Do people in Toronto speak more like those in Buffalo or Los Angeles? (living, better)
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I've lived in Toronto over 20 years now and have never once met anyone who used said "eh". Only people stupid enough to believe American television/movie stereotypes of Canadians think we talk like that.
I used to live in Edmonton and a lot of folks said "eh" frequently. Along with people in BC and people in the prairie provinces. So maybe you've had a different experience in Toronto, but it is something you hear people say in Canada. Maybe it's dying out among younger people in Toronto being that it's a more international city.
I used to live in Edmonton and a lot of folks said "eh" frequently. Along with people in BC and people in the prairie provinces. So maybe you've had a different experience in Toronto, but it is something you hear people say in Canada. Maybe it's dying out among younger people in Toronto being that it's a more international city.
The word Eh, is regional.
I was born and raised in Toronto and I hear Eh being used among all age groups and races. I even say it myself sometimes. It's not used frequently, but to say you'll never hear it in Toronto is absurd.
As for "aboot", The closest I've heard is "Aboat" like this guy. Maybe "aboot" people exist, but I haven't ran in to one yet.
Southern Ontario people have a very different accent than those of western Canada. I live in Northwestern Ontario and pick out someone who is from Toronto in a second.
They definitly have the vowel shift thing. banaaaaaana. aaaaaaana etc.
Sounds nothing like LA to me, and not quite like Buffalo either. A Toronto accent is certainly Great Lakes, but it's not identical to any other city, IMO. I have spent lots of time in Toronto, and I have a couple of friends who are from there. They certainly have a distinguishable accent. The pronunciations of the long "O" in "progress," "process," "sorry" are dead giveaways. Even the TV personalities on HGTV have noticeable accents (though slightly watered down as they're on TV). Think of how Sandra Rinomato, Scott McGillivray, or Mike Holmes pronounce "house" as "hoase" for example. I cracked up on one episode of Income Properties when Scott said something about getting "shoat-oats" on the street (shout-outs).
I love the accent, perhaps because it's strangely similar in some ways to Tidewater Virginian (hoase, aboat, etc.)
If you're suggesting I've met people who say "eh", you're a liar.
Prove me wrong though. List some of these people who say "eh". I've never heard it. I've only heard it on American movies and t.v. shows. The idiot writers think Canadians talk like that, but I've never heard it in real life.
It's so funny cuz everyone I have met from Canada say it, as I have already said earlier my wife still says "eh" at the end of her sentences sometimes and at her family reunion in Seattle, It was a very common thing to hear.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SimplyEvan
People from Toronto speak with a Canadian accent, that has little similarity to Americans from the US Great Lakes region. And it has nothing to do with "exposure to American TV". It's just a Canadian accent.
Many people from Toronto barely seem to have a Canadian accent. Their accent could be from anywhere in the US, almost. Whereas I've heard stronger accents from people elsewhere in Canada. The accent of the Great Lakes sounds surprisingly 'regional' compared to Toronto.
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SimplyEvan
I've lived in Toronto over 20 years now and have never once met anyone who used said "eh". Only people stupid enough to believe American television/movie stereotypes of Canadians think we talk like that.
Maybe you need to move beyond your small circle...
Trimac, I feel like you should have a direct line to my phone whenever you're curious about these linguistic questions. I have a Master's degree in Linguistics with a special concentration in sociolinguistics and dialectology (the study of dialects), and have conducted several research projects on North American dialects. In fact, I did my undergraduate studies in Los Angeles and my graduate studies in Toronto, so I feel particularly qualified to answer this question.
The short answer: the accent of Toronto is definitely structurally more similar to the accent of Los Angeles than the accent of Buffalo. Toronto and LA both have the low-back merger (cot = caught) and lack Buffalo's dramatic Northern Cities Shift. In fact, Toronto and LA have both been undergoing their own vowel shifts (known as the "Canadian Shift" and "California Shift", respectively), which are remarkably similar. One result of these shifts is the lowering of the 'short A' vowel in words like 'trap.' As one poster noted, Torontoans have an unusually low vowel in the word 'banana.'
The most obvious difference is the lack of Canadian Raising in LA (whereby "about" sounds vaguely akin to "a boat"). Canadians also tend to have a much more retracted 'long O' vowel.
The 'long O' used by Canadians in words like progress, process, and sorry is not considered a difference in phonology but rather a pronunciation variant. Canadians are perfectly capable of producing the 'short O' used by Americans in these words, but their accent follows the model of British English in this case (with the exception of "sorry"). I have heard the 'long O' used in "sorry" and "tomorrow" by some Americans on the West Coast, but it is still a long way from being universal.
"Eh" is definitely used by some in Toronto, although it is more common in rural areas of Canada and is subject to several other sociolinguistic factors. I'll try to dig up a couple of layman papers on the subject if I can find them.
A lot of the young women talk like the "stereotypical" Valley girls here it seems.
Actually a lot of the young men do too.
I'm not that perceptive of many of the specifics of accents (unless it is really strong to be obvious to my ears) nor knowledgeable about linguistics but one thing that does seem very noticeable to me is the intonation of the speech.
Then again, a lot of young people (under 20-30 year olds) all across North America seem to have picked up features of "Valley girl talk".
But that's like totally not my style y'know!
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I have a Master's degree in Linguistics with a special concentration in sociolinguistics and dialectology (the study of dialects), and have conducted several research projects on North American dialects. In fact, I did my undergraduate studies in Los Angeles and my graduate studies in Toronto, so I feel particularly qualified to answer this question. 
