Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[megadude]

There are many American accents and many Canadian accents. I will just say that I prefer to hear a "normal" accent, or you might say no accent at all. Basically as close as possible to national news broadcasters. So I myself wouldn't say I want more Canadians to sound American, because I don't want to hear Canadians speaking with Brooklyn, Boston, Philly, Southern, Cajun, Mid and Upper Midwest, Valley girl, etc. accents. But I get the sentiment of wanting Canadians to sound like Americans with indistinguishable accents, but I'd describe that as having "no accent".

For instance, I love Jarome Iginla, but it's cringe worthy listening to him and other hockey players constantly saying "uh" and "and uh", while his teammate back on the '03 Flames, American Craig Conroy, was far easier to listen to. Ray Ferraro is such a bundle of enthusiasm and he's a guy I'd love to hang out with. He has a very out west kind of Canadian accent and definitely says "a-boat". Jeremy Roenick is American and I prefer the way he speaks due to not having an accent, or if he does, it's barely noticeable. However, I like Ferraro's enthusiasm and actually prefer to listen to him talk hockey more than Roenick.

The Welsh accent sounds very slow and almost boorish. Even though I don't live there or rarely have to listen to them speak except for my grade 8 shop teacher, I find it a little annoying and want them to speak "normal British", which in their case means closer to the Queen's English. Meanwhile, the majority of Brits don't speak the Queen's English. Tonnes of accents in England alone, and I actually like most of them, with cockney being my favourite.

Basically, for me it comes down to personal preference and none of what I'm saying is a criticism.

I think whether it's Canada or the US, for the national news they tend to hire anchors that speak "normal" as in no identifiable accent. Mansbridge, Robertson, Hanomansing, Jennings, Rather, Williams, etc.

Wolf Blizter for instance is from Buffalo and you know that upper midwest accent they have. But there's basically no trace of it from him. James Carvelle on CNN is a cajun and you can tell, but his accent is toned down. He wouldn't be made an anchor simply because of his accent. Though he also doesn't have the look for it.

Sorry, can't come up with many Canadian national news examples as Canadian news tends to be more boring, thank God.

Are there any national news anchors from NL or have an east coast accent? Or anchors that say "a-boat" or "aboot"? I find the hoser accent funny when laying it on thick for comedy but in real life it sounds annoying to me.

PS, I cut the cable many years ago and admittedly I'm going by memory here.

On a side note, around the GTA, you will often hear people mention that a person is "sooo Canadian". People from all backgrounds including 5th generation Canadians will even say that. What they mean is that they are very blue collar, wear plaid (aka Keswick dinner jacket) and sit on their porch drinking a bottle of Canadian while smoking a du Maurier. And they speak like Doug Ford. Mind you, some of these people are the friendliest and nicest people I've ever met so I'm not complaining.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by megadude

There are many American accents and many Canadian accents. I will just say that I prefer to hear a "normal" accent, or you might say no accent at all. Basically as close as possible to national news broadcasters.

I think whether it's Canada or the US, for the national news they tend to hire anchors that speak "normal" as in no identifiable accent. Mansbridge, Robertson, Hanomansing, Jennings, Rather, Williams, etc.

Wolf Blizter for instance is from Buffalo and you know that upper midwest accent they have. But there's basically no trace of it from him. James Carvelle on CNN is a cajun and you can tell, but his accent is toned down. He wouldn't be made an anchor simply because of his accent. Though he also doesn't have the look for it.

Sorry, can't come up with many Canadian national news examples as Canadian news tends to be more boring, thank God.

Are there any national news anchors from NL or have an east coast accent? Or anchors that say "a-boat" or "aboot"?

Rex Murphy most definitely has a Newfoundland accent.

I was thinking Seamus O'Regan (now a Trudeau cabinet minister) but looked him up on Youtube and his accent when on Canada AM was way more neutral than I recalled.

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

To sound more American

Holy sh*t, did our resident psychopath Pinus PM you threatening to gut you in your sleep for this comment?

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

Holy sh*t, did our resident psychopath Pinus PM you threatening to gut you in your sleep for this comment?

Oh yay. Looks like our resident PC social justice crusader has arrived. He/she/it/whatever only posts when they feel "minorities" like Americans or Chinese lol, are being viciously "attacked" by "evil" Canadians. Read their posting history and you will see it clear as day.

And now he/she/it/whatever is parroting their email schpeel again, where they portray themselves as an innocent victim in petty email chatter, when they started the whole attack themselves in the first place.

Get a life.

[kool maudit]

All this aboat a vowel.

[CivicBlues]

Originally Posted by Pinus

Oh yay. Looks like our resident PC social justice crusader has arrived. He/she/it/whatever only posts when they feel "minorities" like Americans or Chinese lol, are being viciously "attacked" by "evil" Canadians. Read their posting history and you will see it clear as day.

And now he/she/it/whatever is parroting their email schpeel again, where they portray themselves as an innocent victim in petty email chatter, when they started the whole attack themselves in the first place.

Get a life.

>Calls me a SJW.

>Tells me to get a life.

>Viciously attacks anyone unprovoked who has anything to do with Americans.

Originally Posted by Pinus

Only to you and a few other American wanna-be likes of "Canadians". Seriously, it's people like you that are ruining this country's culture and heritage and aiding in the Americanization of Canada.

By all means, please move there and enjoy your "more intelligent" English

Oh Kay, you're an odd little fellow.

[Pinus]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

>Calls me a SJW.

>Tells me to get a life.

>Viciously attacks anyone unprovoked who has anything to do with Americans.


Oh Kay, you're an odd little fellow.

Thank you for continuing to prove my point. It really helps when you do most of the work for me

[Sarah89]

I can understand why Canadians who speak with our natural Canadian vowels and intonation are not hired for work in U.S movies. It can totally throw off a scene.

If you've ever seen the movie ''Chloe'' (not many people have) it's filmed and set in Toronto with American actors in main roles playing Canadians (who don't try to speak Canadian). Anyway, the film's story line is basically a wealthy couple having marriage issues and the wife suspects her husband cheats on her so she hires a high class Toronto hooker to seduce him and report back to her. Their social circle is supposed to be all elitist high society types (nearly all being played by American actors) and the one friend they have (an actual Canadian actor plays the role here) stuck out in the film like a sore thumb with a somewhat classic Canadian accent. This is a glamorous film both in fashion and the set locations - all of a sudden it's like ''A wild Canadian appears'' with the accent and it kills the vibe.

That's definitely a weird spiel for me to go on about but it's been a thought inside my mind for a while. We just sound ''dorky'' on screen.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Rex Murphy most definitely has a Newfoundland accent.

I was thinking Seamus O'Regan (now a Trudeau cabinet minister) but looked him up on Youtube and his accent when on Canada AM was way more neutral than I recalled.

David Cochrane of CBC is a good example of a more refined or homogenized Newfoundland urban accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCbad07ed5E

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I don't judge people's intelligence based on accents, but it's true that compared to Anglo-Canadian clipped vowels, many American accents sound a bit "lazy" to my ears.

For some people I guess there can be an association there with assumed intelligence. (Though not for me as I said.)

I also try not to judge anyone, but it's kind of hard to resist the association with intelligence based on accent. Can't help it, personally. I find it almost hard to believe you wouldn't favorably judge a standarsized overseas French accent while getting a bad impression from the thickest rural Québécois accent... in the latter case, the person is kinda outing themselves as a hick right then and there.

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Architype

David Cochrane of CBC is a good example of a more refined or homogenized Newfoundland urban accent.

I agree, but with a caveat - CBC trains us to talk that way. His spoken accent on air, when he's reading a script, is his closest approximation of the generic Canadian accent he was taught. It's why CBC staff in Newfoundland are almost entirely from the mainland, but on the mainland CBC employees are disproportionately Newfoundlanders (seriously, if you work at CBC in any other province, do a poll in your office, I guarantee, doesn't matter if you're in Toronto or Yellowknife, at least 25% were born and raised in Newfoundland. We dominate Canadian, anglophone media; likewise, here, well over half were born in mainland Canada).

When you get Dave Cochrane excited, or he's conversing in an interview, his accent gets stronger and surpasses your "refined" threshold.

Every time there's some national story with no connection to Newfoundland, if he's involved, I notice and get drawn in. It's a pretty strong accent as far as Townies go.

Had to film this from CBC coverage a couple years ago because it gave me hope that the lower-class accent in St. John's is still as strong as I thought it was.

And, oh boy, is it ever. Not only accent, but even vocabulary and expressions.

• Video Link

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Architype

David Cochrane of CBC is a good example of a more refined or homogenized Newfoundland urban accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCbad07ed5E

Lyndon McIntyre?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by lio45

I also try not to judge anyone, but it's kind of hard to resist the association with intelligence based on accent. Can't help it, personally. I find it almost hard to believe you wouldn't favorably judge a standarsized overseas French accent while getting a bad impression from the thickest rural Québécois accent... in the latter case, the person is kinda outing themselves as a hick right then and there.

I try very very hard not to fall into that trap. It is not always easy.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

I agree, but with a caveat - CBC trains us to talk that way. His spoken accent on air, when he's reading a script, is his closest approximation of the generic Canadian accent he was taught. ...

Except that I know Nflders who sound like that with no connection to CBC or media. It's still quite a bit different from media people back in the mid century when there was a definite British or Transatlantic influence.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Sarah89

I can understand why Canadians who speak with our natural Canadian vowels and intonation are not hired for work in U.S movies. It can totally throw off a scene.

If you've ever seen the movie ''Chloe'' (not many people have) it's filmed and set in Toronto with American actors in main roles playing Canadians (who don't try to speak Canadian). Anyway, the film's story line is basically a wealthy couple having marriage issues and the wife suspects her husband cheats on her so she hires a high class Toronto hooker to seduce him and report back to her. Their social circle is supposed to be all elitist high society types (nearly all being played by American actors) and the one friend they have (an actual Canadian actor plays the role here) stuck out in the film like a sore thumb with a somewhat classic Canadian accent. This is a glamorous film both in fashion and the set locations - all of a sudden it's like ''A wild Canadian appears'' with the accent and it kills the vibe.

That's definitely a weird spiel for me to go on about but it's been a thought inside my mind for a while. We just sound ''dorky'' on screen.

Like John F Kennedy sounded dorky to me?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Lyndon McIntyre?

He grew up and was educated in Nova Scotia, so it's a bit of an amalgam.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Lyndon McIntyre?

Nova Scotia far more than Newfoundland, no?

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Architype

Except that I know Nflders who sound like that with no connection to CBC or media. It's still quite a bit different from media people back in the mid century when there was a definite British or Transatlantic influence.

Oh, VERY different. It's not the same thing at all. CBC today, with strong Newfoundland accents... well, firstly, they don't make it past the interview unless the people hiring are also Newfoundlanders (but that is frequent, in every city in the country).

"This is the happenings tonight, bud" is one of the sentences used. Apparently, "tonight, bud" we can practice to sound Canadian. And forcing slow annunciation of "This is the happenings" can bridge the divide.

But yeah, none of this is the old transatlantic style. BTW, I'm sure you know, but for the benefit of anyone else reading, the Newfoundland Broadcasting Company (our pre-Confederation equivalent of CBC) also had strict accent rules. It wasn't exactly transatlantic, but it was close.

An aside, remember when CBC NL used to end with this every night? This is the version I grew up with... our old national anthem, and the new one. HORRIFIC versions of both lol 10 years earlier, it was better versions of both. 10 years later, they cut out the middle two verses of OUR anthem OR used neither lol I was right in the bubble.

Also, TO THIS DAY, swear to God the Newfoundland choir singing these didn't know the lyrics to O Canada and sang "the north north strong and free".

• Video Link

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Architype

He grew up and was educated in Nova Scotia, so it's a bit of an amalgam.

Never heard of him, and it's not a Newfoundland name. He could have one of our accents, especially if he is from Cape Breton or lived here, but I don't know.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Like John F Kennedy sounded dorky to me?

More dorky than LBJ or Jimmy Carter?