Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada - Page 18

SignalHillHiker · #**341** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 2:36 PM**

Absolutely - you have to go to either Wexford or Bristol, depending on which Newfoundland accent you have, for it to sound local in a foreign place. I'd sound as foreign in Bristol as in Toronto. But, in Wexford, everyone is fooled.

Here's a good sample of some of the southeast Ireland accents, all of which exist in an almost identical fashion here:

• Video Link

SignalHillHiker · #**342** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 2:43 PM**

A Quebec versus France one:

• Video Link

Acajack · #**343** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 2:45 PM**

One of the better ones:

http://www.koreus.com/jeu/batman-france-quebec.html

SignalHillHiker · #**344** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 3:13 PM**

Missus... whattayat!

The accent could be stronger to make it funnier. The "at" should be almost to the point of saying "ate".

• Video Link

kwoldtimer · #**345** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 4:08 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

One of the better ones:

http://www.koreus.com/jeu/batman-france-quebec.html

Ever heard "Rue de la Soif" by Fabiola Toupin? Cute example that I can't find on-line.

By the way, where's the guy from in that Paris video? He sounds like me speaking French!

Acajack · #**346** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 4:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Ever heard "Rue de la Soif" by Fabiola Toupin? Cute example that I can't find on-line.

By the way, where's the guy from in that Paris video? He sounds like me speaking French!

I found the lyrics but no audio or video.

As for the guy in Paris with the girl from Montreal he's not a native French speaker for sure.

MolsonExport · #**347** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 4:26 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

A Quebec versus France one:

• Video Link

She is totally Quebecois in her manner of speaking, but since the guy is not French (he speaks it, but obviously it is not his mother tongue), it is not a good comparison.

She is factually incorrect on several assertions...e.g., you must speak English to get a job in Montreal.

MolsonExport · #**348** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 4:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Absolutely - you have to go to either Wexford or Bristol, depending on which Newfoundland accent you have, for it to sound local in a foreign place. I'd sound as foreign in Bristol as in Toronto. But, in Wexford, everyone is fooled.

Here's a good sample of some of the southeast Ireland accents, all of which exist in an almost identical fashion here:

• Video Link

yeah, the resemblance between Wexfordese and Newfounlandian speech is remarkable.

SignalHillHiker · #**349** Posted **Jun 3, 2014, 4:37 PM**

RE: RRoome's description of the Burin Peninsula accent...

It's a very diverse area. You have some communities with little to no accent, typically Maritime Canadian. Most of these can be traced to the north of Scotland, which has a very stereotypically "North American" accent.

The vast majority of Newfoundlanders from the peninsula are English in heritage, which robs them off the romantic, sing-songy accents you find in more Irish areas.

Here's a great example of a typical Burin Peninsula accent - all of the people interviewed in this CBC The National story about the popularity of soccer:

• Video Link

middeljohn · #**350** Posted **Jun 4, 2014, 5:20 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlassCity

What do you mean by flatter? Less intonation?

There might be some differences, but it's a lot more similar than someone from Alabama compared to a New Yorker.

Yours isn't as different from mine as Casey's is, but you definitely pronounce your vowels more roundly whereas I tend to flatten them. It's pretty common amongst people from the northern Pacific I find, including Seattle actually.

Casey on the other hand actually pronounces his Ts, which I find to happen here in Edmonton too. Rouseaux's analysis was pretty spot on. Really, western Canadians tend to pronounce words more like newscasters.

SignalHillHiker · #**351** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 10:54 AM**

A girl for a change. Our friend Jenn trying her hand at stand-up comedy (be nice, she's brand new to it!)

• Video Link

SignalHillHiker · #**352** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 9:13 PM**

A map of North American accents. Not really that detailed, but sets aside the general rule of thumb.

http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#Au_Ontario

ue · #**353** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 9:31 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

She is totally Quebecois in her manner of speaking, but since the guy is not French (he speaks it, but obviously it is not his mother tongue), it is not a good comparison.

She is factually incorrect on several assertions...e.g., you must speak English to get a job in Montreal.

Yes, and that Quebec is the only bilingual province...no that's New Brunswick, which she forgot about when saying the rest of Canada is all English.

Most service jobs in Montreal at least require BOTH French AND English proficiency. So if you're an Anglo from Parry Sound with little to no French skills, you'll have just as hard a time getting a job at Chapters as if you're a Franco from Rimouski with little to no English skills.

kwoldtimer · #**354** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 9:43 PM**

That map seems to confirm what I have long believed - that from just west of Montreal to the Pacific Coast, there is really very little variation in Canadian English accents.

SignalHillHiker · #**355** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 9:49 PM**

Yeah, the only problem is they've not put as much detail for Canada as they have for the States.

There is no way that Northern New England and Eastern New England are anywhere near as different as Charlottetown, Halifax, and Cape Breton. Impossible.

Cape Breton, to my ears, is much closer to St. John's in accent than even to western Newfoundland. Halifax is very mainland Canadian. Charlottetown has this utterly bizarre twang/drawl.

Trevor3 · #**356** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 10:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Yeah, the only problem is they've not put as much detail for Canada as they have for the States.

There is no way that Northern New England and Eastern New England are anywhere near as different as Charlottetown, Halifax, and Cape Breton. Impossible.

Cape Breton, to my ears, is much closer to St. John's in accent than even to western Newfoundland.

Having lived in all 3 of these places, I tend to agree. I find mainland Nova Scotia to be much more neutral and much slower, although even some Cape Bretoners speak much slower. I have a lot of relatives in Cape Breton, conversation takes 2x as long when they're around...

PEI and Cape Breton are somewhat close, and I've met people from PEI that I would have sworn were from Central NL. I guess what I'm saying is that PEI seems to be faster speaking than Cape Breton and more in line with Newfoundland. But it's hard to generalize, there are always exceptions.

Acajack · #**357** Posted **Jun 10, 2014, 10:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ue

Yes, and that Quebec is the only bilingual province...no that's New Brunswick, which she forgot about when saying the rest of Canada is all English.

Most service jobs in Montreal at least require BOTH French AND English proficiency. So if you're an Anglo from Parry Sound with little to no French skills, you'll have just as hard a time getting a job at Chapters as if you're a Franco from Rimouski with little to no English skills.

Not sure Chapters is a good example of a typical Montreal employer.

The kid from Rimouski can work at Renaud-Bray or Archambault with no English, but the kid from Parry Sound will likely still need French to work at Chapters.

middeljohn · #**358** Posted **Jun 11, 2014, 12:41 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

That map seems to confirm what I have long believed - that from just west of Montreal to the Pacific Coast, there is really very little variation in Canadian English accents.

The main variations (aside from the various accents found in the Atlantic provinces) seem to be the extent to which Ts are punctuated (as opposed to pronounced as Ds, or not pronounced at all), as well as the type of Canadian raising used. Albertans are also prone to Canadian raising, but their -ou- containing words sound a bit different than Ontarians'.

SignalHillHiker · #**359** Posted **Jul 8, 2014, 12:39 AM**

This video has a nice range of some of the most common Newfoundland accents.

• Video Link

The two guys at 29 seconds (and in the thumbnail) are definitely from St. John's or south of the city on the Avalon Peninsula. The girl at 36 seconds is from eastern Newfoundland for sure, but she enunciates too clearly being filmed, I suppose, to pin it down more than that. The others could be from anywhere. Last guy's first language wasn't English, I don't believe. Definitely not a local accent.

middeljohn · #**360** Posted **Jul 8, 2014, 2:13 AM**

Met someone the other day and couldn't put my finger on whether he's Canadian or American based off his accent. Turned out he was born and raised in Windsor.

Some people here find that I do have a typical Southern Ontario accent, others find I sound like every other Canadian. I can't help but notice how well people here (for the most part) dictate their words, especially their Ts. Nowhere else (that I've been to at least) in Canada have I ever heard people pronounce the Ts in "literally" as actual Ts. And I always thought that not pronouncing the A in probably is the normal Canadian way of saying it, but here they do pronounce all three syllables as opposed just two.