General American English

General American English (GAE) is first and foremost the English that everyone understands.  It is the English of American movies, of journalists on the major US television networks, of educated speakers and of American dictionaries.  In short, this accent represents America and is accepted everywhere as correct.

This is the most important accent or dialect of English spoken by about 35% of the combined population of the United States and Canada.  It is representative of the educated middle class and is associated with the geographical region variously known as the Inland Northern, Midwest, the Northern States, North Midland, Middle America, Upper Northern, or the central section of the United States.  (North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, north-west Pennsylvania, western upstate New York)

General American English, a term first used in 1924, is the somewhat standardized pronunciation heard on the major radio and television networks (network American or network standard) and quite similar to the speech of most national news broadcasters.  (not usually sports and weather presenters!)  It is the English used by TV and Hollywood actors, reputable public figures and the best speakers and writers.

General American English is used by the educated, thoughtful members of society in both formal and informal situations in the three major speech areas of the U.S.A. (excluding areas where the ‘r ‘ is not pronounced in all positions i.e. Eastern New England, the Coastal South, and New York City.)  It implies an accent that is not too broad, grammatical correctness or an absence of structures that can be identified as non standard, acceptability i.e. it does not call unfavorable attention to the speaker and it reflects the pronunciation of an authoritative dictionary e.g. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary or Random House.

Recognizing the general characteristics of American English and applying them will greatly increase your ability to make yourself better understood and to understand American English in all contexts.

    .