Mid-Atlantic accent

The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent,[1][2][3] is a consciously learned accent of English, fashionably used by the late 19th-century and early 20th-century American upper class and entertainment industry, which blended together features regarded as the most prestigious from both American and British English (specifically Received Pronunciation). It is not a native or regional accent; rather, according to voice and drama professor Dudley Knight, "its earliest advocates bragged that its chief quality was that no Americans actually spoke it unless educated to do so".[4] The accent was embraced in private independent preparatory schools, especially by members of the American Northeastern upper class, as well as in schools for film and stage acting,[5] with its overall use sharply declining after the Second World War.[6] A similar accent that resulted from different historical processes, Canadian dainty, was also known in Canada, existing for a century before waning in the 1950s.[7] More recently, the term "mid-Atlantic accent" can also refer to any accent with a perceived mixture of American and British characteristics.[8][9][10]