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This accent was 'inherited' from the early English settlers, and has evolved for 400 years in most of the region. A notable exception of interest to linguists is tiny isolated Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay because its people speak a totally unique dialect of American English, hypothesized to be nearly unchanged since the days of its first occupation by English colonists. Each of the original surnames and several of the present surnames on the island originated in the British Isles particularly Cornwall.
House is pronounced houes,
Out is pronounced ouet,
A Thousand is pronounced ah thoasend,
Wipe is pronounced wahp,
Wash is pronounced warsh,
Store is pronounced stow,
Water is pronounced whuter,
A speaker of the tidewater accent pronounces words like a modern Irish or Englishman, but the accent sounds similar to a southern accent.
