I have tried to do those memes a million times. But I am generally totally useless at them. I did a university phonetics course. And they teach you to pay way more attention to nuances. I have no idea if what I see as 'different' is the same as for what most people thing. Something that's a tiny difference to me, might sound exactly the same to other people; Something that's very different might sound just a little different.
... when i was in Belfast I usually got labeled Canadian. I suppose because I sound kind of American, but not quite, so it's gotta be Canadian. After all there is no way a non-native speaker might master the language.
apparently I'm from NYC this time around. uh. I usually get mid-west. though I personally don't think I don't sound anything like that. Probably because I'm overanalyzing a lot when I pay attention to my pronunciation. And then there's some mixed pronunciation because well, non-native speaker and my pronunciation is pieced together from TV. With a bit of what they used to teach me in school. (Pretty much all my teachers insisted on RP; they didn't force me to do it, but they didn't exactly encourage anything else. They pointed out the basics at some point and that was it).
RP= Recieved Pronunciation="Oxford English"=what prim and proper British people on TV speak. Reality is changing these days, though.
and re: my most recent comment. That's not to say that some people just don't have the nack for it. That's okay. But for the most part it's the schools that are at fault. Because at least mastering the basics is easy. Nobody needs to be able to speak another language like a native speaker. (unless they spent like 20 years in that country. That I don't get at all - after all all you need to do is listen and parrot). But everybody can learn to speak another language. They just need somebody to teach them right. The level I am on, that comes from passion. And necessity - after all, I want to be able to communicate with you properly.
Which doesn't surprise me, because it seems like the 'Canadian' accent is more the 'Central Canadian' one. It's awfully cruel to lump a Newfoundland accent and an Alberta drawl all in with everything else and call it simply 'Canadian.' We're far more diverse than that.
Yeah, what I don't get is this: You are able to recognize that different parts of your country are different. Yet everybody else gets put into the same small box? Dude, Europe as somewhere between 3 and 4 times the population of the US. Would you say all New Yorkers are the same?
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I did a university phonetics course. And they teach you to pay way more attention to nuances. I have no idea if what I see as 'different' is the same as for what most people thing. Something that's a tiny difference to me, might sound exactly the same to other people; Something that's very different might sound just a little different.
... when i was in Belfast I usually got labeled Canadian. I suppose because I sound kind of American, but not quite, so it's gotta be Canadian. After all there is no way a non-native speaker might master the language.
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uh. I usually get mid-west. though I personally don't think I don't sound anything like that. Probably because I'm overanalyzing a lot when I pay attention to my pronunciation. And then there's some mixed pronunciation because well, non-native speaker and my pronunciation is pieced together from TV. With a bit of what they used to teach me in school. (Pretty much all my teachers insisted on RP; they didn't force me to do it, but they didn't exactly encourage anything else. They pointed out the basics at some point and that was it).
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And if it makes you feel better most America's English is pieced together from T.V. too. :)
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and re: my most recent comment.
That's not to say that some people just don't have the nack for it.
That's okay.
But for the most part it's the schools that are at fault. Because at least mastering the basics is easy. Nobody needs to be able to speak another language like a native speaker. (unless they spent like 20 years in that country. That I don't get at all - after all all you need to do is listen and parrot).
But everybody can learn to speak another language. They just need somebody to teach them right.
The level I am on, that comes from passion. And necessity - after all, I want to be able to communicate with you properly.
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Which doesn't surprise me, because it seems like the 'Canadian' accent is more the 'Central Canadian' one. It's awfully cruel to lump a Newfoundland accent and an Alberta drawl all in with everything else and call it simply 'Canadian.' We're far more diverse than that.
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Dude, Europe as somewhere between 3 and 4 times the population of the US.
Would you say all New Yorkers are the same?
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