| any form of American English speech considered to show few regional peculiarities, usually including all dialects except for eastern New England, New York City, Southern, and South Midland (no longer in technical use). Abbreviation: GA |
Gen·er·al American  (jěn'ər-əl)  n. The speech of native speakers of American English that many consider to be typical of the United States, noted for its exclusion of phonological forms readily recognized as regional or limited to particular social groups and for its frequent use as a norm of pronunciation by national broadcasters. Usage Note: The label General American is often used to describe a variety of speech that lacks any of the stereotypical markers of regional speech or of the speech of particular social groups, as in the omission of the (r) sound in words like car and card. It should be noted, however, that this label still permits a great deal of regional and social variation. In other words, General American should not be identified with any specific American accent. |