gam@amdahl.UUCP (G A Moffett) (01/06/86)
"How's it goin', eh?"
The speech of Bob and Doug MacKenzie (from "SCTV") has amused and
fascinated me for some time. I have even come to pronounce words like
"out" and "about" as they do (tho' not as severely).
But I have never learned exactly where this accent came from. It
was used in an "authentically Canadian" context, implying it was
distinctly Canadian, but I haven't yet learned the origin or
specific area this accent is found in. [To those who don't know,
the most noticeable feature of the accent is the pronunciation
of the vowel, as in "out", which is closer to "root" and "boot"
than "cow"].
I heard a fellow on the radio this evening from North Dakota
(hey, almost Canada, right?) and he had this accent, too, although
he seemed to be a long-time North Dakotan, not Canadian. Are there
other North Dakotans out there (perhaps at ndsuvax, the only Usenet-
registered site in North Dakota) who can tell me if this type
of accent is typical out there? And perhaps some Canadians
can provide me with some more info about this accent?
--
Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,cbosgd,hplabs}!amdahl!gam
I speed up to run over unicorns.john@cisden.UUCP (John Woolley) (01/07/86)
I've heard the "Canadian" vowel sound from "house" and "out" used by people from the Blue Ridge part of Virginia -- the narrator's voice on _The_Waltons_ was a good example. And I always had thought it was only the maritime provinces in Canada that used it, but I guess that's not so. Where are the MacKenzies from? -- Peace and Good!, Fr. John Woolley "The heart has its reasons that the mind does not know." -- Blaise Pascal
faunt@hplabs.UUCP (Doug Faunt) (01/07/86)
> > I heard a fellow on the radio this evening from North Dakota > (hey, almost Canada, right?) and he had this accent, too, although > he seemed to be a long-time North Dakotan, not Canadian. Are there > other North Dakotans out there (perhaps at ndsuvax, the only Usenet- > registered site in North Dakota) who can tell me if this type > of accent is typical out there? And perhaps some Canadians > can provide me with some more info about this accent? > -- The mythical state of North Dakota is a plot by the politicians of "South" Dakota to have twice as much representation in the US government, and get twice as much money, as most states. Someone who claims to be from North Dakota who talks like a Canadian is probably from Canada, just north Of "South" Dakota, and is in on the plot. You'll notice that there is no site that claims to be from "South" Dakota. Obviously it was decided that, for the purpose of maintaining their cover the one site in the entire state should claim to be from the mythical North Dakota. -- ....!hplabs!faunt faunt@hplabs.ARPA HP is not responsible for anything I say here. In fact, what I say here may have been generated by a noisy telephone line.
zonker@ihuxm.UUCP (Harris) (01/16/86)
> But I have never learned exactly where this accent came from. It > was used in an "authentically Canadian" context, implying it was > distinctly Canadian, but I haven't yet learned the origin or > specific area this accent is found in. Eh, hoser! I saw a National Geographic special about Polar Bears where all the locals spoke like Bob and Doug (down to and including using the word hoser, eh?). The real question about the hosehead in North Dakota is like whether or not he was imitating the Great White North or what. I mean like was his accent post or pre SCTV. Hey, like gimme a beer, Tom H.