There are indeed dialects in all living languages. Many forms of German are not mutually comprehensible. If northern and eastern Germans listen to Bavarians or Swiss speak their normal way of speaking, they understand next to nothing.
In England, this is the same and most southern English (e.g. Londoners) will have an easier time understanding most U.S. accents (e.g. New Yorkers) than northern English or Scottish accents, although this also depends on the listeners familiarity with the accents in question. This is because American accents are based on southern English, and are still generally closer to it than are northern English accents.
It seems like the British and Australians also sometimes drop their Rs like the New Englanders.
It seems like the British and Australians also sometimes drop their Rs like the New Englanders. **
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And the New Yawkuhs (Joisy too) and some Southuhnuhs.
In Britain, on the other hand, plenty of folk put all theirr arrs in tharr, depending on region and class/education.
New Englanders don’t drop their “R’s” – they save up the ones they cnsider “unnecessary” so they can drop them at the ends of words. So you can remove the “r” from “Western” and put it at the end of “Saw”. (A SAW is a carpenter’s instrument for cutting wood. SAWR is the past tense of “see”). New Englanders also put an “r” at the end of “pizza”.
TheThill: New Jerseyfolk DON’T drop their “R’s”. And they don’t say “Joisey”
I overhead two women in New York City talking about a course in “Neutral English” – a curse that would effectively erase your local accent. Henry Higgins Lives!!!
Some do (in some parts), or at least did. Of course, the old-time NY/NENJ accent is a dying breed.
There a Maine accent that my mother-in-law has. Some 'R’s are dropped, others are added. No ryhme nor reason, IMO. E.g., she lives in “Brewa” (Brewer), across the river from “Banger” (Bangor), where her daughter-in-law “Tiner” (Tina) is from.
As a native New Englander, here’s something people don’t often notice…
The New England “initial ‘r’”, in words like “run” or “route”, is pronounced slightly differently than anywhere else. Most people pronouce “r” with their toungues. Most New Englanders pronounce the “r” (when it is pronounced) using their lips, with the tongue in a neutral position, making it almost like /vr/ rather than /r/.
And for a true New England sentance, even better than the “park the car in Harvard yard” bit, try this one:
“Boston drivers have no idea what the law is when it comes to rotaries.”
A true New Englander will have it come out something like:
“Bahsten drivahs 'ave no ideer what the lawr is when it comes tah ruterees”
Just hijacking as usual…
Because no “standard” exists that everything is a derivation from: In the 11th century, when French and Anglo-saxon started mixing, there were almost certainly regional variations from the get-go. This is how languages work.
Well the opinion of my British friends is that Australian is closer in accent ot American then Birtish English.
Of course I quickly told them how wrong they were.
You can visit Tangier Island today (in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay) and hear a pretty good approximation of what many of our just off the boat English ancestors sounded like. Its been pretty well diluted through communication with the outside world, but I can recall going as a kid and wondering what the hell people were talking about.
The Northern Neck of VA is much the same, but even more diluted. Lots of descendants of Cornwall natives, so you get the distinctive “hoose” (house) and “moose” (mouse).
A little bit of a mixture between Baltimore and Britain.
Good ole accents. My favorite one is the Northern california Accent. As a native, I am frequently told that I’m from another country because of my accent. Almost every other person I know who grew up native here has it. It’s hard to describe, but i think it’s the closest thing to 'actual english" that exists? Why? because CA was settled by people from every other part of the country with every possible accent. They all melded into one glorious amalgamation. 
Also, am I the only one who thinks the scottish accent is the absolute hardest to understand. I have an easier time listening to straight Dutch. the scottish one sounds like so many dogs barking and growling to me.
The Law of Conservation of Rs:
Rs cannot be created nor destroyed, they can only be moved from word to word. Soder (Coke or Pepsi), Cawn (yellow vegetable on a cob), Beeah (malt beverage), Cah (motor vehicle), etc, etc. You get used to it after a while.
And, Jayron, now that you say it, you’re right about the R pronunciation at the beginning of a word. I never noticed it before…not that there are all that many people around here that aren’t from around here.
[hijack] And its you out-of-staters that don’t know how to use a rotary…the car IN the rotary has the right of way, not the ones entering. Who wants to drive in a circle, look for their exit, and dodge oncoming cars all at the same time? Heck, we even have to put big signs that say “Vehicles in the rotary have the right of way” to remind you New Hampshire people how to drive…:)[/hijack]
KCB615:
Your statement about the use of rotaries is correct, but it is unfortunately NOT true that it’s the out-of-staters who screw it up. Boston drivers who have gotten their adrenaline up view any restriction as an affront, and will try t push into a rotary. Some New Englanders see to incrrectly remember the rukle that “the car on the right has the right-of-way”, and use that as an excuse to elbow into the rotary.
More insidious, however, are the rotaries in which, by common convention, direct-through traffic has been effectively granted the right-of-way. It’s not legal, but even the police have given up trying to enforce the rule that drivers in the rotary have the right of way. Drivers on the direct route will simply plunge right through the rotary. You take your life in your hands if you try to follow the “real” rules.
In N.J. we got rid of all our “traffic circles”, and we don’t miss 'em. About the only places that have the now are Massachusetts and DC.