Specifically I’m wondering how the typical English accent became the typical western accent (Which sounds relatively country), and how did that become the modern accents on the West Coast? What factor was added in that made cowboys start sounding like the modern day Californian.
I’m assuming the typical NY accent comes from Italians coming over.
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Bonus question: Why are there no places in the US at all that kept the English accents????
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>Specifically I’m wondering how the typical English accent became the typical western accent (Which sounds relatively country), and how did that become the modern accents on the West Coast? What factor was added in that made cowboys start sounding like the modern day Californian.
Don’t really understand what you’re saying, but I’ll give it a shot.
The modern “standard” American accent emerged in the post-war period, as television networks preferentially hired broadcasters from the Midwest. This more authentic, ostensibly more patriotic, “American heartland” way of speaking contrasted with the more affected mid-Atlantic accent that was used in film and radio before WWII.
The American West was a relatively newly colonized area, so it didn’t have established local accents to the degree that regions in the East did. As a result, the “standard” American accent more quickly took hold in the West compared to the South or Northeast. Later regional subcultures like hippies, surfers, and valley girls led to the development of the modern California accent.
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