What American accent is closest to British?

The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent, is a consciously learned accent of English, fashionably used by the late 19th-century and early 20th-century American upper class and entertainment industry, which blended together features regarded as the most prestigious from both American and British English ( ...

Is the American accent closer to the original British accent?

As a result, although there are plenty of variations, modern American pronunciation is generally more akin to at least the 18th-Century British kind than modern British pronunciation. Shakespearean English, this isn't.

Which British accent is the most American?

The rhotic accents are closest, mainly counties of the westcountry in Somerset, Devon, Cornwall, especially with the older generation. Cornish accent especially influenced accents in the American deep south and structure of ebonics as bizzare as it sounds.

Is Boston accent similar to British?

Boston's distinct accent is a mix of Irish and British influence that arose from colonists in the 1700s. Over the 19th century, Irish and Italian immigrants reinforced this speech pattern. Nowadays, younger Bostonians are using more of a rhotic (r-ful) accent than older speakers.

What American city has a British accent?

In the United States, cities like New York, Boston, and areas in the state of Virginia have pockets of British expatriates where you may hear the British accent. Additionally, certain theater and arts communities may also have individuals who speak with a British accent due to their training or background.

Why Do Americans and Brits Have Different Accents?

Which accent is closest to original English?

R.P. The accent of the Home Counties area (the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex) is closest to what people call Queen's English, also known as Received Pronunciation (R.P.) or Standard English.

Is the New York accent British?

The variations of New York City English are a result of the waves of immigrants that have settled in the city, from the earliest settlement by the Dutch and English followed in the nineteenth century by the Irish and Western Europeans (typically of French, German, and Scandinavian descent) settling.

What accent do most Americans have?

General American English, known in linguistics simply as General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm), is the umbrella accent of American English spoken by a majority of Americans, encompassing a continuum rather than a single unified accent.

Why is the American accent so different from British?

The first is isolation; early colonists had only sporadic contact with the mother country. The second is exposure to other languages, and the colonists came into contact with Native American languages, mariners' Indian English pidgin and other settlers, who spoke Dutch, Swedish, French and Spanish.

Does Matt Damon have an accent?

What accent does Matt Damon have? A slight Bostonian accent. Not the upper-class snooty accent we often attribute to anyone from the town, but the ordinary, or working class accent of the majority of Bostonians.

What is the hardest British accent?

It comes as no surprise then that many people rank the West Country accent as the most challenging English dialect to understand due to its heavy drawl and slurred syllable endings. The West Country accent originates from the region of Southwestern England, bordered by Wales and the Bristol Channel.

What is the hardest accent to imitate?

The British Accent

The Great British accent proved to be the most difficult of all the accents to imitate – along with the regional Yorkshire and Cockney pronunciations, in particular.

What is the most respected British accent?

Received Pronunciation (RP)

The prevalence of RP has declined since then, and it is currently said to be the native accent for only about 3% of the UK population. Nevertheless, RP remains the national standard and has traditionally been considered by many to be the most prestigious accent of British English.

Why do Brits say us instead of me?

As a Yorkshireman I can add that the use of 'us' instead of 'me' avoids sounding too demanding. Contrast “Give it to me! ' with 'Give it to us! ' In a game of football and the second request is more inclusive than the first - though secretly that's what the speaker really means.

What do American think of British accents?

People tend to think a foreign accent is more interesting and more sexy, says Guy Winch, a psychotherapist from Britain who's long been based in the United States, “because in general we tend to value what's less common.” Americans associate a British accent with someone being “more intelligent, more sophisticated and ...

When did Americans lose their British accents?

sometime between the late 16th and early 19th centuries, but a more accurate answer is never. Colonial Americans didn't really lose their accent. They developed a new one. And incidentally, so did the British.

Did George Washington have a British accent?

Considering all of this and his farmer upbringing, it is safe to speculate that Washington's natural accent was, as Morse portrays it, predominantly American with a detectable English influence.

What is the most beautiful accent in the United States?

Generally speaking, people tend to think that a southern drawl is the most pleasant accent. This is the drawl that comes from the deep south. It is nothing like a southern twang. Unfortunately, while people find it pleasant, it also carries several negative connotations.

What is the most neutral American accent?

However, the General American accent is widely understood and considered the most neutral American accent. It is important for voice over actors to be familiar with the different American accents and the nuances of each one to provide accurate and authentic voice over services.

Is there a New England accent?

New England English is not a single American dialect, but a collective term for a number of dialects and varieties that are close geographic neighbors within New England, but which differ on a spectrum that broadly divides New England English into a unique north versus south (specifically, a northern merger of the LOT ...

What do you call a New England accent?

Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the 19th century, is the traditional regional dialect of Maine, New Hampshire, and the eastern half of Massachusetts.

How do New Yorkers pronounce words?

New Yorkers typically drop the “r” from words in the middle and end, replacing them with a more drawn out “ah” or “uh” sound. “California” becomes “Cali-fawn-ia,” “arm” becomes “ahm,” and “actor” becomes “act-uh.”

Which countries love the British accent?

Whether it be India with its longstanding connection to British colonialism or Sweden with its fascination for all things English, these nations have embraced the allure of this captivating way of speaking. Other countries like China, Pakistan, Italy, and Finland have also fallen under the spell of the British accent.

What is the strongest Yorkshire accent?

Barnsley - there are parts of the town where the accent is so strong that it is almost like someone is speaking a different language.

What is the oldest British accent?

Geordie. As the oldest English dialect still spoken, Geordie normally refers to both the people and dialect of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in Northeast England.