Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[SignalHillHiker]

Oh, it's always nuts here - and I assume in most Legislatures. They all have Question Period so there's lots of back-and-forth then.

It's much more tame on television because the mics are muted so you, for the most part, can only hear the minister/opposition/third party member who is speaking. In person, you often can't hear the one speaking at all - just the hollering and teasing of the parties opposite.

Lots of laughing, lots of talking back, lots of fist slamming. Lots of "WOW!" when your colleague says something you agree with (but already knew). Lots of "Shameful!" when your rivals are speaking. Lots of "Good question!", "The public deserves an answer", etc.

And yes, it's not looking good. Seven straight byelection losses in a row - including what 358 said is very probably the largest swing in Canadian electoral history (from 78.2% PC last election to 56.1% Liberal in the byelection).

CBC analyst said they're governing on borrowed time here now - and they should just put themselves down and call an election. Other analysts locally are lamenting the fact we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater and lurch from majority to majority.

We're most definitely going to have an extremely large Liberal majority after the next election - probably even greater than Danny's PC one.

[kool maudit]

vice on the maritime accents:

http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-v...e-a-maritimer-

"Making fun of any given part of Canada while being from another is basically like some kid ripping on another kid in class for failing a math test when they’re both in Special Ed."

• Video Link

[SignalHillHiker]

Hahaha. Excellent.

[SignalHillHiker]

I heard "bake pot" twice today and for the first time ever. Refers to a slow cooker.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

vice on the maritime accents:
http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/the-v...e-a-maritimer-
"Making fun of any given part of Canada while being from another is basically like some kid ripping on another kid in class for failing a math test when they’re both in Special Ed."

Heh, I think I'm related to some of those guys, or at least went to school with em. I don't know if the speech-speed thing is just something you "feel" when you're listening to ANY slightly-foreign accent or if it's truly a Maritime thing. That said, when I visit inlaws in S-ON, I find they talk fairly slowly but that might be familial and not regional. *shrug*

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Heh, I think I'm related to some of those guys, or at least went to school with em. I don't know if the speech-speed thing is just something you "feel" when you're listening to ANY slightly-foreign accent or if it's truly a Maritime thing. That said, when I visit inlaws in S-ON, I find they talk fairly slowly but that might be familial and not regional. *shrug*

I'm not sure if they speak more slowly on average - for example, say we all stood up to give a presentation.

But, casually - especially excited conversation with friends - they definitely speak quite slowly.

Perhaps they just remain at more or less the same speed. I think speed and mumbling are the equivalent of inflection for them. But who knows.

Ayreonaut, from Calgary, does speak slowly. Sometimes I get impatient just listening to him. And when he says "downtown", it's basically an intermission.

*****

And kool, I was laughing at your quote - not the linked article. I was too busy to respond in full - but someone needs to tell him we're not in the Maritimes.

Also... pronouncing "right" as "rate" I've never heard here nor in the Maritimes. That's very far removed from what sounds normal to me. Even the strongest brogues here would be closer to "riot".

[kool maudit]

i have heard "rate," though it's almost kind of like the geordie "reet". it's just a really shortened i sound. maritimers clip or mute or sort of swallow their vowels a lot, so the a in halifax becomes an e ("helifax") and the long i becomes something else.

think of matthew mcconaughey saying "raaaght" in a texas drawl and then imagine the diametric opposite of that. maritimers don't really luxuriate in their vowels at all... they get through them very quickly as if it's wheel of fortune and they cost $200.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

i have heard "rate," though it's almost kind of like the geordie "reet". it's just a really shortened i sound. maritimers clip or mute or sort of swallow their vowels a lot, so the a in halifax becomes an e ("helifax") and the long i becomes something else.

think of matthew mcconaughey saying "raaaght" in a texas drawl and then imagine the diametric opposite of that. maritimers don't really luxuriate in their vowels at all... they get through them very quickly as if it's wheel of fortune and they cost $200.

I don't doubt that you're generally correct, but I recollect speaking with a teenager from somewhere in the backwoods of N.S. a couple of years ago (Acadian to go by his name) and his accent sounded amazingly similar to a Louisiana accent, with a slightly more restrained drawl and definite vowel-luxuriation.

[kool maudit]

that nova scotia - it's an old and varied place! i have honestly never heard that.

[niwell]

For some weird reason I've ended up dating several people from PEI. That video is a blast from the past. Yikes!!

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

that nova scotia - it's an old and varied place! i have honestly never heard that.

Perhaps it was a one-off but it was startling ... he sounded like Blanche DuBois, talking barely above a whisper but with a pronounced drawl.

[rousseau]

How do you pronounce "croissant"?

I use the French pronunciation myself. In what I think is an understated way, not in an exaggerated show of my superior breeding. But my understanding is that your average educated anglo-Canadian generally says craw-soh in lieu of the full-bodied cwa-soh.

The drawling craw-sayant seems to be a reliable class indicator, i.e. it's the go-to pronunciation for someone with less of an affinity for advanced education or much media that isn't American.

I've heard both here in Stratford. True to form, the closer-to-the-French pronunciation is used in the independent cafes, and the American pronunciation is de rigeur with the hoi polloi at Timmies and the diners.

[SignalHillHiker]

Exactly like the French "quoi".

[Trevor3]

Take the "cruh" sound from crush, and stick the 'saunt' from the word 'saunter' on the end and that's pretty much it. Croissant = cruh-saunt.

[SignalHillHiker]

Your Premier.

Do you pronounce the "prem" as in "stem" or "steam"?

I've heard both here. I tend to go with "stem" if I'm JUST saying Premier, and "steam" if I'm saying his name as well.

[SignalHillHiker]

Oops, didn't realize that'd start a new page. Rousseau wants to ask ye this too.

Originally Posted by rousseau

How do you pronounce "croissant"?

I use the French pronunciation myself. In what I think is an understated way, not in an exaggerated show of my superior breeding. But my understanding is that your average educated anglo-Canadian generally says craw-soh in lieu of the full-bodied cwa-soh.

The drawling craw-sayant seems to be a reliable class indicator, i.e. it's the go-to pronunciation for someone with less of an affinity for advanced education or much media that isn't American.

I've heard both here in Stratford. True to form, the closer-to-the-French pronunciation is used in the independent cafes, and the American pronunciation is de rigeur with the hoi polloi at Timmies and the diners.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by rousseau

How do you pronounce "croissant"?

... the right way?

[GlassCity]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Your Premier.

Do you pronounce the "prem" as in "stem" or "steam"?

I've heard both here. I tend to go with "stem" if I'm JUST saying Premier, and "steam" if I'm saying his name as well.

Originally Posted by lio45

... the right way?

"PREEM-YEAR"
"Cruh-sont"

[kwoldtimer]

Don't ask me why, but;

A film PREM-yair
A provincial PREEM-year

And "croissant", of course, as if I were buying one in a Paris.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I use the French pronunciation myself. In what I think is an understated way, not in an exaggerated show of my superior breeding. But my understanding is that your average educated anglo-Canadian generally says craw-soh in lieu of the full-bodied cwa-soh.

For what little it's worth, the attempts to make loan words in English sound more French almost invariably sound bizarre to my ears. I'd rather unilingual English speakers just go all in and call them croysants or freedom buns or whatever. Dropping the "r" sound is not more correct; there's an "r" sound in French and it is significant. "Croix" and "quoi" aren't the same word, for example.

It's the same in French when people borrow English words and stumble over them. The right thing to do is to make them conform to the set of phonemes you can speak and the person you're speaking to can easily disambiguate.

I applaud Middle America for its honest use of language in this particular case.