The accent argument is similar for me to the evolution argument: the American English accent "comes from" the British accent as much as humans "come from" monkeys. The accent used in spoken English 400 years ago or 200 years ago in England is different than what is spoken today. It, too, has developed. So, the American branch and the current British branch could be linked to the same accent, but their modern forms are quite different from each other AND from the mother accent from 400 years ago.
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