I remember that some of the movie stars of the mid-century, like Katharine Hepburn, had more british-sounding English than we do today. My presumption was that the upper classes in the eastern cities took longer to lose the British accents than the rest of us did.
You’d be correct.
Both my NH Grandmother and my Prom date of 1961 used “cahn” and “cahn’t”. Grammy also used “shahn’t”. (shall/should not).
Then there’s “twenny”. (20).
And “Bea’ulls”, British singers with funny haircuts from the 60s.
Don’t rely on Vermont’s Senator (I-VT) for a Vermont accent.
I believe that was the fake Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic accent the “beautiful” people at the time created to set themselves above the “little” people.
“By rights, she should be taken out and hung,
For the cold-blooded murder of the English tongue!”
Kate Hep had a ‘trans atlantic’ accent.
No, that “english” sound is transatlantic accent. It was something developed here to sound more English and separate themselves from the rabble. Mr Howell is supposed to be using that also. 18th century, Hah-vud types.