Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada - Page 32

SignalHillHiker · #**621** Posted **Jul 18, 2014, 6:43 PM**

And among the intellectual class, "Are you actually being serious right now, like, for real?"

kwoldtimer · #**622** Posted **Jul 18, 2014, 6:46 PM**

Or more atmospherically, "Hold your horses there, bucko!"

204 · #**623** Posted **Jul 18, 2014, 10:55 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

retirement to BC is unheard of

Wonder why this association exists then?

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/Ass...50871825049357

Good document here with some insight (En Français):

http://www.bmo.com/pdf/mf/prospectus...0Report_Fr.pdf

vanatox · #**624** Posted **Jul 18, 2014, 11:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by 204

Wonder why this association exists then?

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/pages/Ass...50871825049357

Good document here with some insight (En Français):

http://www.bmo.com/pdf/mf/prospectus...0Report_Fr.pdf

The Facebook page is liked by 24 people...which I guess is not surprising since the number of old people with a Facebook account is quite low. But anyway, you can't conclude anything from that. And there are francophones living everywhere in Canada.

The other document from BMO is interesting since it really highlight the fact that Québec is by far the province with the largest proportion of people that plan to leave Canada (10% the US, 8% another country, Florida being the major destination). In another question, there was however about 5 % that says that they would like to go to BC. But in that question they could choose only among the provinces in Canada, not the US or elsewhere.

SignalHillHiker · #**625** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:18 PM**

Stopped on Signal Hill tonight and heard a French family say some sort of sentence that included "la bas, la" AND the second "la" was WAY closer to "luh" than it was to the first "la".

Also, I didn't even approach them, they stopped me at the top of the hill and asked if the trail went all the way down. They had little kids so I said it did, and it's safe, there's stairs, etc., but it's VERY steep. So they decided to try it.

GlassCity · #**626** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Stopped on Signal Hill tonight and heard a French family say some sort of sentence that included "la bas, la" AND the second "la" was WAY closer to "luh" than it was to the first "la".

Also, I didn't even approach them, they stopped me at the top of the hill and asked if the trail went all the way down. They had little kids so I said it did, and it's safe, there's stairs, etc., but it's VERY steep. So they decided to try it.

No way, I was at Signall Hill just now and I even know what French family you're talking about!

SignalHillHiker · #**627** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:38 PM**

Are you really there? Come party with us tonight!

It's FRISK at Velvet!

But I'm guessing you're not. lol

GlassCity · #**628** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:43 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Are you really there? Come party with us tonight!

It's FRISK at Velvet!

But I'm guessing you're not. lol

Yeah, I'm here for the rugby tournament! I don't think coach would be very happy if I went out tonight, we already took a big risk hitting up George Street on our night off Thursday

SignalHillHiker · #**629** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:45 PM**

Oh, so cool!

I hope you enjoy yourself. It's a village compared to Vancouver but it's mine.

Were ye the crowd in the big yellow bus?

GlassCity · #**630** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Oh, so cool!

I hope you enjoy yourself. It's a village compared to Vancouver but it's mine.

Were ye the crowd in the big yellow bus?

Yes we were! I definitely enjoyed it. It was super cool to see all the colourful rowhouses and the skyline, and even the Rooms!

And the people are awesome; everybody wanted to chat. Even the fact that you don't have beaches was interesting. I love how the land just ends, I've never seen that before. I see where "The Rock" comes from now.

SignalHillHiker · #**631** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:55 PM**

"the land just ends", I love that. It sure does. Want to be creeped out: the steepness with which it dives into the ocean, it continues that steep down below the surface. The sea gets deep that fast. You only need to swim out a few feet and it's deep enough to sink a ship in these areas.

There are some beaches, pebble beaches. Have you seen beach rocks before, those round, smooth stones... range in size from a person's head to, say, a pack of cigarette? We have one of those near the city at Middle Cove. But for soft, sandy beaches, you need to go WAY north of St. John's to Lumsden. Or even further southwest to the other side of the island, at Burgeo.

GlassCity · #**632** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 9:59 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

"the land just ends", I love that. It sure does. Want to be creeped out: the steepness with which it dives into the ocean, it continues that steep down below the surface. The sea gets deep that fast. You only need to swim out a few feet and it's deep enough to sink a ship in these areas.

There are some beaches, pebble beaches. Have you seen beach rocks before, those round, smooth stones... range in size from a person's head to, say, a pack of cigarette? We have one of those near the city at Middle Cove. But for soft, sandy beaches, you need to go WAY north of St. John's to Lumsden. Or even further southwest to the other side of the island, at Burgeo.

The only beach rocks I can remember seeing were the chocolate ones in the Cabot Tower gift shop as I was scarfing down chewy bars

SignalHillHiker · #**633** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:04 PM**

That's so crazy. I saw your bus.

I was half tempted to follow it and hit on everyone, you would've been horrified if I recognized you.

Also, that was one of my shocks about Vancouver and also the Maritimes. You can see the tides. We have it here too in some rural areas... but in St. John's... it's just slightly lower on the cliffs, not a visible difference like elsewhere where you gain these vast expanses of extra land suddenly out of the water.

GlassCity · #**634** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:09 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

That's so crazy. I saw your bus.

I was half tempted to follow it and hit on everyone, you would've been horrified if I recognized you.

I saw a bald guy at the gift shop and almost asked him if he posts on SSP just in case it was you

SignalHillHiker · #**635** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlassCity

I saw a bald guy at the gift shop and almost asked him if he posts on SSP just in case it was you

No Eastern European genes here, GlassCity. We're all bald.

This is what I was wearing up there in case you did see me: http://i62.tinypic.com/k391cm.jpg

Did your bus have the "What is that? Is that a castle? Some military thing?" conversation? You know how New Yorkers complain about tourists walking too slow, stopping on the sidewalks... in St. John's, our version of that is laughing at tourists imagining all these grand uses of Cabot Tower.

Yep. Gift shop. lol

GlassCity · #**636** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:32 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

No Eastern European genes here, GlassCity. We're all bald.

This is what I was wearing up there in case you did see me: http://i62.tinypic.com/k391cm.jpg

Did your bus have the "What is that? Is that a castle? Some military thing?" conversation? You know how New Yorkers complain about tourists walking too slow, stopping on the sidewalks... in St. John's, our version of that is laughing at tourists imagining all these grand uses of Cabot Tower.

Yep. Gift shop. lol

No, that outfit doesn't look familiar.

No, it wasn't really brought up. I assumed it was a lookout tower for attackers or something like that. I think the thing that interested the team the most overall was how empty the horizon is. What I mean is that here when you look out at the ocean all you can see is water, for forever. Back home there's all the islands so being in St. John's feels a lot more coastal than Vancouver does.

SignalHillHiker · #**637** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:38 PM**

Yeah, nothing until Dingle, Ireland. If you take a boat tour of the city, they always tell the tourists you can see Ireland on a clear day. And they're all looking and squinting. lol

You're closer to Rome, Italy, right now than you are to your home. ;-)

They also use the National War Memorial as a reason to bring up Newfoundland's history, but they phrase it, "And then, in 1949, Canada joined Newfoundland in Confederation."

GlassCity · #**638** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:48 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

Yeah, nothing until Dingle, Ireland. If you take a boat tour of the city, they always tell the tourists you can see Ireland on a clear day. And they're all looking and squinting. lol

You're closer to Rome, Italy, right now than you are to your home. ;-)

They also use the National War Memorial as a reason to bring up Newfoundland's history, but they phrase it, "And then, in 1949, Canada joined Newfoundland in Confederation."

Sounds like you guys really love to screw with the tourists!

SignalHillHiker · #**639** Posted **Jul 19, 2014, 10:50 PM**

They love it. You have to remember trendy tourism is new for us.

Our tourism industry is designed for middle-aged couples from the mainland and Europe who laugh at Jay Leno.

EDIT: I still can't believe how small the world is. I can sign onto a forum, post an anecdote about the speaking pattern of a French family visiting St. John's, and someone from Vancouver, B.C., can chime in, "Yep, saw them too."

WTF? Seriously? We live in cool times.

Docere · #**640** Posted **Jul 28, 2014, 6:31 AM**

Fascinating thread! Here are some Ontario accents I've noticed.

Randy Hillier - MPP for Lanark County - I'm guessing this is Eastern Ontario farmer speak:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q81viI_IPxg

Central Ontario and the North seem to have the stereotypical "hoser" accent, such as Kate Beirness on TSN:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVmANYchXk4

Incidentally the Fords seem to have it as well which isn't very common in Toronto.

Closer to the US border there seems to be a more generic American-sounding accent, which may have developed more recently. Tim Hudak is a good example.

The Listowell accent we saw earlier I suppose is SW Ontario "farmer speak" - sounds about more "midwestern" (though very different from the Great Lakes cities accent of Chicago, Detroit, Buffalo etc.)