Where did the American accent originate from?

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Ave

Maybe some of the linguists in our forum could help out with this one.

No matter where you go, you can easily pick out a person from North America from the way he/she speaks. There are obvious differences within the continent itself, so a person from Alabama would sound completely different from someone in Nova Scotia, for example, but I just wonder where this idiom originated.

The way the Irish pronounce their "r"s sounds uncannily North American so that gives me an indication of some Irish influence there. But the rest of it is just a mystery to me.

[Primus Pilus]

Ave

Maybe some of the linguists in our forum could help out with this one.

No matter where you go, you can easily pick out a person from North America from the way he/she speaks. There are obvious differences within the continent itself, so a person from Alabama would sound completely different from someone in Nova Scotia, for example, but I just wonder where this idiom originated.

The way the Irish pronounce their "r"s sounds uncannily North American so that gives me an indication of some Irish influence there. But the rest of it is just a mystery to me.

 

There are so many influences... immigrants from all over Europe in various stages of history (British, Irish, Italian, Dutch, German, the list goes on and on)... that it's certainly difficult to pinpoint an exact origin of the current "accent". I'd imagine that the earliest settlers sounded quite like the people from their point of origin (British in the NE and Viriginia, Dutch in New York, etc.). I suppose today the northeast maintains the closest relationship to British English, but it's still a far cry after many generations of absorbing various language groups and sounds. Much like most people in the US are a mixture of various cultural or national origins, our language too is equally mixed.

 

Hopefully, some of those linguists with a far better understanding than my terribly basic overview will offer some insight.

[docoflove1974]

Here is a link to the University of Pennsylvania's Atlas of North American English, in which one can listen to the various dialects of North America as well as track their history. This is the study pioneered by Dr. William Labov, who is perhaps one of the foremost researchers on the American speech patterns. Think of it this way: the East Coast has very distinct accent 'boundaries', which correspond to the types of early migration (as PP mentioned, Dutch/German, German, Irish, as well as the various strata of socio-economic immigration) of this continent; as one goes west, the 'accent' boundaries are more and more blurred, so that once one goes west of the Rockies, there is little distinction.

 

This is another great site: the University of Georgia's Linguistic Atlas Project, which combines work from other leading institutions and projects, as well as give a great introductions to the projects and to linguistics in general.

[M. Porcius Cato]

One might also ask about the origin of modern British English. Even in the last 75 years, the vowels and consonants heard at Oxford and Cambridge have changed. Winston Churchill and Tony Blair--two prime ministers separated by a common language?

[WotWotius]

I do not quite believe this story myself, but I was once told (I forget by whom) that the original puritan settlers of America deemed it blasphemous to breath through one's nose, which closed many of their vowel sounds. Whether or not this is a true story is open to scrutiny

[docoflove1974]

I would say that it's a complete fairy tale...from a linguistic approach. Cute story...but all fabrication. More likely, it's a combination of the speech patterns of the settlers and a general trend in English linguistics; however, I honestly haven't studied that part of the history of (American) English, so I can't quite go into detail.

[The Augusta]

One might also ask about the origin of modern British English. Even in the last 75 years, the vowels and consonants heard at Oxford and Cambridge have changed. Winston Churchill and Tony Blair--two prime ministers separated by a common language?

 

I think this goes back to what we were saying in the 'Regional accent' thread too. Blair's background, for instance is Scottish and North-eastern England - which, no matter how many elocution lessons he may have had (lol) will still have an undercurrent in his current 'accent'. So, I don't think it's all about changes in the last 75 years. As for the accents at Oxbridge changing - that may well have something to do with those esteemed establishments opening their doors to a much wider populace than 75 years ago, when the majority of Oxbridge students would have come from public schools.

 

Another Prime Minister to hold up an an example is Harold Wilson, born in Yorkshire, who had a quite distinct accent when compared to the Anthony Edens and Harold Macmillans who had preceded him.

 

As for the American accent (if such a generic term can be used - as there are as many regional accents over there as there are anywhere else - ) one can definitely hear the Irish influence. Listen to any Northern Irish person speak today and the link is unmistakable.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Interesting observation regarding Northern Irish and North American accents.

 

From the Dialects of English archive, here are three samples so you can judge for yourself:

1) From Illinois

2) From Warwickshire

3) From Northern Ireland.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

Interesting observation regarding Northern Irish and North American accents.

 

From the Dialects of English archive, here are three samples so you can judge for yourself:

1) From Illinois

2) From Warwickshire

3) From Northern Ireland.

Wow! Simply amazing. The Northern Irish connection is just undeniable. Somewhere down the road Americans seemed to have brought about a change in vowel pronunciation though.

[Primus Pilus]

Interesting observation regarding Northern Irish and North American accents.

 

From the Dialects of English archive, here are three samples so you can judge for yourself:

1) From Illinois

2) From Warwickshire

3) From Northern Ireland.

Wow! Simply amazing. The Northern Irish connection is just undeniable. Somewhere down the road Americans seemed to have brought about a change in vowel pronunciation though.

 

I don't know, the Illinois accent seems to have a native American influence as well once compared to the British and Irish samples.

[Gladius Hispaniensis]

I don't know, the Illinois accent seems to have a native American influence as well once compared to the British and Irish samples.

Ave PP. In what way specifically? And are you referring to any particular tribe?

[M. Porcius Cato]

I don't know, the Illinois accent seems to have a native American influence as well once compared to the British and Irish samples.

Ave PP. In what way specifically? And are you referring to any particular tribe?

 

Tribes of Illinois.

[Primus Pilus]

I don't know, the Illinois accent seems to have a native American influence as well once compared to the British and Irish samples.

Ave PP. In what way specifically? And are you referring to any particular tribe?

 

Tribes of Illinois.

 

I'm not thinking of a particular tribe... and wouldn't be qualified to make such an assessment. However, I immediately think of the inflections similar to that of Graham Greene (Kicking Bird in Dances with Wolves). I can't find a good audio sample to compare and perhaps the native American accents are simply influenced by the same factors as American English is, but it's what my ear picked up.

 

In any case Graham Greene is a full-blooded Oneida. I believe the Oneida were part of the Iroquois family of upstate New York, Ontario, Canada, etc.

[Gaius Octavius]

Is it not possible that the farther west and south that they go, the more sui generus they are?

[M. Porcius Cato]

Is it not possible that the farther west and south that they go, the more sui generus they are?

 

Huh?