Why Do Americans and Brits Speak Differently?

"Despite a tendency to think of how Americans talk as sounding less fancy and less old-fashioned than British speech, the 'r' sound we hear so often on American lips in words like 'car' or 'yard' is actually the older and originally more prestigious form. Even Shakespeare would have used it, despite how his characters speak in modern performances of his plays."

"If we traveled back to 16th century Britain, we would hear speakers pronouncing the 'r' in words like 'car,' 'heart,' and 'girl' much like most modern Americans do. It's not until the late 17th century, long after the first British colonists landed on American shores, that dropping 'r' really started to gain ground in England."

"At first, r-dropping (also known as non-rhoticity) was limited to only certain words, for example those where 'r' comes between a vowel and 's' (as in words like arse, curse, or burst). This probably happened because of vowel changes and the fact that it made syllables a bit easier to say, especially in fast speech."

American English pronunciation of 'r' in words like 'car' and 'yard' represents the older, originally more prestigious British pronunciation from the 16th century, which Shakespeare would have used. R-dropping, or non-rhoticity, did not become widespread in England until the late 17th century, long after British colonists had already settled in America. This linguistic change began with specific word patterns where 'r' appeared between a vowel and 's', likely due to vowel changes and ease of pronunciation in rapid speech. Eventually, r-dropping became associated with proper British speech rather than imprecise pronunciation. Australian and New Zealand English reflect even later stages of this British sound change, demonstrating how American English preserved an earlier linguistic form.

Read at Psychology Today