Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[Docere]

Here's some Toronto ethnolects ( "ethnic" accents):

Mel Lastman - 2nd generation Jewish accent from Kensington Market:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVmANYchXk4

Al Waxman was another:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEalRfnYjE8

George Mammoliti - Toronto Italian accent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVmANYchXk4

[Docere]

Here's a Prairie Ukrainian accent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFRzCJVNAE8

[Acajack]

Carictural (Upper) Ottawa Valley accent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUEwVypbstI

[Acajack]

Some accents in French.

Franco-Ontarian. Mostly northern but increasingly people in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario for some reason seem to be taking on an accent similar to this. Whereas before they sounded more like Québécois.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se99vB7JIE8

Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean, Quebec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVzrZYDhviE

Nova Scotia Acadian (the guy in the red and white shirt especially):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXSs4ncADiw

[Acajack]

Not sure if these are easy to tell apart:

Montreal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbiy5DK1zY

Quebec City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO-heMAVA2I

[Acajack]

Quebec City native anglo:

Peter Simons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrM9XsABW68

[Acajack]

Contrary to Peter Simons (who sounds very neutral North American to me), most Quebec anglos who speak a lot of French in their everyday lives tend to sound like Jim Corcoran:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YPTYrh4HJs

[Acajack]

More French...

Franco-Albertan (Crystal Plamondon)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4WuVDVT5zw

Franco-Manitoban

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7ZqIwfZqz0

[Acajack]

Kevin Parent - south coast of Gaspésie, Quebec. Really close to Acadian from northern NB. He's actually from a "lapsed anglo" family.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIHkWqSOlTc

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Docere

Here's a Prairie Ukrainian accent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFRzCJVNAE8

some th's gets switched to t or d, and some t's get switched to th . Good times.

Thirtieth = Tirtiet
Thursday = Tursday

And for extra hilarity, my favourite...

Thought = Taught
Taught = Thought

[93JC]

Originally Posted by ue

It's really only right beside the border that Alberta resembles this (ie walking distance from the border). But even still, as this scene from in Coutts shows, the town itself is groomed and green. Sweet Grass doesn't have this, and still looks dried out.

Alberta farmers just have more money which allows them to create massive irrigation systems and more importantly, buy huge sprinklers. Those sprinklers are fairly common pieces of scenery from the highway in Southern Alberta to keep the crops hydrated, but they're basically non-existent in Central Alberta because its more lush and naturally green here.

Just in case you think the natural geography does a complete 180 at the 49th parallel, we do have this dried out, semi-arid environment, but you have to go to less agriculturally-focused areas like Drumheller to find it, though even there, it looks a bit greener because there still are farms in the area. Here's an example of the landscape around Drumheller, in the Alberta Badlands.

I slowly followed this line of conversation from two weeks ago. None of the links work for me, so here's one that does: the junction of Alberta highways 569 and 564, just south of the Red Deer River at East Coulee. I don't know if there's anywhere else in Canada like it.

[Docere]

Mid-Atlantic accent - Christopher Plummer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-D8NeLZ7Ps

[ue]

Originally Posted by 93JC

I slowly followed this line of conversation from two weeks ago. None of the links work for me, so here's one that does: the junction of Alberta highways 569 and 564, just south of the Red Deer River at East Coulee. I don't know if there's anywhere else in Canada like it.

Hmm, that's strange. The links work on my end.

Anyways, the Drumheller area is a perfect way to show that the green pastures in Southern Alberta are anything but natural. The geography around Drumheller has more in common with Montana immediately across the border than the surrounding agricultural areas because Drumheller hasn't been cultivated by human development in the same ways.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Docere

Mid-Atlantic accent - Christopher Plummer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-D8NeLZ7Ps

Mid-Atlantic? Mid-Atlantic where? Somewhere in the middle of the east side of the North Atlantic in the British Isles?

[kool maudit]

sonewhere off the hamptons or the vineyard, and on a determined course for RP.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

sonewhere off the hamptons or the vineyard, and on a determined course for RP.

I think that even in the Hamptons and the Vineyard, there's probably a grand total of 57 people there who speak that way...

[wg_flamip]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

sonewhere off the hamptons or the vineyard, and on a determined course for RP.

Like RP, Mid-Atlantic English was an invented dialect acquired by the American upper class (especially in the Northeastern US). For many years it was also cultivated by those in the theatre and film as well, serving as the neutral accent of the time. It fell out of vogue after WWII and you'll almost never hear it spoken now even among those few living people left who were trained in it.

[Docere]

Some Montreal accents:

Irwin Cotler (Jewish): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt6vbqDkF1w

Gino Vannelli (Italian): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5HVYT3wB-s

[Docere]

Black Nova Scotian community:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_zc2Djzg1I

[SignalHillHiker]

Awesome posts, Docere. Thanks for all the examples!

EDIT: The Black Nova Scotian community says "Dad" like most Newfoundlanders.