French Acadian Accent
This speech stems from the influence of Acadian settlers residing in French communities throughout Cape Breton, resulting in many loanwords.
Some characteristics:
- Voiced th, as in "that", is usually replaced by a d sound, and voiceless th, as in "thin," is usually replaced by a t sound. For example, "three" can be pronounced as tree and "that" as dat. This can be seen in the stereotypical phrase "Dis, dat and de udder ting" (This, that and the other thing).
In other areas this also is the result of Gaelic influences where the sound "th" does not exist in the language and in some communities there is a notable mixture of both the Gaelic and French Acadian accents, particularly in the Richmond County area.
Read more about this topic: Cape Breton Accent
Famous quotes containing the words french and/or accent:
“But as some silly young men returning from France affect a broken English, to be thought perfect in the French language; so his Lordship, I think, to seem a perfect understander of the unintelligible language of the Schoolmen, pretends an ignorance of his mother-tongue. He talks here of command and counsel as if he were no Englishman, nor knew any difference between their significations.”
—Thomas Hobbes (1579–1688)
“I had many problems in my conduct of the office being contrasted with President Kennedy’s conduct in the office, with my manner of dealing with things and his manner, with my accent and his accent, with my background and his background. He was a great public hero, and anything I did that someone didn’t approve of, they would always feel that President Kennedy wouldn’t have done that.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)