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Did you know…

…that before the American Revolution, both America and Britain spoke like the Americans do today?

I am not kidding about this.

All these period movies where everyone speaks exactly like the British today are wrong!

Scandalous, I know.

Turn out “(i)t is the standard British accent that has drastically changed in the past two centuries, while the typical American accent has changed only subtly.” (source)

Apparently there were a lot of folks from lower birth ranks in and around London around the time of the American Revolution, who became quite wealthy thanks to the Industrial Revolution. In an effort to distinguish themselves from other commoners, they cultivated a newer pronunciation. It caught on well and soon tutors were teaching everyone to speak like the British speak today.

This, for some reason, turns my entire world upside-down. 

I just cannot imagine King George grumbling about the troublesome colonists—in an American accent. It’s just wrong.

 

Am I the only person who didn’t know this? 

 

(For further reading, this was an interesting article.)