“The Builders” is my favorite, just edging out “The Germans.” Mostly because David Kelly (as O’Reilly) is such a delight.
Most North Americans can’t tell the difference either. He certainly had me fooled.
In my experience, the “Oh, eh?” Canadians hail from the extreme northeast. (I’ve actually known a couple.) But I haven’t seen that much of the country yet, so I suspect someone will correct me on this.
Farther to the west, I’ve so far failed to hear any distinction between native Canadian and Midwestern US English.
The story is (and I don’t know if it’s true) he felt that way because it got the least laughter from the audience. Supposedly representatives from Icelandic TV were in the front row and didn’t find it funny.
Oh well never saw it. But I did see an episode of Frank’s Place that borrowed heavily from this Fawlty Towers episode and it was also hilarious. So I guess surprise wasn’t that important.
I think I’ve only seen that once. It was fine but a let down after Wanda. When I saw him speak recently after a screening of Grail he let everyone know that he can’t understand why Americans like it so much. He then talked down several classic scenes and stated they were not funny. He does seem to still be very fond of Fawlty Towers.
Agree with the OP. The Anniversary is not my favorite by a long chalk. While “The Germans” makes me cringe in places, there’s one part that sticks with me and pops up in my head almost weekly at work. When Basil’s putting up the moose head, he is interrupted by Sybil on the phone telling him to do what he’s already doing.
“I was just doing it, you stupid woman!”
[quote=“BeeGee, post:44, topic:804862”]
Agree with the OP. The Anniversary is not my favorite by a long chalk. While “The Germans” makes me cringe in places, there’s one part that sticks with me and pops up in my head almost weekly at work. When Basil’s putting up the moose head, he is interrupted by Sybil on the phone telling him to do what he’s already doing.
“I was just doing it, you stupid woman!”
[/QUOTE]I think you’ve hit on something. Perhaps people don’t think “The Germans” is that funny, because that’s all it brings to mind - the scene with the Germans and the “funny walk”. They forget it’s the same episode as the fire alarm, Sybil and the ingrown toenail, the moose head, and the Major’s of-its-time rant about taking a woman to see India.
“So, you got her cardis, did you…?”
Still, the change of pace when he mentions invading Poland is perfect.
About Canadian accents, it’s subtle, but you can usually hear them say “oo” where an American would say “ow”. When saying “about”: American: abOWt Canadian: abOOt.
I wonder if that would apply to movie dubbing? In Blazing Saddles, when Cleavon Little hits Slim Pickens with a shovel:
Original Film: “…tell him I said, (WHACK!) OW!!”
Canadian Dubbed: “…tell him I said, (WHACK!) OOH!!”
See, in my experience, it doesn’t sound much like “aboot,” but closer to “aboat.” There’s actually two different versions I hear: one that starts the diphthong with more of an “uh” sound, and one with a bit of an “eh” sound. So, instead of “/aʊ/,” something more like “/ʌʊ/” or “/ɜʊ/” and not “/u/.” I’ve never heard a Canadian say “aboot,” although it’s clear that some people hear it that way, for whatever reason. Perhaps because there is no “/ʌʊ/” or “/ɜʊ/” in standard English dialects. (The best way I would describe these sounds without using IPA: If you live in a dialect that makes a distinction between “ah” and “aw,” American “ow” is like “ahw” and certain (not all) Canadian "ow"s are more like “uhw” or “ehw.” (Whether it’s pronounced with “Canadian raising” is not only dependant on the dialect, but in dialects that do raise this vowel, it occurs before unvoiced consonants, not voiced ones. So “about” would have a raised “ow,” but “aloud” would not.)
Interesting. I just saw him in “Waldorf Salad” the other day, but he didn’t sound convincingly American to me. I’m actually surprised he actually is North American.
He’s always sounded like a Brit doing a not-terribly-convincing American accent to me, but I suppose he’s one of those people who lived in the UK so long that their natural accent sounds like they’re doing a fake “Murrican” one; I had an American-born professor at the U of Lancaster who sounded like that.
Slight hijack, but IIRC Schwarzenegger works with an accent-and-dialect coach to keep sounding like a fresh-off-the-boat Austrian instead of dwindling his trademark the way a guy who’s lived here for this many decades presumably would’ve by now.
Yeah, I always assumed that he dialed the American-ness up to eleven to make the character more insufferable. And sometimes in fiction it’s better to give the audience what they expect rather than what’s strictly accurate.
As a Canadian, Harry Hamilton sounded very American sounding. Or at least like someone who wanted to sound like an American.
And Canadians don’t say aboot - let’s stop saying they do.
They don’t, but many do pronounce the vowel differently. Like I said, I think it’s much closer to “aboat,” but the first half of the diphthong does get changed in many Canadian accents. I always play the game of “pick out the Canadian” when I listen to NPR. Seems to have a good number of Canadian hosts on there.
I’ve never heard that. Do you have a cite to support this?
Sorry, but they do. I’ve heard this with my own ears.
I’ve never heard it. This guy has it right. I just think a lot of people aren’t listening closely enough. It’s closer to “aboat,” with a couple variations, but I’ve never heard one with an “/u/” sound in it. Listen to it all the way through – I know the guy is from Cape Breton, so has a particular Canadian accent that is different than what most are familiar with, but he goes on.
Here’s another Canadian with a more “neutral” accent, also speaking about it, how it’s exaggerated as “aboot” and how it’s actually pronounced. This guy has a variant that’s not quite as strong as “aboat,” but still colored somewhere between “about” and “aboat.”
Our experiences differ.
Out of curiosity, did you listen to the “abouts” in the two links above? Do they sound like the ones you hear, or different? I suspect our differences in differ in how we perceive the sounds. Or can you find a video with a Canadian saying “aboot” in the manner you encounter it?