Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada - Page 121

SignalHillHiker · #**2401** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 12:10 AM**

FOUND IT!

• Video Link

He has to be from wherever the stereotypical, mainland Canadian accent comes from right? He makes "out" almost three syllables. Eh-Oh-Oot.

That's just as striking for you all, right? Does anyone talk like that?

FrAnKs · #**2402** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 12:22 AM**

Eh Tabarnak

What do you do of MY mainland accent now?

Wigs · #**2403** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 12:29 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

...

He has to be from wherever the stereotypical, mainland Canadian accent comes from right? He makes "out" almost three syllables. Eh-Oh-Oot.

That's just as striking for you all, right? Does anyone talk like that?

sadly many Ontarians say "out" like that

with years of practice (and earning my Undergrad in Buffalo) I was able to Americanize my pronunciation of the word

north 42 · #**2404** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 1:28 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

FOUND IT!

• Video Link

He has to be from wherever the stereotypical, mainland Canadian accent comes from right? He makes "out" almost three syllables. Eh-Oh-Oot.

That's just as striking for you all, right? Does anyone talk like that?

Sounds like how most Canadians say it to me.

kwoldtimer · #**2405** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 2:07 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by north 42

Sounds like how most Canadians say it to me.

Same for me - I thought maybe it was just poor sound quality on my computer. I certainly only hear one syllable.

SignalHillHiker · #**2406** Posted **Jul 3, 2016, 3:47 PM**

Most of the Canadians I've heard elsewhere don't sound like that to me.

Sarah89 · #**2407** Posted **Jul 6, 2016, 1:49 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

FOUND IT!

• Video Link

He has to be from wherever the stereotypical, mainland Canadian accent comes from right? He makes "out" almost three syllables. Eh-Oh-Oot.

That's just as striking for you all, right? Does anyone talk like that?

Oh boy, that's not even the strongest version. This is actually really common in southern Ontario. I feel bad because my natural diphthong is closer to "oat" and even worse than this guy.

ciudad_del_norte · #**2408** Posted **Jul 6, 2016, 2:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Most of the Canadians I've heard elsewhere don't sound like that to me.

It doesn't actually sound like a super strong example to me, but its definitely noticeable and sounds pretty central canadian. Typically when I hear that sort of thing its somebody from S. Ontario or Quebec.

Pinus · #**2409** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 4:20 AM**

Complete rando:

Does anyone in Newfoundland (or Atlantic Canada for that matter) use the term "mate" at all in their daily convo's?

Just curious.

Pinus · #**2410** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 4:23 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarah89

Oh boy, that's not even the strongest version. This is actually really common in southern Ontario. I feel bad because my natural diphthong is closer to "oat" and even worse than this guy.

There are quite a few Manitoban's that pronounce out, south, house, about, etc. in that manner, including myself. The further west you go, the more Yank-like these words sound unfortunately.

MonctonRad · #**2411** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 3:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinus

Complete rando:

Does anyone in Newfoundland (or Atlantic Canada for that matter) use the term "mate" at all in their daily convo's?

Just curious.

No (at least not in the Maritimes). That doesn't stop some rural people in smaller more isolated fishing villages from sounding like pirates though......

Acajack · #**2412** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 3:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

No (at least not in the Maritimes). That doesn't stop some rural people in smaller more isolated fishing villages from sounding like pirates though......

I don't think there is anywhere in Canada where people use the word mate like the Aussies do, in the way that some Canadians might say dude, man or b'y.

I think you may hear people in Canada occasionally joking around (in perhaps a lame Aussie accent) and saying things like "me mates"...

OTOH it's interesting how the Aussie expression (at least I think it's originally Australian) "no worries" has taken root in Canada.

I honestly don't know which region in Canada picked it up first (I first heard it from Newfoundlanders myself) but it's now used by English speakers all over the country.

esquire · #**2413** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 3:53 PM**

^ A North American saying "mate" sounds very affected... it makes me think of students back in uni who'd do a study term in Australia and then come back with a full Aussie accent.

Trevor3 · #**2414** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 4:03 PM**

Mate wouldn't be something said naturally. I have heard it, but usually from the "scarf wearing hipster with a pointed beard" type of crowd, though even then not very often.

I have heard "gents" from the crowd that I went to university with from St. John's. Not universally among them, but definitely a few who used it enough for me to take notice.

SignalHillHiker · #**2415** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 4:06 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pinus

Complete rando:

Does anyone in Newfoundland (or Atlantic Canada for that matter) use the term "mate" at all in their daily convo's?

Just curious.

No. I'm sure someone somewhere here is using it as slang, but I think I can confidently say it has no historical presence here. It's not like words like "full stop", "rubbish", "harrish", "jingles crimers", etc. Most Newfoundlanders don't use those, and raise an eyebrow when they come up, but they legitimately have survived in pockets here.

Excluding all the universal English language terms that are also used here (buddy, bro, dude, whatever), "mate" would almost certainly be "b'y" or "dear/love". "B'y" is never rude, but it is a little more informal. For example, men/women working a cash register or drive through window would never call me "b'y", but 90% of the time would still use a term of endearment, most likely "dear"/"my buddy" if they're young, or "love" if they're old.

Women are often called "girl", especially by each other. The tone is very friendly, it's not like international pop culture references where a man says, "Listen, woman!" or anything like that at all. The people who use "girl" in this way use it quite a lot. When Mom is on the phone with a girlfriend, she might say it a dozen times in a single conversation. "Yes, girl... Listen, I'm telling ya the course is booked up, girl! There's not a tee time left!" If you're not from here, it can seem like people are pretending to be black women or drag queens. It's that kind of tone.

One that has died out a lot (I think women started taking offense to all but the oldest men using it): referencing a woman as "maid" or "pet". You'll still see it when people are being super Newfies in a conversation (like when Oprah talks ghetto), but otherwise it's not common at all anymore.

someone123 · #**2416** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 5:02 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

OTOH it's interesting how the Aussie expression (at least I think it's originally Australian) "no worries" has taken root in Canada.

Another similar one is "stoked", which has apparently been used in Australia for a long time. I've found that these sayings are more common in Western Canada.

There's approximately zero overlap between traditional Atlantic Canada specific words or idioms and Australian ones. If anything it should be surprising given the fact that both places had roughly the same sorts of immigrants from around the same periods, but I'm guessing the original demographics actually weren't that similar. And of course the places the immigrants ended up in were quite different as well.

bomberjet · #**2417** Posted **Aug 9, 2016, 8:46 PM**

Typical Canadian sterotype 'aboot' type words I find are southern Ontario. Most people don't speak that way.

Tabarnak on the otherhand lol Well that's quite common around my part in French Winnipeg.

Acajack · #**2418** Posted **Aug 10, 2016, 3:56 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Typical Canadian sterotype 'aboot' type words I find are southern Ontario. Most people don't speak that way.

A different way of pronouncing the OU sound (from Americans) in words like out, about, house, etc. is pretty consistent all across English speaking Canada. Not just in southern Ontario.

It may not be aboot but most anywhere in Canada it's still more aboat than the American abaaht.

rousseau · #**2419** Posted **Aug 10, 2016, 7:19 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

Another similar one is "stoked", which has apparently been used in Australia for a long time. I've found that these sayings are more common in Western Canada.

Huh. I've heard that around here for decades, and it seems like it would be an immediate identifier of someone's age (i.e. no teenager today would use it).

There's even a bike shop here called "Totaly Spoke'd," a play on the phrase "I'm totally stoked, dude." Which sounds like something from late 1970s California, meaning it would have spread across North America at the same time, including here.

In fact, I'd hazard a guess that the Australian usage might even be from those 1970s and 80s American movies with surfers in them. Because all Australians surf, right?

softee · #**2420** Posted **Aug 10, 2016, 8:07 PM**

"Stoked" was really popular with teenagers as recently as 10 years ago, it's died off a lot since then, but it's still used fairly often among teens and young adults.