An Canadian In The U.S.A ...

Are you really a transplanted Canadian?

I am...moved from Vancouver to North Carolina so my wife could be close to her family.

Being from the west coast, there are a lot of weird things here that have slowly become "normal" to me over the past two years...

* brick houses (some are even looking attractive to me now, rather than the Auschwitz chimney blocks I saw when I got here)

* offices that look like homes but aren't (no way would any real business operate out of anything that looks like a house in Vancouver--no credibility at all)

* pulled pork

* Spanish on everything as a second language rather than French

* an ocean with actual waves...

There are more, but I'll stop now.

I do find "Y'all" acceptable now. Would have raised an eyebrow before. But we don't say "Aboot" on the west coast...so I'm not feeling that one.

I do say "PA-sta" rather than "Pah-stah", and "CalifoNIA" rather than "CaliFORnia". Amuses my sisters-in-law to no end. I often tell them I'm off to get "PAsta from CalifoNIA".

kaniganj,

You and the other person(Thomas Rogers) have a pretty good comparison of Canada vs. the US, and how people perceive them. I WOULD mention TWO things.

1. The reason why so many stars change their accents to midwestern ones has a LOT of potential reasons:
a. Better international understanding.
b. Better competition.
c. More uniformity in the films.
d. Possibly because the film capital, in california, is in an area where that is the standard.

It is certainly NOT because anyone insists, has a distaste for it, etc.... And it has affected Americans as much as anyone else! Look at John Hillerman! If he were bigger, and looked more rugged, he would likely sound VERY different, and be in different parts! How do I know? Because he didn't ALWAYS sound kind of british! OH, he had an accent. Apparently he had a STRONG one! He didn't get any work because he didn't fit the parts. He was from TEXAS!

He changed to fit a niche, and started getting work.

Anyway, I credit film, tv, and their affect on radio, so radio also, with the fact that accents have almost vanished in the US, at least among those born here and so willing. HECK, TL might not even have a new jersey accent!

And homes, until very recently at least, are perceived the SAME way here as businesses! Generally it hasn't been a good idea.

Steve

Two silly Americans in Canada...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=0pRjqcbKCjc

One of my all time favorite clips.

Love that ending.

Gene Kelly was a master of his craft.