Why do Americans say car while many Brits say "cah"?

According to Why We Talk Funny, a book by Valerie Fridland, Londoners started dropping R after vowels as early as the 1500s. We can actually see traces of it in old spellings: first occasionally appeared as fust, parcel as passel.

At first, IRONICALLY ENOUGH, R-dropping was considered low-class. Educated upper-class speakers were actually taught to pronounce their Rs more strongly 🔪🔪🔪

However, as industrialization blurred class boundaries, more R-dropping speakers moved up the social ladder. Soo... eventually the pronunciation went from "vulgar" to prestigious 💀

Meanwhile, English colonists had sailed to America in the 1600s, when the R was still pronounced, so most Americans ✨simply kept their Rs✨

Why We Talk Funny is the book about accents we're discussing this week at Chill Hour!

#chilletymology