Audio files for early 1800s English

EarlyEnglish   Mon Apr 30, 2007 4:38 am GMT
What did early 1800s English sound like in North America? Are there any audio files available? And, was is differerentiated from British speech at that time?
David   Mon Apr 30, 2007 8:16 am GMT
er... no... there are no audio files available, probably because RECORDING EQUIPMENT WAS INVENTED LATER. Duh! Please send me a recording, an authentic recording, of Chaucerian English...
furrykef   Mon Apr 30, 2007 9:12 am GMT
I presume the poster meant a reconstruction of 1800s English, not an original recording.

- Kef
EarlyEnglish   Mon Apr 30, 2007 2:46 pm GMT
>> I presume the poster meant a reconstruction of 1800s English, not an original recording <<

Yes, of course.
Guest   Tue May 01, 2007 8:35 pm GMT
So, are there any available?
Josh Lalonde   Tue May 01, 2007 8:42 pm GMT
It's not an audio recording, but here's a description of the hypothetical common ancestor of modern American and English English.
http://www.crossmyt.com/hc/linghebr/18cengvs.html
Jasper   Wed May 02, 2007 1:51 am GMT
Early 1800s American English recordings do not exist, but I have heard speakers from the 1870s.

William Jennings Bryan and Frank Lloyd Wright, both of whom were born in the 1860s (and whose vocal repertoires were formed in the 1870s) were recorded later in their lives.

In the case of Frank Lloyd Wright, in spite of the fact that he was raised in Wisconsin, he sounds very rhotic English; there's not a trace of the Midwestern twang of modern-day Wisconsinites.

Recordings of William Jennings Bryan are on the Web.