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But it again re-enforces my point that it takes most British people a hint or a shove in the right direction to detect a Canadian by accent alone.
Oh yeah, and his accent is pretty typical of what you hear in Canadian commercial (basically everything except the CBC) entertainment and sports media. It is not exactly American but just a tad more American-sounding than what you hear on the streets in Canada.
I'm not an avid listener of the show but have listened from time to time over the years. You're probably right though, to hear a presenter mixing pop culture anecdotes with references to a home run hit by a New York Yankee in 1979 is probably not the best way to promote Canadian culture in the UK.
.
Or even send a barely perceptible subtle message that Canada actually exists!
Of course, he's probably just doing what the BBC asks him to do. The BBC probably doesn't think there is much interest in the UK for hockey (even if most pro teams are actually in the U.S.), Canadian (CFL) football, etc.
...But it again re-enforces my point that it takes most British people a hint or a shove in the right direction to detect a Canadian by accent alone.
I wouldn't lose any sleep over it - not even we Canadians can detect a Canadian (or an American) by accent alone.
Certain areas in both countries have distinctive regional accents, but many many Canadians and Americans have a homogenous 'North American' accent that does not indicate residence in either country.
Oh yeah, and his accent is pretty typical of what you hear in Canadian commercial (basically everything except the CBC) entertainment and sports media. It is not exactly American but just a tad more American-sounding than what you hear on the streets in Canada.
The Canadian accent in commercials sound different from the accents spoken on the street?
This conversation reminds me of the first time I ever heard Quebec French spoken by these three excitable, tipsy girls whilst at a party in France (I speak European French) - I heard these long vowel sounds which instantly made me think of an American accent, so listened in a bit and was quite impressed that a group of American girls spoke French that fluently, but then if they spoke it so quickly then why were they absolutely murdering the accent and using these words I'd never heard, and if they were American then why were they talking to each other in French anyway when surely it would be easier to just speak English? Honestly, I was THIS close to asking them the last question and making an arse out of myself when I realised what it was
This conversation reminds me of the first time I ever heard Quebec French spoken by these three excitable, tipsy girls whilst at a party in France (I speak European French) - I heard these long vowel sounds which instantly made me think of an American accent, so listened in a bit and was quite impressed that a group of American girls spoke French that fluently, but then if they spoke it so quickly then why were they absolutely murdering the accent and using these words I'd never heard, and if they were American then why were they talking to each other in French anyway when surely it would be easier to just speak English? Honestly, I was THIS close to asking them the last question and making an arse out of myself when I realised what it was
Funny, I've heard the Quebec/French Canadian accent all my life and I never thought about it potentially sounding "American" to someone. But on thinking about it, I guess it could. Interesting observation.
Just for fun, I noticed two words in your post:
whilst: no native English speaker born in Canada would ever say "whilst" these days; it is always "while" like in the U.S.; I know Aussies and Kiwis tend to say "whilst".
arse: not used in the U.S. but still somewhat used in Canada, interchangeably (though perhaps a tad less common) with "ass".
Good post, Brodie734, with excellent insights. It has never been easy for Canadians to exist alongside such noisy, brash neighbors as we backward Yanks, but for the most part they've done a great job of it.
That said, I think for the most part we have a closer affinity to Aussies, and I think they in turn are more comfortable with our way of life than that of fellow members of their commonwealth.
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(Though I am not a native English-speaking Canadian...)
