when your accent becomes a figure of speech
#16
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
My accent is very British sounding but I also feel and identify with my American side but that seems to get ignored or not even considered when I talk to people. It's very disconcerting and it makes me feel a little sad as it's like more than half of your personality gets dismissed.
#17
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
Had to modify my N.Irish accent so that when I say things like "there" and "where" they sound more standard as opposed to the native "thur" and "wurr" pronunciation but that's about it. I've long learned to say tomato in north americanese.
#18
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Joined: May 2012
Location: Cayman Islands
Posts: 4,999
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
YouTube has some clever and funny Michael McIntyre videos on accents. Well worth a look.
#19
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
In my long life I have come across Americans masquerading as Canadians, usually when the US is bombing the whatsit out of some Third World country, and I have a quick way of calling them out: I ask them to say "out and about". They usually forget to say "oat and aboat".
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The speech pattern which kind of grates on me is "...or no" rather than "...or not". I'd noticed it maybe 20 years ago in North America, but it seems to be creeping into British speech as well.
#20
dah diddly dah
Joined: Jan 2015
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 155
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
My accent is very British sounding but I also feel and identify with my American side but that seems to get ignored or not even considered when I talk to people. It's very disconcerting and it makes me feel a little sad as it's like more than half of your personality gets dismissed.
#21
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Location: Cayman Islands
Posts: 4,999
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
#22
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
That's a good illustration of the emphasis that seems to be placed on the letter "R" which to me, can make the BC accent very hard to understand - especially when filtered by a mask. It's nearly as bad as my satnav (sorry, GPS) which has some very amusing attempts at pronouncing anything with an R in the word, boulevard being an example.
#23
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
My accent is of the 'Fens", having spent my school years in Ely.
24 years in Canada (immigrated at age 42) and my accent and use of words is pretty much the same, which due to the Fen accent has people thinking I may be from Australia.
24 years in Canada (immigrated at age 42) and my accent and use of words is pretty much the same, which due to the Fen accent has people thinking I may be from Australia.
#24
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Joined: May 2021
Location: Stony Plain, AB
Posts: 102
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
It's weird that that's such a tell for the Canadian accent. How does it get retained, I wonder. I could understand if it were limited to the Maratimes, but it seems to be countrywide.
The speech pattern which kind of grates on me is "...or no" rather than "...or not". I'd noticed it maybe 20 years ago in North America, but it seems to be creeping into British speech as well.
The speech pattern which kind of grates on me is "...or no" rather than "...or not". I'd noticed it maybe 20 years ago in North America, but it seems to be creeping into British speech as well.
#25
dah diddly dah
Joined: Jan 2015
Location: White Rock BC
Posts: 155
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
#27
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Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
#29
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Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
Yes indeed! Well said. https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/v...ifference.html
#30
Re: when your accent becomes a figure of speech
I try not to be an old duffer who moans about evolving language - of course language evolves, otherwise we'd still all be saying prithee and verily and spiffing and spazzo. But I have certainly raised an internal eyebrow at the speed of the almost univeral adoption of "Can I get...?" instead of "May I have...?"