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From: rte@elmo.lz.att.com (Ralph T. Edwards)
Subject: Re: Dutch and English accents
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Date: Mon, 12 Jun 1995 18:53:53 GMT
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In article <3rgfmn$958@cville-srv.wam.umd.edu>, peabody@wam.umd.edu (Corey
Alton Reid) wrote:

> Ralph T. Edwards (rte@elmo.lz.att.com) wrote:
 
> : Robert goes over the top, but it is fair to say that the language of US
> : television comes close to representing the speech of circa 220 million US
> : and Canadian speakers of English (with another 50 million or so speaking
> : accents more basically different). ...
> 
> Uh, Ralph...Canada has it's own standard as well.  It isn't based on RP 
> anymore, but it is somewhat separate from Standard American speech.  Not 
> a radical change, but a change nonetheless. (I have relatives whose 
> children speak in a native Canadian style, as well as being there twice, 
> and listening to CBC's "As It Happens".

Perhaps it's because I'm from Michigan, but I find the speech of Toronto
less different from my speech than that of Cincinnati.  I once conversed
with a guy from Toronto for 15 minutes before I realized he was Canadian. 
There are other areas where a Canadian accent is more obvious.  The
southern Ontario accent clearly has it's roots in upstate New York.  I see
your two visits and raise it by 15 or so, as well as having access to CBC
radio and television for years as a child.  My brother lives in Ottawa. 
My nieces were raised there.


> Don't forget Peter Jennings and 
> Morley Safer, who still "betray" their Canadian roots.

Barely.  How likely do you suppose it would be that a European could tell
a US citizen from an Anglophone Canadian?

-- 
R.T.Edwards rte@elmo.att.com 908 576-3031
