Have you still got the Accent?

[Harleyman]

That's partly true, Texas. Some people lose their accent intentionally. Some accents are more difficult than others to lose though. I've not met too many folk from Glasgow who have lost their accent. It's so ingrained and you can spot it a mile away. I also think that with some folk losing an accent is at least part unintentional, the ear picking up the sound and tuning the voice accordingly. In my case, like you say, I had to drop the thees and thous or people would have thought I was from a different century. Beyond that, the sharp edges wore off effortlessly.

 

I think the Amish in Pennsylavania still use the thee and thou don't they?

 

On a previous mention of Quebec I once came across a character named Angus MacFarlane who was from up north in the Gaspe area. He could only speak French. Didn't know a word of English.

 

I've noticed that there is a difference in accents between English speaking Canadians from the eastern provinces and those from British Columbia. It's very slight but it's there.

[StJohn]

It can be said of the British too. They think all Americans sound the same. It's taken me a few years of living here in the States but now I pick up on the State differences, I live in Ohio and can tell a person who is from Kentucky only 15 miles away.

 

So sometimes I give the yanks a bit of leyway unless they ask if I'm from London then they recieve a swift lesson in geography

[Harleyman]

My wife is originally from Georgia (USA that is)) and although she's been in California for over forty years she still has a bit of that southern twang.

 

We sometimes kid each other about our accents. She likes to say that I still speak like a bloody limey and I tell her that she's beginning to sound more and more like a damn Yankee every day which really sets her off lol

[Texas]

Hey Harleyman, your mention of the Amish really sets me off. I heard them once on a visit to Pennsylvania. Any Sheffielder could've given them lessons, it was like listening to Compo in 'Last of the Summer Wine. They got it all wrong, they said things like 'thee doesn't' and 'thee does.' Regarding accents though, my grandma came from the Cheshire/Staffordshire border and when we were in Sheffield she spoke normally (like a Sheffielder). When we moved to Cheshire just after the blitz(WW2), she really turned it on. 'Conna',for Can't you', 'Dust?' for Do you? 'Wit'? for Will you? And my favorit, 'Weeter' for water. I loved it. It's an accent that doesn't get a lot of press. But speaking of the french Canadian accent(notice the small 'f ') always makes me wonder how a french Canadian would get on talking to a real 'Cajun' speaker.

[Harleyman]

Hey Harleyman, your mention of the Amish really sets me off. I heard them once on a visit to Pennsylvania. Any Sheffielder could've given them lessons, it was like listening to Compo in 'Last of the Summer Wine. They got it all wrong, they said things like 'thee doesn't' and 'thee does.' Regarding accents though, my grandma came from the Cheshire/Staffordshire border and when we were in Sheffield she spoke normally (like a Sheffielder). When we moved to Cheshire just after the blitz(WW2), she really turned it on. 'Conna',for Can't you', 'Dust?' for Do you? 'Wit'? for Will you? And my favorit, 'Weeter' for water. I loved it. It's an accent that doesn't get a lot of press. But speaking of the french Canadian accent(notice the small 'f ') always makes me wonder how a french Canadian would get on talking to a real 'Cajun' speaker.

 

They cant get their "thees" right Texas cos they're all of German descent and of course they managed to screw up their adopted Olde English accordingly

 

I took some French classes in Montreal to try and learn some of the lingo. The teacher was from France so we learned his French but it didn't do me any good because I still couldn't understand a word of the Canadian French.

It's sort of guttural sounding but I wasnt completely lost because every fourth or fifth word they used was English

 

I found that if you tried to speak French to them they'd answer in English anyway.

[soft ayperth]

They cant get their "thees" right Texas cos they're all of German descent and of course they managed to screw up their adopted Olde English accordingly

 

I took some French classes in Montreal to try and learn some of the lingo. The teacher was from France so we learned his French but it didn't do me any good because I still couldn't understand a word of the Canadian French.

It's sort of guttural sounding but I wasnt completely lost because every fourth or fifth word they used was English

 

I found that if you tried to speak French to them they'd answer in English anyway.

 

Several of my friends are French Canadians. They have difficulty being understood in France. As part of its bilingual upgrade program the Public Service commission here offer courses in conversational French. But, it's the Quebecois variety that is taught. I took several courses but unless you use it, you lose it and that's what's happened. Btw., French is not only spoken in Quebec. New Brunswick is a bilingual province with a high proportion of francophones, as are parts of Ontario (Ottawa region, parts of northern Ont) and Manitoba. Even in PEI we have a very small French (Acadien) speaking enclave living toward the western end of the island.

[Texas]

Many times, in the U.S., I've gone into a store, made my purchase,and the girl assistant has said 'Oh', I love your accent'. I mean give me a break, I've not lived in Sheffield or the North for nearly 50 years, but my accent is still as strong. It's in the vowels I guess.

Speaking of U.S.accents, apart from the obvious North and South differences, I think the Eastern seaboard accent is quite distinctive too. I mean the basic Maine/Massachusetts way of speaking. Remember the guy who played the mailman in 'Cheers', he'd got it down to a 'T'.

[Harleyman]

Many times, in the U.S., I've gone into a store, made my purchase,and the girl assistant has said 'Oh', I love your accent'. I mean give me a break, I've not lived in Sheffield or the North for nearly 50 years, but my accent is still as strong. It's in the vowels I guess.

Speaking of U.S.accents, apart from the obvious North and South differences, I think the Eastern seaboard accent is quite distinctive too. I mean the basic Maine/Massachusetts way of speaking. Remember the guy who played the mailman in 'Cheers', he'd got it down to a 'T'.

 

I've still got my Yorkshire accent after 43 years Texas. I never tried to lose it anyway.

 

Dont much fancy the Eastern seaboard accent but I love the way the southern girls talk. Still do, listening to my wife after being together 37 years

[Harleyman]

Several of my friends are French Canadians. They have difficulty being understood in France. As part of its bilingual upgrade program the Public Service commission here offer courses in conversational French. But, it's the Quebecois variety that is taught. I took several courses but unless you use it, you lose it and that's what's happened. Btw., French is not only spoken in Quebec. New Brunswick is a bilingual province with a high proportion of francophones, as are parts of Ontario (Ottawa region, parts of northern Ont) and Manitoba. Even in PEI we have a very small French (Acadien) speaking enclave living toward the western end of the island.

 

When I arrived in Montreal in 1965 I worked as a carpenter for a construction company. The foreman's name was Joe Robitaille. New Brunswicker and fluently bi-lingual. Later on after I had been studyinG French for a few weeks I spoke to him one morning in my amateur French.

He gave me a big grin and said

"Dont practice your French on me. Let's just speak English so you'll know what I need you to work on today. Get yourself a nice French speaking girl to practice on. You'll have a lot more fun too"

 

Very funny I thought at the time and still do after all these years

[soft ayperth]

When I arrived in Montreal in 1965 I worked as a carpenter for a construction company. The foreman's name was Joe Robitaille. New Brunswicker and fluently bi-lingual. Later on after I had been studyinG French for a few weeks I spoke to him one morning in my amateur French.

He gave me a big grin and said

"Dont practice your French on me. Let's just speak English so you'll know what I need you to work on today. Get yourself a nice French speaking girl to practice on. You'll have a lot more fun too"

 

Very funny I thought at the time and still do after all these years

 

Hope you took his advice, Harleyman. When I started studying French,a colleague at work asked me, "Why don't you take a French mistress?" My wife wouldn't go along with it.