Mid-Atlantic accent

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The Mid-Atlantic accent, or Transatlantic accent,^[1][2][3] is a consciously learned accent of English, fashionably used by the American upper class and entertainment industry of the late 19th century to mid-20th century, that blended elements from both American and British English. Specifically, it blended features from both prestigious coastal Northeastern American English and from Received Pronunciation, the standard speech of England. The accent was embraced in private independent American preparatory schools, especially by members of the Northeastern upper class, as well as in schools for film, radio, and stage acting,^[4] with its overall use sharply declining after the Second World War.^[5] The Mid-Atlantic accent 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".^[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 broadly, the term "mid-Atlantic accent" can also refer to any accent with a perceived mixture of American and British characteristics.^[8][9][10]