Where Did the British Accent Come from?

The Anglo-Saxons bring English to England

Since the first two groups were the largest, the settlers came to be known collectively as Anglo-Saxons. They all brought with them distinct dialects of their native Germanic language, the language we today call Anglo-Saxon or Old English.

How did the British accent develop?

At first, English speakers in the colonies and England used a rhotic accent. But after the Revolutionary War, upper-class and upper-middle-class citizens in England began using non-rhotic speech as a way to show their social status.

When did people start speaking in a British accent?

It started in the 1800s.