Where does the General American accent originate?

Question

I’m referring to the usual mainstream American accent that Americans speak with. Where did it come from?

*When Did Americans Lose Their British Accents?* There are many, many evolving regional British and American accents, so the terms “British accent” and “American accent” are gross oversimplifications. http://mentalfloss.com/article/29761/when-did-americans-lose-their-british-accents — , Jul 25 '15 at 11:41
Are you the same user who has asked a load of questions about accents? You don't have to create a new profile every time you want to post a question. — Mari-Lou A, Jul 25 '15 at 12:13
@Josh61 The end of your referenced article mentions southeastern England as a region with rhotic speakers. That’s wrong: it should be *southwestern* instead, given that West Country English is known for its rhoticism: “West Country accents are rhotic like most North American and Irish accents, meaning all "r"s in a word are pronounced, in contrast to non-rhotic accents like Received Pronunciation where "r" is only pronounced before vowels. Often, this /r/ is [...] lengthened at the ends of words.” — tchrist, Jul 25 '15 at 12:20
These are interpreting questions and answerable, but may take a book to answer even in its most simplified form. I remember seeing on the web the notes to a class on English dialects that attempts to derive the sources. Note however that there are sources and then there is the independent development within the specific language community. — Mitch, Jul 25 '15 at 13:32
Here's a reasonable reddit thread discussing lots of issues. I don't think there is a good plain 'answer'. — Mitch, Jul 25 '15 at 23:06
@Josh61 one might just as well ask When did the British develop their British accents? Certain elements in England, at least, clearly developed after Plymouth Rock. — phoog, Jul 26 '15 at 07:00
+1 @Mari-Lou. OP: You are clearly interested in accents. Great. Try the library or Wikipedia. These are not specific, useful questions for EL&U. — Drew, Jul 27 '15 at 01:23
“General American doesn’t exist. He was demoted to private or sergeant a long, long time ago.” — tchrist, Aug 29 '20 at 01:24

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 26 '15 at 00:51

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I'm English and I occasionally mistake some Irish accents for American until I listen very carefully

Irish Catholics

According to the Dictionary of American History,[10] approximately "50,000 to 100,000 Irishmen, over 75 percent of them Catholic, came to United States in the 1600s, while 100,000 more Irish Catholics arrived in the 1700s." Indentured servitude was an especially common way of affording migration, and in the 1740s the Irish made up nine out of ten indentured servants in some colonial regions.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_immigration_to_the_United_States

answered Jul 26 '15 at 00:51

chasly - supports Monica

37,215

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It would be interesting to investigate to what extent people of Irish heritage returning to Ireland from the US may have affected the Irish accent. – Hot Licks Jul 26 '15 at 02:54
That's interesting, but it doesn't quite dovetail with my experience. Although I'm originally from Texas, I speak mostly with an SAE accent, and many Texans argue I must be from somewhere else. When I speak with people of Irish descent I distinctly hear the accent, though perhaps a bit mellowed from the Old Country. I presume that when I hear an accent that's a sign that its different from my own, which is to say my SAE is something distinct from third- or fourth-generation Irish. American English still varies regionally even though broadcast media slowly level the accents. – Feralthinker Sep 14 '15 at 22:24

Where does the General American accent originate?

1 Answers1