There's this ongoing debate as to whether there really is such thing as a "Western Canadian" accent. Newfoundlanders and Quebecois are obviously special -- *twitch* -- but I always thought Vancouver folk were like Midwesterners and accent-free. JP insists that we clip our speech. I think it's just that he's usually not facing in the right direction for optimal speech reception.
I also think, however, that our distinctiveness comes from diction, and not accents. For example, I had a moment a few days ago where I saw a woman with a baby and desperately wanted to say "that's a cute stroller," but all that would come out was "that's a cute pram." I still say "jolly good" occasionally. And I just realised that my e-mail signature line has "mobile" instead of "cell".
Then again, maybe it's not us...maybe it's just me.
I also think, however, that our distinctiveness comes from diction, and not accents. For example, I had a moment a few days ago where I saw a woman with a baby and desperately wanted to say "that's a cute stroller," but all that would come out was "that's a cute pram." I still say "jolly good" occasionally. And I just realised that my e-mail signature line has "mobile" instead of "cell".
Then again, maybe it's not us...maybe it's just me.
