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Origins of the American accent?..... (Read 1331 times)
Nov 17th, 2012 at 6:27am

Fozzer   Offline
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A subject which never fails to fascinate me!

I Googled my query on the Internet, which came up with a few suggestions, but no-one answered my basic question...

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=93372

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread608868/pg1

With so many immigrants from different countries from all around the World, who decided that the natural "American language" in the whole of North America would be based on the "English" language, and not German, for instance. (There are far more German immigrants in North America than English!).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestrie...

What is it about the English language, which made it the favourite throughout the whole of the continental USA?
Apart from local variations, American English is the predominant language!

Now there's a subject to keep you all going for a while!... Wink...!

Paul....An Iron Age resident from England... Grin...!
 

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Reply #1 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 7:05am

machineman9   Offline
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I remember hearing that Southern Brits were responsible for the Southern states accent - Including the phrase, "y'all". The imigrants from places like Southampton, etc, carried it over and it's still heavily in effect even today  Grin

I'm glad we got rid of that bit of dialect  Wink Tongue
 

...
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Reply #2 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 8:58am

wahubna   Offline
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English was the most commonly spoken language in the Colonies. After a few generations of mixed-background settlers it makes sense that the dialect would change. But again, English was the most common language.

Today we have excessive use of 'like', 'I don't know','I mean', or 'you know what I mean'.
You know what I mean? Like, what I mean is, I don't know. You know?
(yes I have heard many a conversation go exactly like that^^)
 

‎"At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation."- Igor Sikorsky
...
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Reply #3 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 9:03am

Hagar.   Offline
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machineman9 wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 7:05am:
I remember hearing that Southern Brits were responsible for the Southern states accent - Including the phrase, "y'all". The imigrants from places like Southampton, etc, carried it over and it's still heavily in effect even today  Grin

Not sure where you heard that.

This seems a reasonable explanation. (I can't post the link until I have 5 posts.* Grin)

"…Montgomery claims that “y’all” goes back to the Scots-Irish phrase “ye aw,” and he offers as evidence a letter written in 1737 by an Irish immigrant in New York to a friend back home: “Now I beg of ye aw to come over here.” As I understand Montgomery’s hypothesis, “ye aw” was Americanized into “y’all,” which is indeed a contraction of “you all” but would not have come into being without the influence of the Scots-Irish phrase."


Southampton was a departure port for migration to the Colonies for many years so it's possible that Scots-Irish migrants departing from there took the expression with them.

*Yes. this is your old mate Hagar. I can't sign in under my original password for some reason. Huh
 
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Reply #4 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 9:51am

Fozzer   Offline
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wahubna wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 8:58am:
English was the most commonly spoken language in the Colonies. After a few generations of mixed-background settlers it makes sense that the dialect would change. But again, English was the most common language.

Today we have excessive use of 'like', 'I don't know','I mean', or 'you know what I mean'.
You know what I mean? Like, what I mean is, I don't know. You know?
(yes I have heard many a conversation go exactly like that^^)


In your area, the people are mostly Dutch, Adam; but elsewhere, covering almost the whole area of the northern USA, the inhabitants were predominantly of German origin, so I imagine that none of them were speaking English at the time?....So what encouraged all of them to revert to the English Language?...>>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestrie...

Paul... Smiley...!

P.S...welcome Hagar!... Wink... Grin...!

P.P.S...Our Andrew Esselbach well remembers his German roots!
 

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Reply #5 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 10:32am

wahubna   Offline
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Fozzer wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 9:51am:
wahubna wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 8:58am:
English was the most commonly spoken language in the Colonies. After a few generations of mixed-background settlers it makes sense that the dialect would change. But again, English was the most common language.

Today we have excessive use of 'like', 'I don't know','I mean', or 'you know what I mean'.
You know what I mean? Like, what I mean is, I don't know. You know?
(yes I have heard many a conversation go exactly like that^^)


In your area, the people are mostly Dutch, Adam; but elsewhere, covering almost the whole area of the northern USA, the inhabitants were predominantly of German origin, so I imagine that none of them were speaking English at the time?....So what encouraged all of them to revert to the English Language?...>>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestrie...

Paul... Smiley...!

P.S...welcome Hagar!... Wink... Grin...!

P.P.S...Our Andrew Esselbach well remembers his German roots!


Yes, but English was more common in the Colonies. Michigan was not a colony  Wink
My family roots are Holland, MI, but I was raised in Muskegon, which was originally heavily populated by Native American tribes. Hence the name Muskegon.
 

‎"At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation."- Igor Sikorsky
...
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Reply #6 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 10:56am

Fozzer   Offline
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There you go...
With only a handful of English speakers there....why aren't the Eastern and Mid West speaking French...>>>
...and the rest speaking German!

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://ns1763.ca/remem/map-new-france.jpg&...

I still cant figure out how English became the predominant language over such a small space of time with just a few of us there, when other very large groups were speaking entirely different languages!

Fascinating...

Someone must have stood up, and shouted...

"Oi!, all you lot!"....
...."From now on, all of you must speak; "English"... Angry...!

Who was he?.... Roll Eyes...!

Paul... Grin...!

Amazing history...>>>
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonial_history_of_the_United_States
 

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Reply #7 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 11:05am

Hagar.   Offline
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Fozzer wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 9:51am:
P.S...welcome Hagar!... Wink... Grin...!

Thanks Paul. I had to start again as a newbie. According to this forum I no longer exist - Apparently. Cheesy

Quote:
So what encouraged all of them to revert to the English Language?

I'm not sure they reverted. I believe most of the Founding Fathers were of British origin. Also, the Declaration of Independence & US Constitution were written in English. Perhaps that has something to do with it.
 
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Reply #8 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 1:10pm

Apex2012   Offline
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Not to change this very interesting subject, y'awl, but I also had to re-register, couldn't log in.  This sort of thing happened a few weeks or so ago, then they fixed it.  Anyone know what's whut with this?
 
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Reply #9 - Nov 17th, 2012 at 2:10pm

Hagar.   Offline
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Apex2012 wrote on Nov 17th, 2012 at 1:10pm:
Not to change this very interesting subject, y'awl, but I also had to re-register, couldn't log in.  This sort of thing happened a few weeks or so ago, then they fixed it.  Anyone know what's whut with this? 

I've seen this problem reported many times over the years but this is the first time I've suffered from it. I'm not really bothered. Wink
 
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Reply #10 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 3:58pm

jetprop   Offline
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I find that the american accent is sorta similar to the local Cork accent,maybe it came from Ireland?
 

...
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Reply #11 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:02pm

Fozzer   Offline
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jetprop wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 3:58pm:
I find that the american accent is sorta similar to the local Cork accent,maybe it came from Ireland?


Very interesting, Jet!

..certainly a lot of Irish folk emigrated from Ireland to America during the potato famine period in 1845.... http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfm

...and I often wonder if the American Southern Counties; "Barn Dance", originated in Ireland?

Paul... Smiley...!

...and more...>>> http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/america.htm

 

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Reply #12 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:11pm

wahubna   Offline
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Apparently us Michiganders have a particular accent which seems to be tied with the Canadian accent. Most people from da UP tend to sound a bit Canadian in some respects. So I wonder if Michigan as a whole is predominantly of French decent....obviously I am of Dutch stock though (the proper Dutch).
Detroit is French, Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-aw) is French as well as a many other cities and towns here.
 

‎"At that time [1909] the chief engineer was almost always the chief test pilot as well. That had the fortunate result of eliminating poor engineering early in aviation."- Igor Sikorsky
...
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Reply #13 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:22pm

Fozzer   Offline
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wahubna wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:11pm:
Apparently us Michiganders have a particular accent which seems to be tied with the Canadian accent. Most people from da UP tend to sound a bit Canadian in some respects. So I wonder if Michigan as a whole is predominantly of French decent....obviously I am of Dutch stock though (the proper Dutch).
Detroit is French, Mackinac (pronounced Mack-in-aw) is French as well as a many other cities and towns here.


The funny thing is....
..Canadians always sound like Americans to me, rather than have a Canadian accent all of their own!
Its almost as though they have copied the American accent, rather than a version of the British or French accent!

Paul.... Smiley...!

I suppose that New England would more represent the accent from the homeland?

 

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Reply #14 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:24pm

jetprop   Offline
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Fozzer wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:02pm:
jetprop wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 3:58pm:
I find that the american accent is sorta similar to the local Cork accent,maybe it came from Ireland?


Very interesting, Jet!

..certainly a lot of Irish folk emigrated from Ireland to America during the potato famine period in 1845.... http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/irish_potato_famine.cfm

...and I often wonder if the American Southern Counties; "Barn Dance", originated in Ireland?

Paul... Smiley...!

...and more...>>> http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/america.htm


I noticed...
Tons of Irish also immigrated to Canada but you never heared trouble coming from them...

Fozzer,did you happen to walk by canada after the potato famine? Grin

The famine affected the Irish alot...
They used to mash their 'soup' so they wouldn't know what was in it and it stuck...
It tastes @#£&5. Grin
 

...
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Reply #15 - Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:31pm

Fozzer   Offline
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jetprop wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:24pm:
Fozzer,did you happen to walk by Canada after the potato famine? Grin


Na, Jet...

I didn't go that far North...

....I was too busy fighting off the Red Indians on the westward Gold Rush trip across to to California!... Grin..!

Paul...With fond memories of 1840...and gold nuggets!... Grin...!
 

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Reply #16 - Nov 21st, 2012 at 12:02pm

Jean Loup   Offline
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I entered "Origins of the American accent?" because I am genuinely interested in that topic: but it became "who decided that the natural "American language" in the whole of North America would be based on the "English" language".

Going back to the ORiGiNAL TOPiC (Origins of the American accent?), this mexican (me) when driving into the USA at Tijuana, using the "American Citizen" routine, previously filled my mouth with CHEWiNG GUM, to have a genuine American Accent at Migration. Never failed!

So, that's proof of Chewing Gum being the origin of the American accent!
 
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Reply #17 - Nov 23rd, 2012 at 1:10am

BLAZE   Offline
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Jean Loup wrote on Nov 21st, 2012 at 12:02pm:
So, that's proof of Chewing Gum being the origin of the American accent!


Heay.. What are you trying to say Jean?!  Grin

I also heard about the southern US's "southern draw" came from are british brothers

That would explain why the british are so good at playing a yank in the movies
especially a southern yank, and it's so hard for us to do a british accent (Well!)

  I don't know.. just a thought.  Smiley
 

"May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars"  Cheers George!
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Reply #18 - Nov 23rd, 2012 at 11:36pm

Jean Loup   Offline
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BLAZE wrote on Nov 23rd, 2012 at 1:10am:
... I also heard about the southern US's "southern draw" came from are british brothers

That would explain why the british are so good at playing a yank in the movies
especially a southern yank, and it's so hard for us to do a british accent (Well!)

  I don't know.. just a thought.  Smiley
British accent is easy: just talk english through your nose! Smiley

But, a Southern Yank?  SmileyI heard of  Northern Yanks, and of Southern Confederates...

Well, never mind; for that Southern Drawl just fly to Texas, have a mouthfull of Chili-beans and talk... that will drawl you! Smiley
 
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Reply #19 - Nov 24th, 2012 at 1:33am

H   Offline
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Fozzer wrote on Nov 19th, 2012 at 5:22pm:
[quote author=3D2B223F28242B4A0 link=1353151637/12#12 date=1353363105]I suppose that New England would more represent the accent from the homeland?
This depends upon specifics, particularly family individuals, since we are generations from your crown realm and, aside from most of our revolutionary founders, the greater number were not the more educated; the native population and, particularly, non-Anglo immigrants (still swarming in, legally or not) have/are affecting the linguistic mix. For a long while, Bostonians were considered, pronunciation-wise, closer to the original homeland. Personally, I pronounce "half" or "halve" as if I'm going to pronounce the "l" but do not; my cousins, and most others now, not only don't pronounce the "l" but pronunce with a short "a" (as in cat).


Jean Loup wrote on Nov 23rd, 2012 at 11:36pm:
...a Southern Yank?  I've heard of Northern Yanks, and of Southern Confederates...
A Southern Yank would be a misplaced Northerner, technically from the northeastern US (as I once was while near the Mississippi coast). The term "Southerner" would be a better term since many don't associate with "Confederate" -- and it's best not to call Southerners "Southern Yanks" -- you may get a change of accent you, in no way, want.



Cool
 
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Reply #20 - Nov 28th, 2012 at 6:14pm

BLAZE   Offline
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Jean Loup wrote on Nov 23rd, 2012 at 11:36pm:
[quote author=1B187F797B4C0 link=1353151637/17#17 date=1353651033
But, a Southern Yank?  SmileyI heard of  Northern Yanks, and of Southern Confederates...


Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe we are all yanks to the british,
north or south U.S. Smiley
 

"May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars"  Cheers George!
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Reply #21 - Nov 28th, 2012 at 6:20pm

BLAZE   Offline
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( H wrote )
" and it's best not to call Southerners "Southern Yanks" -- you may get a change of accent you, in no way, want. "


Copy that 'H'!  Lips Sealed
 

"May the wind always be at your back and the sun upon your face. And may the wings of destiny carry you aloft to dance with the stars"  Cheers George!
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Reply #22 - Nov 28th, 2012 at 6:51pm

Steve M   Offline
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If I am in southern Ontario no one notices my accent anymore because I've been here for a long time. But if I go back to Chicago they think I have a northern accent until I'm there for a week. When I've been to Kansas where most of my relatives are I pick up on and start the midwestern drawl after several days. I can't help it, it just happens...
 

...
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Reply #23 - Nov 30th, 2012 at 1:15am

H   Offline
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Steve M wrote on Nov 28th, 2012 at 6:51pm:
If I am in southern Ontario no one notices my accent anymore because I've been here for a long time. But if I go back to Chicago they think I have a northern accent until I'm there for a week. When I've been to Kansas where most of my relatives are I pick up on and start the midwestern drawl after several days. I can't help it, it just happens...
After a year at Biloxi, although rarely venturing off base, I took leave time back to New Hampshire and my sister commented on my southern accent...



Cool
 
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