LL-L: "Language varieties" LOWLANDS-L, 04.MAY.2000 (05) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 04.MAY.2000 (05) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: Edwin Michael Alexander [edsells at idirect.com]
Subject: LL-L: "Language varieties" LOWLANDS-L, 04.MAY.2000 (02) [E]

At 07:42 AM 05/04/00 -0700, Elsie wrote:
>I have no knowledge of Canadian speech varieties or accents but I have
>to agree that I have heard 'about' pronounced as "abowt" (Ed Alexander's)
>or  "aboat" (John Feather's) and directly from a Canadian horse's mouth,
>so to speak.

Yes, generally one hears the more General American "abowt" in Canada, as
one does all around North America.  However, on the factory floor or in the
rural village, the "aboat" is much more prevalent here.

It is interesting to watch "This Old House" on the TV, for the rest of you
who live in North American, and listen for the varying degrees of New
England speech pattern of the various participants, from the host, Bob
Vila, whose accent is much less noticiable, to those of the various
tradesmen whom he engages in conversation, where the accent is much more
pronounced.  In some past shows, Bob would visit the factory of a supplier
of some building product, so it was even more interesting to see where his
accent differed from the factory owner in, say, Georgia.

The vast majority of TV in North America does not reflect local accent,
tending rather, in my opinion, towards a more general speech
pattern.  Another great exception is the Grand Ole Opry out of Nashville,
where you can sort of get a sense just about how far up in the hills the
performer came from.

I don't know if my observations of regional accents represent a decline in
ancient distinctions as the population becomes more mobile and educated or
that these original substrata accents will endure, including the "Canadian".

Ed Alexander
JAG REALTY INC.
80 Jones Street Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8R 1Y1
Pager: 905-545-0177  Fax: 905-525-6671 Email: edsells at idirect.com
Jag Realty Inc.: http://www.deerhurst.com/jag/
Ontario Ultra Series:  http://ous.kw.net/
Burlington Runners Club: http://www.deerhurst.com/brc/

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