American English accents differ though out that vast country. One of the major points of difference is related to the use of non-rhotic pronunciation. Or, in other words, the use and pronunciation of the "R" sound in words like hard or park. But before discussing the non-rhotic Boston accent and New York accents (Noo Yawk) compared to the many California rhotic accents, with their exaggerated “R” sound, we have to travel back to England and look at the origins of rhoticity in English.
English, traditionally, included the “R” sound and the early English speakers in colonial American, as well as the English Navy, mostly spoke using the hard and pronounced “R”. Back in England, however, things were changing, as the upper classes around London and the English south, began to change their speech in a way that separated them from people they perceived to be of lower status, as well as those people who lived in the north of the country and Scottish and Irish speakers.
Non-rhotic pronunciation became a sign of prestige and so it was adopted and cultivated by the upwardly mobile, the class-conscious, the cultured and educated. With the establishment of the American colonies, certain places with firm associations with England, like Boston, New York, Charleston, and Savannah, tended to adopt non-rhotic pronunciation. California, however, exhibits some very pronounced rhetoric speech styles, as Californians, mostly, clearly pronounce the “R” sound in speech. In fact, many Californians put a lot of stress on the “R” sound in certain words, like “rrrreally!”
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Of course, America has had a great many language influences with much diversity coming from the Dutch, Germans, Irish, West Africans and Spanish, just to name a few. Those who speak in the St. Louis dialect, for example, may pronounce the words far and for in a similar way: “what did you do that far?” Whilst in places like Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo, Rochester and Cleveland accents have undergone what may be called the “Northern Cities Vowel Shift” so that speakers tend to elongate the vowel sounds of words like pot, bit and bat. In Virginia, in the south, a drawl is characteristic and it may result in people pronouncing the word pet, as PAY-et.
Believe it or not, many non-Americans may be unaware of the diversity of accents in the USA, as many actors may speak in a standard American accent style, which is regarded as neutral. This accent is often taught in acting schools as American Theater Standard.
