Where did the British accent originate from?

northwest
History. English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of what is now northwest Germany and the northern Netherlands.

How many British accents are there?

In reality, there are almost 40 different dialects in the UK that sound totally different from each other, and in many cases use different spellings and word structure. In fact, there’s pretty much one accent per county.

Why do American and British accents sound so different?

An important reason why American English and British English sound different is rhotacism, the change of a particular sound in a language. In this case, that sound is “r.” The standard American accent—what Americans think of as having no accent—is rhotic, meaning that speakers pronounce their “r’s.”

What is received pronunciation (aka typical British accent)?

Received Pronunciation (aka typical British accents) is non-rhotic, so words like “card” are pronounced like “cahd.” At first, English speakers in the colonies and England used a rhotic accent. But after the Revolutionary War, upper-class and upper-middle-class citizens in England began using non-rhotic speech as a way to show their social status.

Should America and England speak in the same dialect?

The British founded America’s original thirteen colonies, so we should be speaking in the same dialect. Right? For two countries whose histories are so intertwined, America and England have some pretty notable distinctions.

Why do American and British slangs sound so different?

(However, there is some British slang that Americans don’t realize they use.) An important reason why American English and British English sound different is rhotacism, the change of a particular sound in a language. In this case, that sound is “r.”