What did the American accent sound like in the 1700's?

Answer 1

First answer:

My guess British, but there is no way to know since recording devices didn't exist.

Second answer:

I would have to disagree. At least not modern British.

The American accent sounds closely to Cornish, and western England like Somerset and Devon, in the way we pronounce our "R's" called rhotic. In the 17th century most of England had a dialect like that of western England until the turn of the 18th century, when social changes in Britain were occurung. The omitting of "R's", called non-rhotic and vowel shift in "A's" and "O's". Some of these changes affected coastal American colonies like Eastern New England, New York and the coastal south. Also, Scots-Irish dialects affected our accent as well.

Answer 2

The American accent in the 1700s would have been closer to the accents of British colonists at that time, with influences from various regions of England. It would have sounded more similar to modern British accents than to contemporary American accents. Over time, the American accent evolved and diverged from its British roots.