The Maple Leaf Lounge

[MurphyCooper]

I'm in a predominantly non-French area, though at least a third of the people living in this building are either immigrants or refugees and I hear a variety of languages and accents every time I leave my suite.

I spend a lot of time on FB and YT now, usually in political groups and channels, and one person replied to me in Croatian (obviously I needed the translator to know what they said because I can't read a word of Croatian). Another person replied to me in French, and I had no problem whatsoever reading and understanding what they said. I wouldn't presume to reply in French, though. I'm too lazy to refigure my keyboard to the French alphabet.



At the very least, you'd have an easier time if you wanted to come here for holidays.


There's a YT video I saw earlier today that just annoyed the hell out of me. A woman from France moved to Canada. She's been here one month and is bitching and whining and complaining about the food. She shops at Walmart and says it's not as good as the food she got from the American Walmart when she went down there to be with her boyfriend.

More complaining and ranting about not being able to get really fresh food. Well, you're not going to get fresh food at Walmart, especially if you're buying the American-packaged stuff. I'm boycotting as much American stuff as I can (there are still some things I can't avoid, due to medical reasons or affordability). I told her to go to a farmer's market and buy direct from the farmer. Or rent a plot in a community garden and grow her own. They must have those in Montreal. As for meat, if I wanted it here, I'd contact somebody local. If I wanted the freshest eggs and produce, I'd contact the Hutterites. They even deliver.

Then she complained and whined incessantly about having to walk to Walmart. Hello, they deliver. So do most other grocery stores nowadays.

Next on her list of whining and complaining was the weather. Oh, horrors, she had to cope with snow in April.

This is Canada. Snow in April is normal. It's been normal for many years. We had several snowstorms here last month. This is actually the first May in years that there hasn't been a snowstorm (I still don't consider winter to be officially over until June 1, considering the blizzard we had on May 29, 1986).

I live less than an hour away from Canada, so I would be more prepared for it than whoever this person is that you are talking about.

 

[Set Harth]

I can't imagine moving to Canada and then complaining about the weather. I mean, I can imagine it, but you know what I mean.

 

[Marc]

though I understand the rules have changed since.

yeah if the snowbirds spend to long in the U.S they'd have to pay tax.

given the rise of trump, that's probably less of an issue now.

 

[Ovation]

I can't imagine moving to Canada and then complaining about the weather. I mean, I can imagine it, but you know what I mean.

We send them all to Ellesmere Island.

 

[Owain Taggart]

There's a YT video I saw earlier today that just annoyed the hell out of me. A woman from France moved to Canada. She's been here one month and is bitching and whining and complaining about the food. She shops at Walmart and says it's not as good as the food she got from the American Walmart when she went down there to be with her boyfriend.

I think I know who you're talking about. If it's the same video I watched the other day. I don't know what it is about her, but I've always found her a bit annoying as she seems to have unrealistic expectations, then complains when those expectations aren't met. Like hello, yeah it's a different country in case you hadn't noticed! And yes, she does tend to ramble on.

And I applaud Charlie Angus' efforts to speak French. He doesn't always manage it without absolutely butchering the accent, but he's getting better as time goes on.

Ahh yes, agreed on Charlie Angus. I mean, he tries. He reminds me of when my Dad tries speaking French. It's not so much the accent, but rather the intonation coming across much deeper.

But I do know what you mean about the French from France being easier to understand. Like you say, it's more formal, but it's also a cleaner sound. And despite a few linguistic differences and different word choices in our vocabulary, it's still easier to understand than the Quebec French, which I would say is way more informal. Ironically enough, I find that French YT girl difficult to understand at times because she also has a tendency to mumble.

 

[Avro Arrow]

They also tend to speak fast.

I'm going to be honest... I have a difficult time with comprehension when people talk too fast in English. I guess my brain just doesn't run that quickly.

Yep, there's a definite difference in French accents and vocabulary when you consider Quebecois French and the French they speak in France.

I've never been to France, but I have heard from others that some of the people there can be quite condescending to those speaking Quebecois French.

I can't imagine moving to Canada and then complaining about the weather. I mean, I can imagine it, but you know what I mean.

I mean, why not? We all complain about it too... you'd fit right in!

 

[Ovation]

the French from France being easier to understand

Depends entirely on which part of France. There are regional dialects that are as indecipherable as some Welsh and Scottish ones.

I've never been to France, but I have heard from others that some of the people there can be quite condescending to those speaking Quebecois French.

I can confirm this (while also noting that it’s considerably less common than the stereotype suggests).

 

[MurphyCooper]

I'm going to be honest... I have a difficult time with comprehension when people talk too fast in English. I guess my brain just doesn't run that quickly.



I've never been to France, but I have heard from others that some of the people there can be quite condescending to those speaking Quebecois French.



I mean, why not? We all complain about it too... you'd fit right in!

What part of Canada are you from, if I may ask?

 

[Owain Taggart]

I'm going to be honest... I have a difficult time with comprehension when people talk too fast in English. I guess my brain just doesn't run that quickly.

True. And I hate to pigeon-hole, but I do find there are lots of millenials that speak very fast and mumble. There's a local ad campaign for a car dealership that annoys me, and each of the people in each of the videos speak very fast and not very clearly, and something as simple as 'No Loan or Lease" comes out sounding unintelligible and it makes me do a double-take everytime I see these commercials.

Depends entirely on which part of France. There are regional dialects that are as indecipherable as some Welsh and Scottish ones.

Yeah, true. Like I'm sure the French from Northern France is different from that of the Southern.

But all this reminds me of a video I had seen of Celine Dion do an interview in France, and she had changed her accent and everything to be more in line with the French from France and it was an interesting transformation. Was quite good at it too.

 

[Avro Arrow]

So I saw some news tonight that Dunkin' Donuts is "returning" to Canada. My first thought was: were they here before? But it turns out they were apparently quite big in Quebec in the 90s.

Dunkin’ Donuts coming back to Canada with hundreds of locations - National | Globalnews.ca

Dunkin’ Donuts officially left the Canadian market in 2018, closing its last locations in Quebec. The first location is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027.

globalnews.ca

What part of Canada are you from, if I may ask?

No worries, I'm from Ontario. Although I am admittedly curious what it was in the post you quoted that prompted the question!

 

[Timewalker]

I live less than an hour away from Canada, so I would be more prepared for it than whoever this person is that you are talking about.

Yes, from what I've heard from some of the American members of my gaming forum who live near the border, their winters are perfectly normal by Canadian standards, though they may get spring earlier than we do, and maybe winter a bit later (my own definition of "winter" is when the snow falls and stays until at least April; we often have first snow in September but the real one comes in October and sticks around for the next 6-7 months).

I can't imagine moving to Canada and then complaining about the weather. I mean, I can imagine it, but you know what I mean.

I mentioned the saying we have: If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes.

Which is apparently going to happen this week here. We have a simultaneous snow warning for my city, plus our fire index is on the cusp between Very High and Extreme.

You'd think that's impossible, but the fact is, some wildfires don't completely go out in the fall, but rather they smolder over the winter. When the snow melts, they start up again if the winter's been a dry one.

We send them all to Ellesmere Island.

And there's not much fresh produce there, or even Walmarts! Though she also complained about fresh meat, so I guess the Inuit might give her some fresh seal meat.

I think I know who you're talking about. If it's the same video I watched the other day. I don't know what it is about her, but I've always found her a bit annoying as she seems to have unrealistic expectations, then complains when those expectations aren't met. Like hello, yeah it's a different country in case you hadn't noticed! And yes, she does tend to ramble on.

She's the type of immigrant who gets upset when the country she came to for an "adventure" isn't exactly like the country she came from. At one point I felt like posting a very blunt "Go home." 'Cause it's obvious that Canada will never be home to her. Apparently her landlord has lived here a whopping 5 years and tells her that winter is something they "accept" but never "get used to."

What do they expect? I confess I'm grateful that we don't get the ice storms in this part of the country that they do around the Great Lakes, but we do have our regional weather issues. Like tornadoes in the summer. There have been some bad ones over the years (people died). We've been getting earthquakes (thanks, frackers). My city conducts controlled burns to keep the potential wildfire fuel down, so as long as people observe fire safety in the summer, I've not been too worried about my city burning, even though we have a lot of urban woodland.

It's a bit like Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, except that instead of always knowing where your towel is, you should always know where your toque is. I finally took my toque and gloves out of my coat pocket and will move them into my parka pockets (I only wear my parka a few times a year now because I rarely go anywhere when it's more than -25C).

Ahh yes, agreed on Charlie Angus. I mean, he tries. He reminds me of when my Dad tries speaking French. It's not so much the accent, but rather the intonation coming across much deeper.

But I do know what you mean about the French from France being easier to understand. Like you say, it's more formal, but it's also a cleaner sound. And despite a few linguistic differences and different word choices in our vocabulary, it's still easier to understand than the Quebec French, which I would say is way more informal. Ironically enough, I find that French YT girl difficult to understand at times because she also has a tendency to mumble.

"Cleaner" is a good way to describe it.

I've watched both Cosmos and Shogun (the 8-hour version with Richard Chamberlain) in French. They needed two voice actors to dub Carl Sagan, one for his on-camera dialogue and another for his voiceovers. As for Shogun, it wasn't hard to follow at all in French. The English dialogue isn't complicated in the first place, and since they didn't bother dubbing the Japanese dialogue and I understand maybe half a dozen words in that language, it made no difference anyway.

I'm going to be honest... I have a difficult time with comprehension when people talk too fast in English. I guess my brain just doesn't run that quickly.

This is one reason why I absolutely loathed Jenna Coleman in Doctor Who. She spoke way too fast and simultaneously mumbled her lines. There are many other reasons why I detest Clara, but the actress' speech patterns was the first reason.

I saw a video yesterday by a channel called "Map Men". They were talking about the expeditions that made it to North America before Columbus, and discussed why North and South America have those names. Going by the comments, it seems like a lot of people had never heard of Amerigo Vespucci.

Anyway, these two guys talk very fast and my brain was trying to keep up.

I've never been to France, but I have heard from others that some of the people there can be quite condescending to those speaking Quebecois French.

I've heard that, too.

But all this reminds me of a video I had seen of Celine Dion do an interview in France, and she had changed her accent and everything to be more in line with the French from France and it was an interesting transformation. Was quite good at it too.

Celine Dion may be able to sing, but I tend to cover my ears when she speaks. Her normal Quebecois speaking voice is very nasal and it sounds like she's grunting. It's very unpleasant to listen to.

So I saw some news tonight that Dunkin' Donuts is "returning" to Canada. My first thought was: were they here before? But it turns out they were apparently quite big in Quebec in the 90s.

Never had them. I'm addicted to Timbits, so that's that. My favorite kinds are the honey glazed, the strawberry-filled ones that are sprinkled with icing sugar, and I recently tried the creme brulee and loved it (those are more expensive, though).

 

[Owain Taggart]

She's the type of immigrant who gets upset when the country she came to for an "adventure" isn't exactly like the country she came from. At one point I felt like posting a very blunt "Go home." 'Cause it's obvious that Canada will never be home to her. Apparently her landlord has lived here a whopping 5 years and tells her that winter is something they "accept" but never "get used to."

She also has a jet-setter type of lifestyle, so I can imagine she has difficulty staying in one place, which in turn affects the way she experiences things, always comparing from one place to another. Oh, not to mention it must be nice having her kind of lifestyle in today's economy... She often comes across as smug and derisive.

Celine Dion may be able to sing, but I tend to cover my ears when she speaks. Her normal Quebecois speaking voice is very nasal and it sounds like she's grunting. It's very unpleasant to listen to.

Hah, now that's funny. I've never heard it describe it that way before, but now I can't unsee it! But yes, I understand what you mean. She sounds completely different via her interviews from France though. Manages to not be nasally at all too.

So I saw some news tonight that Dunkin' Donuts is "returning" to Canada. My first thought was: were they here before? But it turns out they were apparently quite big in Quebec in the 90s.

Dunkin’ Donuts coming back to Canada with hundreds of locations - National | Globalnews.ca

Dunkin’ Donuts officially left the Canadian market in 2018, closing its last locations in Quebec. The first location is expected to open in late 2026 or early 2027.

globalnews.ca

Yeah, they were around for a while though mostly focusing on bigger markets, and I think the last one was at one of the airports. I find this news surprising as they had a tough time of it last time around, and competition is even fiercer now than it was last time. I find it odd that in our political climate, we are still promoting American chains over Canadian ones. I'm nostalgic over Second Cup, which used to be a fairly big chain that was all over the place in the 80's and 90's way before Starbucks, which ironically the holding company bringing back Dunkins also owns. But Second Cup has shrunk their footprint and there are much fewer stores, and that's something I'd like to see come back. Speaking of American chains, we've just had a Firehouse Subs open up, and right across the street we have a Jersey Mike's opening. It's a little crazy how obsessed we are with American chains even in this climate.

 

[Ovation]

It's a little crazy how obsessed we are with American chains even in this climate.

Quick way to achieve variety (well, superficial variety).

 

[Owain Taggart]

Quick way to achieve variety (well, superficial variety).

Yeah, but it can be argued that it actually does the opposite by instilling in us a dependency on American chains. Canadian chains already have a tough enough time competing against American ones.

 

[Ovation]

Yeah, but it can be argued that it actually does the opposite by instilling in us a dependency on American chains. Canadian chains already have a tough enough time competing against American ones.

I agree. I wasn’t endorsing the trend. I can’t say I rigorously avoid American chains but I do my best to minimize them among my choices (easy enough to do in the Greater Montreal area).