English Accents

English Accents

From Why We Do What We Do by Abraham

May 13, 2026 · 57 min · Episode 471

About this episode

The episode explores the differences between American and UK accents and the historical factors contributing to their divergence.

Why do American and UK Accents sound so dissimilar? Could a couple hundred years of infrequent communciation result in that much drift? Did the Americans change or did the English change? Back in the 1700s, American English and British English sounded basically identical to.... American English today! We dive into the divergence of the various UK accents, as well as unique American accents. Language is weird. Recommendations Abraham: Big Mistakes (season 1; https://www.netflix.com/title/81734605) Shane: Goldentone Studios (https://www.discogs.com/label/281800-Goldentone-Studios?srsltid=AfmBOop0QkSpSlHdHzsHVnu6F6Z1dX_20fCHQ0iE_ai_cXXo2tZa1QCl) Holidays (5/13/2026): Cough Drop Day Donate a Day’s Wages to Charity Frog Jumping Day International Hummus Day National Apple Pie Day National Leprechaun Day National Root Canal Appreciation Day Top Gun Day Tulip Day World Orienteering Day Food Allergy Awareness Week International Coaching Week National Bike Week Links and References: https://youtu.be/vnkOFZKN0Dk?si=IPeNuwtYoU_m86ue https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-24703-3_6 https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180207-how-americans-preserved-british-english…

People in this episode

Host: Abraham

Topics covered

  • accents
  • language
  • American English
  • British English
  • linguistic divergence
  • communication

Keywords

  • accents
  • American English
  • British English
  • linguistic change
  • communication history
  • language

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Goldentone Studios

Books & works: Big Mistakes

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