Early American Accents

[Razgovory]

Since British Dialects vary widely how can you say this?  Anyway, what is typically said is that American English is closer to Elizabethan English in tone and sound then modern London English.

Because they used to vary even wider still?

I'm failing to see your point here.

[PJL]

I've read somewhere that the Westcountry accent / dialect  is closest to the Old English one, which given Wessex domination of England in the 10-11th centuries is probably not that surpriseing.

[dps]

Wouldn't there be some influence from immigrants from non-English-speaking countries?

Absolutely, but it's hard to track exactly what the influences are on American English.  They seem to  have had more influence on vocabulary than on spelling and pronounciation, and very little on grammer.

[Josquius]

Since British Dialects vary widely how can you say this?  Anyway, what is typically said is that American English is closer to Elizabethan English in tone and sound then modern London English.

Because they used to vary even wider still?

I'm failing to see your point here.

That Britain has varied dialects doesn't mean British English can't be closer to English as it used to be than American is- the same broad dialects have a basis in history.

[dps]

Since British Dialects vary widely how can you say this?  Anyway, what is typically said is that American English is closer to Elizabethan English in tone and sound then modern London English.

Because they used to vary even wider still?

I'm failing to see your point here.

That Britain has varied dialects doesn't mean British English can't be closer to English as it used to be than American is- the same broad dialects have a basis in history.

Huh?  All dialects have a basis in history. 

[Josquius]

Huh?  All dialects have a basis in history. 

I mean a direct line.
1000 years ago the dialect of one area  had similar, but bigger, differences to that of another area,

[Razgovory]

Huh?  All dialects have a basis in history. 

I mean a direct line.
1000 years ago the dialect of one area  had similar, but bigger, differences to that of another area,

And so does American English!  They didn't go through a phase of speaking Swahili.  Spellus might be able to remember this, but I seem to recall that languages change more in their place of origin then where they are imported.

[Josquius]

And so does American English!  They didn't go through a phase of speaking Swahili.  Spellus might be able to remember this, but I seem to recall that languages change more in their place of origin then where they are imported.

American English however has only exised within modern times. British English can be traced back to the dark ages.

[Razgovory]

   Are you really this dense?  It didn't just spring into being on fine day.  They can both trace their lineage to the dark ages.  One line is not longer then the other.

[Josquius]

It didn't just spring into being one day, it took a while, but as a distinct American dialect it is a lot more modern than distinct dialects of various parts of the UK.

[Razgovory]

It didn't just spring into being one day, it took a while, but as a distinct American dialect it is a lot less modern than distinct dialects of various parts of the UK.

Wait what?  Weren't you arguing the opposite yesterday?  Either way, any argument that one lineage is older then the other is silly.  It's like a pair of brothers arguing who has the longest family tree.

[Ed Anger]

Just give it up Raz. Its no use.

[Richard Hakluyt]

er..............American English is British English if you go back far enough 

My understanding is that British English has changed more quickly than American English in the past couple of centuries. But that understanding is based on articles in the popular press, I cannot claim to have examined even the secondary sources.

[alfred russel]

er..............American English is British English if you go back far enough 

My understanding is that British English has changed more quickly than American English in the past couple of centuries. But that understanding is based on articles in the popular press, I cannot claim to have examined even the secondary sources.

That is also my understanding from the popular press--which I find interesting since I would expect the US to be subject to more change since we have had so much immigration. Perhaps the larger size of the country made it more resistant to changes?

Obviously the languages diverged by the time of the earliest recordings, but does anyone know when the earliest written records indicate that the languages were different. I know there are times when I have trouble understanding English accents, so surely people would have noted the odd speech of their visitors.

[MadImmortalMan]

Look. People live in a small concentrated area with lots of variation in dialect. Those people evolve dialect within themselves and between dialects often. Language evolves due to frequent contact and mixing.


Other people go to America and hike over the mountains. never see another same-language speaker with a different dialect other than once a couple generations.

Whose dialect changes faster?

UK English is the more modern one and US is more like it used to be. Both share the same roots and are the same "age". Where's the damn quibble? Why go against all the major linguists in academia? It seems obvious.