Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

To a degree. But I'm not really buying that totally as even upper crust and well educated Toronto folks have the typical Canadian ''tell's'' in their speech. They may speak better than say a lower class person without much education but they still sound Canadian even in the mildest sense.

Kathleen has studied languages and has studied all the vowel and speech characteristics. I'm sure she knows what Canadian Raising is and is more than skilled at suppressing it during public speaking hence her quasi American accent. Even John Tory displays a Canadian Accent.

The thing about the Canadian accent is you literally have to live out of Canada or study linguistics (which she has) to even be aware of it. 90% of anglo Canadians don't even know they speak differently than ''The Americans on TV''.

I’m not sure of your point. One would normally expect a Canadian to speak with a Canadian accent, no?

[Sarah89]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

I’m not sure of your point. One would normally expect a Canadian to speak with a Canadian accent, no?

Yes. But the one's who speak with the American ''tone'' and have completely absent Canadian Raising are suspicious to me. In this case it's almost always because they got accent reduction. Listen to how most Canadian celebrities speak versus how they spoke when they lived in Canada - a total contrast.

You know how hard it is to hide a Canadian accent, you said so earlier in this thread years back. It's far from an easy undertaking and takes lots of mindfulness and focus to get around those pesky vowels.

edit: Sorry it wasn't you, it was ''kool maudit'' who said he suppressed his accent while living in the states.

[urbandreamer]

You do realize many Canadians have American ancestry? I do and thus do not sound like Doug Ford or people I went to school with in rural Ontario. My mother, although Canadian, was actually educated in a private American school followed by university in England. There's probably millions of English Canadians with a similar background.

[Sarah89]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

You do realize many Canadians have American ancestry? I do and thus do not sound like Doug Ford or people I went to school with in rural Ontario. My mother, although Canadian, was actually educated in a private American school followed by university in England. There's probably millions of English Canadians with a similar background.

I never said most people sound like him. They don't. I'm referring to other features of the Canadian accent not common south of the border. Most Canadians with American ancestry or not will never be able to say ''about'' in a standard way. I know it 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 but that's what we got to work with.

[north 42]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

I never said most people sound like him. They don't. I'm referring to other features of the Canadian accent not common south of the border. Most Canadians with American ancestry or not will never be able to say ''about'' in a standard way. I know it 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 but that's what we got to work with.

It doesn’t 🞵🞵🞵🞵, it’s how we speak. I have no problem with that.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by north 42

It doesn’t 🞵🞵🞵🞵, it’s how we speak. I have no problem with that.

Hear hear.

Own it, don't suppress it or be ashamed of others with it.

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

I never said most people sound like him. They don't. I'm referring to other features of the Canadian accent not common south of the border. Most Canadians with American ancestry or not will never be able to say ''about'' in a standard way. I know it 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 but that's what we got to work with.

Weird, because in my travels I've often been confused for an American. This includes travels to the United States of America, no less. I've chatted with a Kiwi who deals professionally with people from the US and Canada and he struggles to distinguish between the two unless there's some sort of regionalism (Southern drawl, Newfoundlander, French-Canadian) that provides a marker to distinguish between them

Second point: Who cares? Other than you, obviously. The accent isn't that bad in the great scheme of English-speaking accents IMO. It says more about one's insecurities than anything.

Hate the Canadian accent? Try RP for a bit and enjoy the haughty superior accent. As if anyone really cares. In my experience, the relative lack of pretentiousness about this topic in most of the English-speaking world is actually kind of nice.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by urbandreamer

You do realize many Canadians have American ancestry? I do and thus do not sound like Doug Ford or people I went to school with in rural Ontario. My mother, although Canadian, was actually educated in a private American school followed by university in England. There's probably millions of English Canadians with a similar background.

Ancestry doesn't matter when it comes to accents, especially if you're talking two or more generations ago. Your schoolmates determine how your accent will sound.

[MonctonRad]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Ancestry doesn't matter when it comes to accents, especially if you're talking two or more generations ago.

You obviously haven't been to Cape Breton (or Newfoundland).

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

I never said most people sound like him. They don't. I'm referring to other features of the Canadian accent not common south of the border. Most Canadians with American ancestry or not will never be able to say ''about'' in a standard way. I know it 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵 but that's what we got to work with.

Crikey. I'm the first to admit to how goofy Canadians can sound, but even I have a limit to my self-loathing.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

You obviously haven't been to Cape Breton (or Newfoundland).

No, I haven't. Still though, the kids of immigrants to those places sound like they've grown up in those places. Because, well...they have.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

You obviously haven't been to Cape Breton (or Newfoundland).

Those accents carry the heavy influences of the mother countries. I sense this occurs in other parts of Canada with various national backgrounds too to some degree. I think the accent doesn't matter that much as long as the speech is clear and intelligible. The most bothersome characteristic is what I call "lazy English", where little effort is put into diction and enunciation.

[Acajack]

This weekend I noticed this appearing on large billboards in the Montreal area. They used the pink version of the ribbon though.

https://www.redbubble.com/i/greeting-car...ing-disease-by-headpossum/32549970.5MT14

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by Acajack

This weekend I noticed this appearing on large billboards in the Montreal area. They used the pink version of the ribbon though.

https://www.redbubble.com/i/greeting-car...ing-disease-by-headpossum/32549970.5MT14

I see them on some pickup trucks and cars here.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I see them on some pickup trucks and cars here.

I've seen it on cars as well. Pretty tacky, but so are the times ....

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Loco101

I see them on some pickup trucks and cars here.

So I have I. Just found it a bit shocking as someone reared in Anglo-Canada to see something that clearly looks like the word 🞵🞵🞵🞵 on large billboards owned by Pattison, CBS or some other conglomerate.

[esquire]

"🞵🞵🞵🞵" barely counts as a swear anymore. It has little shock value. The real swears now are epithets aimed at someone's identity whether it's racial, 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵, cognitive, etc. Those are the things not said in polite company.

[JHikka]

Originally Posted by esquire

"🞵🞵🞵🞵" barely counts as a swear anymore. It has little shock value. The real swears now are epithets aimed at someone's identity whether it's racial, 🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵🞵, cognitive, etc. Those are the things not said in polite company.

Yes sir. The entire crux of this recent political ad in New Jersey is taking pride in swearing.

[big T]

Originally Posted by Acajack

So I have I. Just found it a bit shocking as someone reared in Anglo-Canada to see something that clearly looks like the word 🞵🞵🞵🞵 on large billboards owned by Pattison, CBS or some other conglomerate.

I saw those as well, the campaign is by a suburban restaurant chain who appear to have been cultivating a sort of low-brow pseudo tough guy and gal image so I suppose it’s par for the course for them (and their clientele). Although I have not been, I have to confess I imagine the place full of overweight bros and she-bros with tacky tattoos who drove there in their oversized pickup trucks to gorge on bacon-infused everything.

This said I am ok with it being on display, I’d rather they be allowed to broadcast how classless they are than have a heavy government-run censorship apparatus waste time and money on these idiots.

[Acajack]

🞵🞵🞵🞵 isn't really a swear word in Quebec public society anyway.

Though I'd disagree that it's lost most of its shock value in more anglophone circles.