Ever watch a black-and-white movie and wonder why the actors sound sort of funny? A video from BrainStuff explains why the people in old movies might have an accent or dialect you just can't seem to place.
BrainStuff explains that the plummy, upper-crust accent is reminiscent of British aristocracy and was actually the style of speaking taught to students in New England boarding schools. The style includes enunciated T's -- in words like water or writer -- and dropped R's -- in words like winner or clear.
It's called the transatlantic or mid-Atlantic accent, and you might have also heard it on old school radio or news broadcasts.
So why don't we hear it anymore? BrainStuff says the accent fell out of favor after WWII, when there were fewer teachers available to teach it. Nowadays, you can probably only occasionally hear it on stage at the theatuhh.
h/t ViralViralVideos
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