How and when did the North American accent develop? (part 2)

One reader tells of isolated communities in the US where Elizabethan English could still be heard well into the 20th century

7 June 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? (continued)

James Cawse
Pittsfield, Massachusetts, US

West Virginia has isolated valleys (“hollers”) that were settled in the 1700s. In the 1960s, it was still possible to find remnants there of true Elizabethan English.

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