accents t
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