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Why Did the Transatlantic Accent Suddenly Vanish? | Make This Make Sense

New York Post

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Why are old movies and news reports full of people talking with a weird, fast-paced, vaguely-British accent? It's so iconic and distinctive that we treat it like a historical window into how the entire country of America once sounded.

But the truth is: Most people did not actually talk like that.

The Transatlantic (or Mid-Atlantic) accent was a made-up, manufactured accent. It was created during a time when America was trying to establish itself as a cultural power. And it was the predominant sound of actors, politicians and public figures during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s.

But then... it suddenly vanished.

So who created it and what killed it?

Let’s Make This Make Sense.

Chapters
00:00 - The "old timey" accent
01:19 - The accent vanished overnight
02:23 - What is the "Transatlantic" accent?
03:30 - Why and how they created it
04:28 - How to speak it
06:28 - Why Hollywood adopted the accent
07:17 - Old microphones were terrible
08:20 - Most Americans sounded "normal"
09:40 - The 1950s killed the accent

#accent #transatlanticaccent #midatlantic #makethismakesense

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20 Comments

@nypost Creator 6 months ago Pinned

Do you prefer the transatlantic accent or a more realistic accent?

@Buffalohump77 7 months ago

That's why you can understand every word in classic movies. Actors were trained to speak CLEARLY.

@Itstoolateohhwell 7 months ago

Oddly enough there is still “ news reporter” voice

@kelebeck5905 7 months ago

we have to use captions now bc we can't understand today's actors

@Lara77473 6 months ago

My 90-year-old friend who just passed away talked like this naturally and I loved it❤

@mattgabriel8646 7 months ago

Funny thing is, Frasier and Niles spoke with a trans-atlantic accent throughout the whole Frasier TV series, while everyone else didn't, including John Mahoney!

@CurtRenz 7 months ago

It wasn't fake for Cary Grant. He was a British native who immigrated to America at age 16. So for him a blended accent developed naturally, not as the result of special schooling.

@VirginiaDare321 7 months ago

We now have people on radio and TV that sound like they are from the street - in a BAD way.

@debbieforhim7800 7 months ago (edited)

I love that old transatlantic accent; sounds so elegant.

@Cutty_Bronson 7 months ago

I’d gladly take this over upspeak and vocal fry.
I can’t convey with words how those two ways of speaking grate on my nerves.

@lalalisa1648 6 months ago

My grandpa is 93 and still sounds like this

@svjim1 7 months ago

Now it seems movies are filled with Brits using an American accent.

@alandhopewell 7 months ago

We should encourage this type of speech.

@cynthiajohnston424 7 months ago

When growing up as a boomer in the Midwest ( US ) , there was an " elocution teacher " in our town . The emphasis was on speaking correctly ( enunciation , vocabulary , & not using slang ) , good manners & learning proper etiquette for social situations . All still applicable today .

@WillLampe3 7 months ago

I majored in theatre from 1979-1983, and was among the last generations trained in Mid-Atlantic speech. Today's young actors can barely be understood.

@keithmichael112 7 months ago

I love this accent and we should bring it back

@edeldog 7 months ago

It was also technological derived from stage actors required to enunciate for clarity in larger theaters, transferred to film to address recording and reproduction early shortcomings

@sson909 7 months ago

Mr and Mrs Howell from gilligan's island :)

@jerm8146 7 months ago

7:35 now we have excellent sound equipment but the actors mumble in a whisper, and the sound engineers keep the voice audio low on purpose. It's one more reason I prefer older films: I don't need subtitles.