How and when did the North American accent develop?

Evidence suggests 17th-century English people spoke with what we would now regard as an American accent, say our readers, who also point out that there is more than one North American accent

17 May 2023

2FERAXY Crowded groups of people crossing the street at Times Square during rush hour — Mirko Chianucci/Alamy

People from all over Europe settled in North America in the 17th century, so how and when did the North American accent develop?

Pat French
Telford, Shropshire, UK

There isn’t a North American accent. There is a collection of accents. As well as those of European origin, there are those of East Asian and African-Caribbean origin and many more. There is a mixture across the countries of North America and they are constantly changing. There isn’t even a universal Indigenous accent in North America. The Hopi and Apache peoples have different accents and languages than the Ojibwe and Métis…