General American English (GAE) is a term for the standard English of the US, though few Americans have heard of the name. GAE includes grammar and vocabulary as well as pronunciation. It can be compared in some respects to standard British English spoken with an RP ( Received Pronunciation ) accent. GAE can be used as a standard of comparison for examining other dialects and accents , though it does not imply that they are inferior or wrong.
GAE is especially common in the Midwestern part of the US, although speakers of GAE can be found all over the country. It is also the form of American English that it is often heard on news programmes on national television. An important difference between GAE and standard English spoken with an RP accent is that GAE is connected more closely with certain geographical regions of the US than with a particular social class.
Sometimes, the term General American is used to refer only to a form of American pronunciation that does not have a strong regional accent.