July 22, 2010   4,169 notes

Nick Patrick: Did Americans in 1776 have British accents?

Reading David McCullough’s 1776, I found myself wondering: Did Americans in 1776 have British accents? If so, when did American accents diverge from British accents?

The answer surprised me.

I’d always assumed that Americans used to have British accents, and that American accents diverged…

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    The British affected a non-rhotic accent before affecting a non-rhotic accent was cool.
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