Re: Attitude
You all bring up an interesting point concerning drift. However, I think it is still possible to develop an accent that would have passed back then--especially for the lower classes (granted that there is probably very little to go on with the higher classes).
I have in my possession interview recordings of old men from my rural area born in the 1870's. Very little has changed in their accent from some of their WWII generation grandsons that I have actually met! Some of these WWII generation men's grandsons my age have changed very little from them. I think I can deduce that I have a fairly close idea of the accent people here might have had in the 1860's. After getting familiar with letters written by Arkansas soldiers for period accurate vocabulary, what could be closer?
Don't forget if someone was born in 1850 he could have lived into his 90's, putting his death in the 1940's. There must be recordings out there of men even older then the ones on the recordings I have.
You all bring up an interesting point concerning drift. However, I think it is still possible to develop an accent that would have passed back then--especially for the lower classes (granted that there is probably very little to go on with the higher classes).
I have in my possession interview recordings of old men from my rural area born in the 1870's. Very little has changed in their accent from some of their WWII generation grandsons that I have actually met! Some of these WWII generation men's grandsons my age have changed very little from them. I think I can deduce that I have a fairly close idea of the accent people here might have had in the 1860's. After getting familiar with letters written by Arkansas soldiers for period accurate vocabulary, what could be closer?
Don't forget if someone was born in 1850 he could have lived into his 90's, putting his death in the 1940's. There must be recordings out there of men even older then the ones on the recordings I have.
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