Americans With British Accents – There are some striking differences between America and England, two countries whose histories are intertwined. They use a different currency. Citizens here drive vehicles on different sides of the road. And the US president has nothing on Queen Elizabeth’s complementary abilities.
But the most confusing difference is the way people in each country speak. Americans and Brits speak English, so why don’t they sound the same when they do?
Americans With British Accents
First, let’s review the lesson from Linguistics 101. Pronunciation is the different pronunciation of a language. A dialect is a variety of language that includes different vocabulary and grammar as well as pronunciation. Two important factors in dialect formation are separation from the native language source and contact with other languages.
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The “American English” we know and use today along with the American accent began as the “England English” accent. According to Smithsonian linguists, Americans began putting their own spin on English pronunciation after settling in the New World. An entire ocean away from their former homeland, they became increasingly isolated from the “England English” speakers. They came into contact with foreign languages, Native Americans, and other settlers in Sweden, Spain, France, and Holland. Both of these factors eventually led to changes in American vocabulary and grammar and the creation of a new English dialect. (However, there are some British slang that Americans don’t realize they use.)
One of the main reasons why American English and British English sound differently is rhotacism, the variation of certain sounds in the language. In this case, that sound is “r”. The standard American accent—what Americans think of as accented—is vocal, meaning the speaker pronounces their “r’s. The resulting pronunciation (aka typical British pronunciation) is not rhotic, so wos like “ca” are pronounced “cahd”.
Initially, rhotic accents were used by English speakers in the colonies and in England. But after the Revolutionary War, upper- and upper-middle-class citizens in England began using non-rhotic speech to demonstrate their social status. Eventually, it became the standard for Received Pronunciation and spread across the country, influencing even the most popular British phrases. Americans have kept their American rhotic accent for the most part. East Coast port cities, especially in New England, had much contact with the British without R. So if you’ve always wondered why Boston locals pay with a glass of cabanat, thank rhotacism. So Americans drive automatics and Europeans drive manuals.
We no longer support IE (Internet Explorer) as we strive to provide a site experience for browsers that support new web standards and security practices. Opinion: Regional accents make it difficult, but clear differences between Received Pronunciation and typical American appeared in the 1800s. .
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During the first half of the War of 1812, Britain had forcibly conscripted American sailors into the British Navy, claiming that the sailors had a British accent and were actually British. Did American and British accents diverge so quickly? The Revolutionary War had just ended.
I don’t know if the British were ripping off the American sailors because of their accent as much as because they were poor losers, but maybe the accent had something to do with it.
This question is somewhat complicated because American and British English have different regional accents. And since the human voice wasn’t recorded until the 1860s, it’s hard to say when we stopped sounding like them.
What many Americans think of as a British accent is what linguists call Received Pronunciation or BBC English.
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A large difference between the two pronunciations is known as rhotacism. This means that in BBC English, the “r” is not actually pronounced, so “card”, for example, becomes “cahd”.
In the late 19th century, this type of accent became popular in the south of England and on our east coast, and was considered quite proper and elegant. It became a received utterance.
In America, the expansion of industrialization shifted the centers of power to the Midwest, which was largely settled by people of Scottish and Irish heritage who still pronounced the “r” as an “r”.
Whatever your curiosity, the podcast team wants to help! We’ll answer all your Phoenix metro area questions on our podcast, Valley 101. Fill out a short form to let us know what you want answered. American English is a set of varieties of the English language spoken by Americans. It is the most widely used language in the United States and has been granted official status in 32 of the 50 state governments. It is considered a de facto language but is not an official language due to its widespread use in the US. English Language Practice in America. The United States was the result of British colonization of North America in the 17th century and immigration in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus the American accent evolved into new dialects due to the influence of British colonists and German, African, and Dutch immigrants.
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In the 18th century, declaring America’s independence or pledging allegiance to King George, the pronunciation was very similar. There was no difference between American and British English as both pronunciations were largely rhotic. Rhotic speakers who consider themselves Traditional American English pronounce the “r” sound in words like “winter”. During the American Revolution, non-rhotic speech came into use among the British who had gained wealth during the Industrial Revolution. They wanted to distinguish themselves from other commoners, so they cultivated distinguished non-rhotic accents to indicate their new status.
After independence, the United States expanded westward and a new wave of immigrants arrived. Each group that settled American soil had its own influence on traditional American English. Elite British rulers brought their non-rhotic speech to America and changed the pronunciation of rhotic speech. As the North East maintained close ties with the British, they incorporated some British names into their language. Slaves brought from West Africa led to the development of African American Vernacular English which drew on African American accents. Germany, which brought the largest wave of immigrants, adopted nasal vowels and introduced its own clipped speech patterns that became the basis of the American accent. Scandinavian immigrants from Northern Europe brought their accents from the Old World, while Yiddish-speaking Russian Jews from Eastern Europe introduced many new words and countless turns of phrase to English.
The practice of incorporating new vocabulary items into traditional American English began by borrowing names for unfamiliar plants, animals, and topography from various groups that settled in the US. The technological advances of the Industrial Revolution experienced in the 20th century brought new distinctive phrases and idioms to traditional American English.
Today, what is called an American accent is an umbrella accent that is considered neutral and free of regional characteristics. It lacks some notable sociolinguistic features, such as non-rhotic speech, ethnic features such as pronounced pronunciation of the letter “l”, and socio-economic features.
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Traditional US regional accents are on the brink of extinction in the United States due to the influence of social, mass and mainstream media. Children learn less about their native languages and cultures from society’s socialization agents such as their parents, grandparents, and teachers. They are more affiliated with YouTube, the Disney Channel, and Nickelodeon, whose main characters speak in standard American Midwestern accents that children adopt and abandon as their own. Two crossed lines form an “X”. Indicates a way to close the interaction or dismiss the notification.
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Here are some British actors who can fool anyone into thinking they speak with a natural American accent.
Differences Between British And American English
“House” fans who weren’t familiar with Hugh Laurie before the show aired on Fox in 2004 probably didn’t realize he was British.
According to an interview on “Live with Kelly and Ryan,” his American accent is surprisingly convincing when he says “New York.”
At a panel at the Paley Center for Media, “House” director Bryan Singer said he originally wanted to audition American actors for the role of Dr. House, but Laurie’s accent completely fooled him.
After watching his audition tape, Singer said, “Finally, I’m sick of foreigners. That’s what we need. We need an American. This guy has a voice, he’s American.”
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Matthew Rhys had an extra layer of challenge as Philip Jennings on FX’s “The Americans.” He was a Welsh actor playing a Russian spy.
On a 2015 episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” Rice said she developed her American accent.
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