"Prahcess" vs. "Prohcess" (Process, Project, and similar words) (commercials, pronounced)
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Location: Temporarily in Niagara Falls, Ont. Canada
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I always find this interesting, so it's nice to see others also notice these things.
I was born and raised in southern Ontario (suburb of Toronto). I've lived in BC (Lower Mainland and Kelowna) and found the speech patterns fairly similar. Although I have to admit, I wasn't paying attention to pronunciations as much back then, but when I watch local BC news or listen to the radio, youtube videos, etc, it still sounds fairly close to what I grew up with in southern Ontario. But, people who are born and raised in BC (NOT the transplants) tend to have a slightly different accent. I can usually detect it, but I can't tell you what the differences are. Hard to say.
When I went to elementary school, starting in 1978, it seems we learned "Proh-cess", "proh-ject", "gar-ah-zhge" (soft G), and of course, the famous "aboot" (more like "a-boat" though).
A few years ago, I worked in a call centre that took calls for an American company. Quite often, people would ask me if I'm Canadian. Not that I'm ashamed of it, but it got rather old and annoying to go through that so often. So, after about two weeks, I started listening to people from the American mid-west and west coast. I used to think they spoke like Canadians, but then noticed the differences. I started to practice speaking like them. Now I sound like I'm from nowhere in particular. It's definitely North American, but it doesn't sound overly Canadian or American.
Even after all these years, after having left my job at the American call center, I still say "about" the American way, with the "ou" pronounced like "owww!" as if you just stubbed your toe, like "ab-owww-t". Until then, I honestly could not tell the difference, but every American sure could! It took a little while, but it comes totally naturally to me now. In fact, I never say "about" the Canadian way anymore, and can always pick it out now when I hear others speaking. Now, I always say "prah-ject", "prah-cess" and if I'm talking to an American, I'll usually drift into overpronouncing the "ah" sounds in "on" so it's more like "ahn" so for example "Is thyaht your favorite hah-bee?" "Turn the lights ahn" etc. (really sounds like I'm from Chicago or somewhere in Wisconsin, aka "Wis-can-sun", lol or even upstate New York or Michigan). And I'll also start saying zee instead of zed. But for some reason, I don't do this with Canadians. I'll even use "huh" a bit more, but rarely (even with Canadians) do I say "eh".
I've also lived in Montreal and area for about 10 years. After hanging around many anglophone Montrealers, the dialect depends on the neighbourhood. Some were more distinctive than others, but overall, most people said "phrah-cess" and "prah-ject" and even "about" more like the American way. I lived in the Montreal area twice. The first time, people would ask me if I was from Ontario once they heard me speak. The second time I lived there, after having worked at the American call centre, nobody asked me if I was from Ontario. Seems more English-speaking Montrealers follow the US style of speaking.
The only exception was some older people, who said "proh-cess" and "proh-ject" etc. But even that was random. I'd hear native Montrealers of the same age using both pronounciations. But definitely the younger generation is more uniform with the US style, mixed in with their own distintive way, including using French words like "autoroute, guichet" or "pass by your place today", "close the lights" "get that estimated" "the car was accidented" "get the reparations done" "sit on the terr-@ss" (not tear-iss, for "terrace" but more like "terrasse" from French).
And yes, I made sure to learn French, and speak it with as good a Quebecois accent as possible. The neutral, or Parissienne French (along with a heavy English accent) is a dead giveaway you learned French in an Ontario high school and everyone just speaks back to you in English, even if they're French and you spoke to them in French. I can also pull off a really good immitation of a French-Canadian accent in English, and NO, it does not sound anything like someone from France speaking English.
Interestingly, I went to a conference in New York City a few years ago with a friend from Ottawa. He sounds totally Canadian with "proh-cess" "proh-ject" "aboat" (not aboot)!, and of course, a few eh's. After a couple of minutes, an American in the group, asked if I was Canadian or American, since I said I'm from Canada, and came with another Canadian, but sound American. Whereas my friend, apparently, sounded totally Canadian!
I'm originally from Toronto, but I've been in the States for years and get ribbed for the accent.
Pro-cess as a noun and verb. Pro-ject as a noun but pruh-ject as a verb.
Dat-uh more often than day-tuh.
She is my ahnt, not my ant or my awnt.
It's pass-tuh.
Garage has a soft g like in "measure."
Kill-a-metre, just like sent-a-metre. The accent is on the second syllable for measuring devices such as thermometer and barometer.
My family in Toronto swears I sound American, and the people here all insist I have a "heavy" Canadian accent.
"About" is a diphthong that Americans try to imitate and just don't get. It's somewhere between uh and oo. It's not oo and not oh! Most Americans use something between ah and oo. People I work with pick up on my about. "Oooh, get him to say aboot." Uh, no.
They also notice that I pronounce both the n and the t in a word with nt in the middle. For example, I say centre rather than senner, mental rather than mennal. And they say I'm the one with the accent!
Anyone familiar with the "T-Mobile Girl?" She's from Canada and had to learn to pronounce "mobile" the American way! BTW, the Alabama port city is pronounced differently.
In Canada, is the military rank "Lou-tenant" or "Lef-tenant"?
I wonder if the actors on Flashpoint "Americanize" some of their pronunciations?
Anyone familiar with the "T-Mobile Girl?" She's from Canada and had to learn to pronounce "mobile" the American way! BTW, the Alabama port city is pronounced differently.
In Canada, is the military rank "Lou-tenant" or "Lef-tenant"?
I wonder if the actors on Flashpoint "Americanize" some of their pronunciations?
well how is mobile pronounced (MO-BILE or MO-bil) ? And I believe its Lou-tenant here
Anyone familiar with the "T-Mobile Girl?" She's from Canada and had to learn to pronounce "mobile" the American way! BTW, the Alabama port city is pronounced differently.
In Canada, is the military rank "Lou-tenant" or "Lef-tenant"?
I wonder if the actors on Flashpoint "Americanize" some of their pronunciations?
Canadians are often all over the map with pronounciations but I am pretty sure most people say MO-BEIL as opposed to MO-BILL.
Also, you are *supposed* to say LEF-TENANT in Canada and pretty much everyone in the Canadian military says it this way. But most Canadians who do not have a military presence in their family would say LOO-TENANT.
Mobull is how its said here too...is there another option you have heard?
This sentence is from Wikipedia's information about Carly Foulkes - the "T-Mobile Girl":
After struggling for several years as an aspiring model/actress, Foulkes became the T-Mobile 4G spokesperson in fall 2010 despite—because of her Canadian background—pronouncing "mobile" as rhyming with "smile" during the audition.
On the other hand, her parents are British, so maybe she got the pronunciation from them.
This sentence is from Wikipedia's information about Carly Foulkes - the "T-Mobile Girl":
After struggling for several years as an aspiring model/actress, Foulkes became the T-Mobile 4G spokesperson in fall 2010 despite—because of her Canadian background—pronouncing "mobile" as rhyming with "smile" during the audition.
On the other hand, her parents are British, so maybe she got the pronunciation from them.
that sounds strange to me...ive never heard a Canadian say look at that MoBILE home or she is on her mo-bile phone...but maybe where she is from, thats common..who knows
I am from Ontario, and I would have thought it was pronounced "mo-bile" just like Foulkes if I hadn't heard the commercials for it.
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