Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

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.

??? "Probably" does have three syllables and Southern Ontarians pronounce all three, although it may sound more like "PRAH-buh-blee". If I heard someone say "prah-blee", I'd suspect minor brain damage or too many years spent in a trailer park in the Ozarks.

[middeljohn]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

??? "Probably" does have three syllables and Southern Ontarians pronounce all three, although it may sound more like "PRAH-buh-blee". If I heard someone say "prah-blee", I'd suspect minor brain damage or too many years spent in a trailer park in the Ozarks.

Vast majority of people I know who had grown up in the GTA tend to not pronounce the A. This is true for gen Ys at least, that I've noticed.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by middeljohn

Vast majority of people I know who had grown up in the GTA tend to not pronounce the A. This is true for gen Ys at least, that I've noticed.

In that case, what can I say but "enunciate darlings".

[freeweed]

He's probly correct.

Hell, just the other day someone was trying to convince me that "ridiculous" is pronounced "rediculous". It's almost as if different people pronounce things differently, or something.

I got a question for our resident Newfs (because they seem to have retained more Irish expressions) - do you guys ever use the phrase "Billy no-mates"?

[Acajack]

There is an ad playing on the radio in Quebec these days for Subway's lobster sandwiches and the guy talking has the worst caricatural Acadian accent I have ever heard. It's a horrible mix of SE NB and SW NS Acadian accents.

Acadian accents are often used in Quebec advertising campaigns for stuff related to the sea, seafood, etc.

And sometimes for stuff not related to the sea at all (this one being a real Acadian accent BTW):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gwwk8lrA-c

[SignalHillHiker]

I'd never heard of it before in my life, freeweed, but Mom knew it.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I'd never heard of it before in my life, freeweed, but Mom knew it.

Awesome. I wondered if it had any penetration into Canada (beyond recent immigrants). It's one that just tickles me for some reason.

[ue]

Originally Posted by Acajack

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.

Perhaps, but in Montreal at least (perhaps Gatineau too), it is preferable to have workers in the service industry who are bilingual or have at least some bilingual staff. It's an asset as the city still has a large Anglo population as well as many tourists. I was actually surprised at how Anglo parts of Montreal can be and how 99% of people could speak at least a little of both.

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by ue

Perhaps, but in Montreal at least (perhaps Gatineau too), it is preferable to have workers in the service industry who are bilingual or have at least some bilingual staff. It's an asset as the city still has a large Anglo population as well as many tourists. I was actually surprised at how Anglo parts of Montreal can be and how 99% of people could speak at least a little of both.

I remember going to Montreal in grade 7 as part of my French immersion program and being constantly annoyed at how whenever I tried to speak with people in French, they'd hear my accent and move straight into flawless English. Sometimes I'd keep answering in French, because I'm difficult and needed to practice

Quebec City was much better in that regard.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by ue

Perhaps, but in Montreal at least (perhaps Gatineau too), it is preferable to have workers in the service industry who are bilingual or have at least some bilingual staff. It's an asset as the city still has a large Anglo population as well as many tourists. I was actually surprised at how Anglo parts of Montreal can be and how 99% of people could speak at least a little of both.

In all the considerable time I have spent in Montreal over the years, mostly in the central areas, I have only once encountered a sales person who could not speak English. She felt she needed to apologize and we happily did our business in French.

[ue]

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I remember going to Montreal in grade 7 as part of my French immersion program and being constantly annoyed at how whenever I tried to speak with people in French, they'd hear my accent and move straight into flawless English. Sometimes I'd keep answering in French, because I'm difficult and needed to practice

Quebec City was much better in that regard.

I've heard this but due to my nearly non-existent French, people switched pretty fast for me. I was pretty lucky, though I was only off-island once (Laval). I think I'd need to beef up my French skills a bit if I wanted to go to Quebec City or the Eastern Townships or Gaspe. Although I memorized a bunch of phrases and did remember a bit from French class, all I basically needed was oui, non, sorry, ok, merci, bienvenue, and once I had to say parlez vous anglais.

What also really struck me was how flawless so many were in both languages. Many waitors and waitresses would switch between perfect, unaccented English as if they grew up in Edmonton, and then switch to perfect, unaccented Quebecois French for the next table over. The Franglais was pretty neat, too.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

There is an ad playing on the radio in Quebec these days for Subway's lobster sandwiches and the guy talking has the worst caricatural Acadian accent I have ever heard. It's a horrible mix of SE NB and SW NS Acadian accents.

Heard that exact Subway ad yesterday. Ultra cringeworthy, but maybe that's only because my mom's 100% Acadian. Most people would likely not have cared.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by ue

I think I'd need to beef up my French skills a bit if I wanted to go to Quebec City or the Eastern Townships or Gaspe.

I honestly don't think so. Most American and Anglo tourists aren't fluent at all in French; in today's Quebec it's nearly impossible that there won't be at least one person in the store, or somewhere nearby, whatever your situation is, who speaks at least decent English.

Something quite typical, most recently witnessed in a large Sherbrooke pharmacy yesterday (but I see it happen quite often), the employee initally answered an unilingual Anglo guy in extremely basic English and then called a co-worker to leave him (the Anglo guy) with her (the freshly arrived decent-English co-worker).

[Aylmer]

Originally Posted by lio45

Something quite typical, most recently witnessed in a large Sherbrooke pharmacy yesterday (but I see it happen quite often), the employee initally answered an unilingual Anglo guy in extremely basic English and then called a co-worker to leave him (the Anglo guy) with her (the freshly arrived decent-English co-worker).

At the shop I work at, I'm the designated francophone on most of my shifts

[SignalHillHiker]

There's one commercial here, on the radio, with a reference that doesn't make sense. He speaks with a thick accent talking about lobster, and says it was just like his childhood, and then his friend says, "Didn't you grow up in X?" but X is a completely foreign place. I've never heard of it before in my life.

[Boris2k7]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

There's one commercial here, on the radio, with a reference that doesn't make sense. He speaks with a thick accent talking about lobster, and says it was just like his childhood, and then his friend says, "Didn't you grow up in X?" but X is a completely foreign place. I've never heard of it before in my life.

She says "Didn't you grow up in Comox?"

As in Comox, B.C.

[SignalHillHiker]

A nice little culture/accent clash.

A commercial break from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador in the 1980s.

The Purity and Eversweet commercials are proper local ones - the Yamaha and Ultramar ones are, obviously, mainland ones.

Apparently it was still 1956 in Newfoundland.

• Video Link

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Boris2k7

She says "Didn't you grow up in Comox?"

As in Comox, B.C.

Oh! THANK YOU! I assumed it was some inland city in Ireland.

Why are they airing that here?

[lio45]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

There's one commercial here, on the radio, with a reference that doesn't make sense. He speaks with a thick accent talking about lobster, and says it was just like his childhood, and then his friend says, "Didn't you grow up in X?" but X is a completely foreign place. I've never heard of it before in my life.

Is that a Subway commercial? Sounds exactly like the one Acajack and I were talking about, but in English.

[SignalHillHiker]

I don't know what it was, but probably.