Oh, I agree... -- FCS Discussion Forum

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Subject: Oh, I agree...

Author:
Ed Harris (London)

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Date Posted: 00:19:42 01/27/05 Thu
In reply to: Andrew(Canada) 's message, "just because its that way..." on 23:50:21 01/26/05 Wed

I am the first to leap up and shout at people on the telly who say that Michael J Fox or Dan Ackroyd, for example, are American. I am also keen to point out to Brits that Chris Plummer or Mike Myers, whom they assume are just British, are in fact Canadian, as this reinforces the impression that we're not that different.

On the other hand, to continue with the idea of celebrities as examples, the most Canadian-sounding actor whom we know is John Lithgow, who is in fact from New York or somewhere equally ghastly. I think that he sounds more like Lloyd Grossman than Paul Martin, but so long as the majority are unable to get it right, you're going to have problems convincing the British public (although not me!) that Canadians are more like us than they are like Americans. As you say, one's accent is not a reliable indicator of character, but as a superficial way of judging people it is pretty much the easiest and most convincing.

Can you tell the difference between the accents of a Frenchman and a Luxembourger? Or a German and an Austrian? I can because I speak French and German, but most people - in Canada too - can not. Similarly, while the inability to distinguish Canadians from Americans may not be excusable, it is certainly understandable.

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Author: Andrew(Canada) [ Edit \| View ]	Date Posted: 00:24:45 01/27/05 Thu i agree with your statements, and I hope before the FC is started there is a programme to educate citizens of each country and disspell silly stereotypes. if they stereotypes are removed, I feel people in all four countries would be more receptive to the idea. [ Post a Reply to This Message ]