The Great Canadian Vowel Shift • Hacker News Board

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#21

Post by Tiktaalik » Tue, Aug 04, 2015, 11:43 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

More so than accents I'd argue that the north-south orientation applies to culture and trade as well.

St. John's Newfoundland is geographically closer to London England than Vancouver. Aside from an interest in hockey, there's not a great deal of commonality. Seattle and Portland are more relatable and relevant.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#22

Post by afhill » Tue, Aug 04, 2015, 11:45 PM UTC

mijustin wrote: post #19

As a Western Canadian (who works with a lot of folks in California, Oregon and Colorado) one thing that gets pointed out all the time is my pronunciation of: - JavaScript - Americano - Pasta

Yes! Pasta was one of the first words I learned to say differently when I moved from Edmonton to the US.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#23

Post by douche » Tue, Aug 04, 2015, 11:48 PM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

Living in northern New England, my experience of Canada and Canadian accents has always been in relation to Quebec, which is a whole different beast.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a good representation of the Quebecois accent on TV. South Park butchered it awfully

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#24

Post by a3n » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:11 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #18

kafkaesque wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in LA and every time someone finds out I'm Canadian, they say, "But you don't have an accent" or "You don't sound Canadian", and on the rare occasion, people refer to my Vancouver accent as "fake Canadian accent". I just half-smile or say "I don't know", instead of explaining how provincial their "typical Canadian accent" sounds to Vancouverites.

I've been told that my accent isn't so much a sound, but a mode of speech. You can spot the Canadians in LA because they are the ones using complete sentences. There is a certain neutrality to the western-canadian accent, much like that of Minnesota. Take the word Going or anything else ending with ing. In much of the US it is pronounced "goin", dropping the g. In the UK it has become "going-g" ... they add an extra…

> There is a certain neutrality to the western-canadian accent, much like that of Minnesota.

??!? I don't think any American who isn't from the middle Northern tier can watch Fargo without at least noticing the accent, or cracking a mild smile. The accent was practically a character in the movie.

However, TBH, I don't know if I know any Minnesotans, and I've never been there.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#25

Post by clessg » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:12 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

Being from New Brunswick, I've never actually heard anybody say 'aboot'. (Except perhaps after watching South Park and wanting to confuse people.)

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#26

Post by hmhrex » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:13 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

I'm from the maritimes. Can confirm.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#27

Post by hmhrex » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:16 AM UTC

vt240 wrote: post #10

It's a real life Pontypool ;-)

That movie was great. Yay Canadian arts!

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#28

Post by marincounty » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:16 AM UTC

kafkaesque wrote: post #7

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

I'm in LA and every time someone finds out I'm Canadian, they say, "But you don't have an accent" or "You don't sound Canadian", and on the rare occasion, people refer to my Vancouver accent as "fake Canadian accent". I just half-smile or say "I don't know", instead of explaining how provincial their "typical Canadian accent" sounds to Vancouverites.

I've worked with Canadians and just thought they were Americans. This one guy told a joke, an the joke ended with, "It will cost you two loonies!" We looked up and asked, "What are Loonies?" (Their dollar bills)

I asked how come you don't have an accent? (I did apologize about our educational system--we weren't taught anything about Canadians?)

Well, he started to get mad about the accents. He said most of us don't have accents. I won't say what he said next, but from the few words I can repeat; he was burned in his formative years by a French woman, and didn't like Quebec accents? I asked, "I just thought the French accent would sound beautiful?" He said there's nothing beautiful about a Quebec accent! (We were both tired, working construction, and hated our jobs.) I was suprised how Conservative he was though--always complaining about Canadian taxes. That changed one Monday morning when he got the bill from the hospital he took his wife to for a suspected Panic Attack? He couldn't believe we pay the amount we do for medical care. (That entire summer's wage, and then some went to that bill.) His last words to me were, "I'm never coming back. It's not just because I was "jacked" by the hospital, but the amount of stress you have here is just not worth it. If those blood suckers are going to charge this much, why don't they hand out price lists in the lobby?" I agreed, and gave him half my anxiety pill.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#29

Post by microcolonel » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:17 AM UTC

I spoke all of the examples at the beginning of the article, and I don't sound like any of the "new" examples; furthermore my mother was from the U.S., so I should sound more like them if anything.

I've also lived on both coasts(as well as nearer the center), and honestly I don't remember anyone speaking like this.

I've never actually heard "aboot" either.

I don't actually see any references, so I'm not sure what "linguists" they're talking to.

Re: The Great Canadian Vowel Shift

#30

Post by dghughes » Wed, Aug 05, 2015, 12:21 AM UTC

sandworm101 wrote: post #5

The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as "canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

I'm from the Maritimes and have never heard anyone here i know say aboot I think to certain people in the US it just sounds that way.

I knew a girl from Liverpool England and she thought I was from Ireland, not 100% convinced but more so than Canada. I'm from PEI which at one point was going to be called New Ireland.