Comment by zachrose

4 years ago

William F. Buckley: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTyZAul60ok

Mr. Burns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=othBTFk_W1Y

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zachrose

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trombone5000  4 years ago

There's an ambiguity with "mid-Atlantic".

Sometimes it means "trans-Atlantic", an accent which Buckley, Burns, and many pre-1950 movie stars spoke with (while on-screen anyway). It falls somewhere between the accents found in the USA and accents found in the UK.

In the context of this thread, I think it means the mid-Atlantic states in the US. It's close to the American "television news accent".

EDITED TO ADD: It's worth noting that the two accents called "mid-Atlantic" sound very different.

  • AdmiralAsshat  4 years ago

    That was the intent, yes. But I was neither born nor raised in the mid-Atlantic states, and people are generally surprised when I tell them I was born in the deep South because I don't have the expected southern drawl. "Mid-Atlantic" these days is usually a stand-in for "non-distinct American accent".