Inevitably there is always some self-important Freeper who attempts to hijack the thread with 1) Their idiotic sense of humor or 2) The need to inform others that THEY don't care about the article...type of music...person in question.
To the first...I say grow up...it would be nice to actually have a mature conversation on FR sometimes without your need to be a comedian. If your that funny...go to Stand Up Night at the Improve.
To the second...I say...you aren't that important. We don't care about the fact you don't care. Go get your itch to feel needed scratched somewhere else...
Now...back to the article: I've always been fascinated by dialects. I even asked a history professor (a long time ago) about when our accent stopped being British. When would we describe it as distinctly American?...and I marvel when I listen to the accents of people from early film...and compare them to today. It's a big change in 70- 80 or so years.
‘I even asked a history professor (a long time ago) about when our accent stopped being British. When would we describe it as distinctly American?.’
I have often wondered the same thing myself. One of my favorite periods of history is the colonial/Revolutionary period. BTW, the wife of our landlord is the head of Welsh studies at a local college. I want to pick her brain someday. :)
I notice the same thing. Its one of the things I enjoy about watching old flicks, the older the better. Too bad sound didn't come in any earlier.
I once saw a reenactor portraying George Washington who was speaking with what was essentially an English accent, because he believed that's how Washington spoke, However, an article published in the magazine Southern Partisan a few years ago argued that the Southern accent was up and running in the 1700's, and that Washington spoke with a drawl, y'all.
You bring up an important point. It's even more noticeable when you watch old news reels of Congress. We have few Senators, or Representatives, with really havy accents these days, unlike the 1940s, or '50s. Lyndsey Graham and Haley Barbor are the 2 heaviest accents that I can think of. I remember when Californians could barely listen to JFK. Fritz Hollings was almost unlistenable.
I credit universal TV and movies for the changes in speech.