William Shatner's lack of accent

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I know that actors take on other accents for a role. I was just referring to how he speaks in interviews and when he's not on camera. At the time of posting, I was unaware that people from Quebec don't always have a French accent. Now I know.

 

[LadyT'Anna]

I know that actors take on other accents for a role. I was just referring to how he speaks in interviews and when he's not on camera. At the time of posting, I was unaware that people from Quebec don't always have a French accent. Now I know.

And I assumed that people in Quebec who had French names had French accents. I should know better than to assume; look what it does to you and me.

 

[Sparkle Fabulosa]

I agree with you. It's wrong to assume but sometimes you just can't see an alternative until someone else points it out.

 

[LadyT'Anna]

I agree with you. It's wrong to assume but sometimes you just can't see an alternative until someone else points it out.

Precisely. To put it another way, you don't know what you don't know.

 

[Kor]

Well, we have at least two confirmed Canadian characters onscreen (Sam Lavelle from TNG and Eddington on DS9) and neither of them had an accent, did they?

But this isn't about Canada in general; it is about French Canada. A native English speaker born and raised in Vancouver, BC would not speak English with a French accent, nor would he or she be expected to.

Is it ever stated on-screen that Lavelle or Eddington come from the French-speaking parts of Canada (which are culturally different from the English-speaking areas)?

The OP thought Shatner should have a French-inflected accent when he speaks English, like Celine Dion, because he also comes from Quebec, the stronghold of the French language in Canada (and subsequent posts explained why not everyone from Quebec has a French accent when they speak English).

Kor

 

[jim-jean-ben]

did he speak French? Is everybody in Quebec a Francophone? I'm not Canadian, this is a genuine inquiry. if not, then i don't see why his accent wouldn't be French.

 

[Warped9]

did he speak French? Is everybody in Quebec a Francophone? I'm not Canadian, this is a genuine inquiry. if not, then i don't see why his accent wouldn't be French.

I believe I have heard Shatner speak some French and he didn't sound like a native. Of course, that could also be from years of not speaking French at all.

And, no, not everyone in Quebec is a francophone although they likely know at least a smattering of French.

 

[Kristen225]

According to Shatner himself : My upbringing was very standard. Rather than in the French section of Montreal where there was a great deal of life and ferment, I lived in the west end of the city in a sort of clean, English conservative manner

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Quebec City is much more linguistically french (and you better be able to speak it if you visit)

Well, that rules out the trip to the Winter Carnival that I'd been kicking around.

 

[1001001]

According to Shatner himself : My upbringing was very standard. Rather than in the French section of Montreal where there was a great deal of life and ferment, I lived in the west end of the city in a sort of clean, English conservative manner

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