Lyse Doucet: she's an excellent reporter, but what is that weird accent she has?

[BiscuitMillionaire]

I'm always fascinated and a bit distracted by it.

Just me then.

I think it is Acadian

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadians

"Did you have to learn a new accent or speech form to work for the BBC International service? Is your accent typical Acadian?

ha ha ! nice question...my accent has been an issue from the day i started..but as the years have gone by...it seems that listeners/viewers have got used to it, and the bbc has become a place of many accents..my accent is probably a blend of all the places I have lived in the past 30 years but I still sound like my mother.. :-) "

[[http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/20mmcj/hi_im_the_bbcs_chief_international_correspondent/

Ha - I looked her up the other month because I finally needed to know where she was from. French Canadian (or Acadian - never knew that!)

I think that about her accent all the time too!

Wow, never heard of Acadian before.

come on, acadians a made up word

Yes, it is very interesting. The word cajun comes from acadian

"Cajuns (/?ke?d??n/; French: les Cadiens or les Acadiens, [le kadj??, lez?akadj??]) are an ethnic group mainly living in the U.S. state of Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles (French-speakers from Acadia in what are now the Maritimes). Today, the Cajuns make up a significant portion of south Louisiana's population and have exerted an enormous impact on the state's culture.[2]"

The Cajuns came from that part of Canada and were Acadians.

There was a programme about Lyse Doucet's life and career on the World Service or Radio 4 many years ago where she spoke about her roots and career. It was very interesting.

I thought she was Irish.

chanel that reminds me of Orla Guerin. I always think she has an unusual hybrid type accent, even though I know she is Irish.

Not the video, just the thinking she was Irish.

Yes I looked her up the other month to find out. Interesting about Cajun and Acadien - the record producer Daniel Lanois is Canadian, I think, and he brought out an album years ago with Cajun music on it. Makes sense now

I originally thought she was Dutch

Very usual to hear that sort of accent up in areas like Newfoundland etc.

She sounds like somebody from Blackrock/stillorgan/Mount Merrion, areas where the speaker is a bit heavier than is typical on their Rs but where vowels sound more 'English' (for want of a better description) than in the rest of Ireland. It's like an April Fool to me to suddenly read that she is Canadian or Acadien!

Interesting article about Irish in Newfoundland. The Acadian English accent does seem to have an Irish influence to my ears.

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nice link claig . I have a lot of links to PEI, NFL and Quebec and so many people sound more Irish than the Irish!

Oh yes, I watched the Shipping News the other day, and there are similarities in the accent in Newfoundland.

Previously I'd thought maybe a bit Lloyd Grossman.

Came on specifically to post today about Lyse Doucet. Several times in recent months I've had to stop what I'm doing to listen to her reporting. She's brilliant and under the radar compared to others in the same field. I've just watched her pieces on the BBC website about children and this war. Reduced me to tears - can't find it on my phone to link to but it's pretty obvious on the main site. She talks to a boy in Syria about his life - worth a watch.

Very interesting.Also have a notion that Barbara Plett has an accent that makes me listen that bit more..

And agree about LD'Syria reports.

Oooh I heard the Newfie accents in Canada (in Ontario actually) and my Dsis who was living and working there mistook it for Irish the first few times (we grew up in Ireland) it's was quite unusual to my ears

She is a great reporter. Sue Lloyd Roberts is another one as well as Orla Guerin, of course

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p023b426
Found the clip in case anyone wants to see it. It's only a couple of minutes long and it ends abruptly but it will stay with you. His little face.