![]() Steve Yoch, author of the book “Becoming George Washington” cites Washington’s bout of pleurisy, an illness which involves inflammation of the lung tissues, as the cause of his voice being “high, weak and breathy.” Washington also suffered from numerous tooth problems, so he attempted to keep his mouth closed as often as possible to hide any unsightliness. In his life, Washington suffered from a host of throat and lung related illnesses, including diphtheria, tuberculosis, epiglottitis, pneumonia, and quinsy (infection of the tonsils.) It is likely that any of these illnesses, or perhaps all of them together, had an influence on the tonality and strength of Washington’s voice. Considering all of this and his farmer upbringing, it is safe to speculate that Washington’s natural accent was, as Morse portrays it, predominantly American with a detectable English influence. ![]() Washington’s accent may have been more influenced by the rural setting of his younger years than it was by his exposure to people with English accents. Further, newer elements of the English language, adapting itself across the Atlantic, may not have made it to the areas with less contact to England. Likely they would influence the accents of those around Washington in rural Virginia. Since the newly formed United States was physically separate from England, different dialects formed within the early colonies. His parents, Augustine and Mary Ball Washington, were part of the gentry class and of English descent. ![]() Washington was born on Februin Westmoreland County, Virginia. As to the question of whether or not Washington had an English accent, there are many possibilities. Research offers many clues to how Washington sounded. ![]()
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