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Comment by insane_dreamer | Hacker News Reader

French Canadian and France French accents are very different, so if the AI couldn't tell the difference, that doesn't speak well for it

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Indeed. I learned Quebecois in school and when I started speaking it in Paris I got confused looks and "... do you speak English?"

I have a similar experience, but my impression is that Parisians have little patience for accents in general. People elsewhere in France where I've visited (Aix-en-provence, Lyon, Toulouse) had no trouble chatting with me.

Also want to note that I am not passing judgement, I am sure I might become a bit brusque with tourists if Montreal had the same volume.

My wife was a French major in college and spent a year in Aix in the mid 80s. She didn't really enjoy the experience -- although her grammar and vocab were fine, she had enough of an accent that people treated her as an outsider.

On the way out of the country she stopped in Paris for a few days to take it in. She went into some shop and the proprietor asked my wife if she needed help. My wife replied asked about some clothes. The proprietor insulted my wife over her southern accent -- French southern, not US southern, and it made my wife's day. Someone in France finally thought she was french.

Thanks, that's a great story.

One of the tests for native / non-native speakers aside from the famous colored words quiz for spies is how well they understand accents.

While my own French is pretty decent, I can barely understand Quebecois. OTOH, native French speakers get along with Quebecois just fine.

Does it regionalize at all? There are a few comments about Portugal Portuguese vs Brazil Portuguese so I think it only tries to find your first language, not actually pinpoint the underlying accent.

Ya it doesn't seem to go down into dialect, its the broad scope, it nailed my wifes spanish accent even though i really can't hear it at all and she talks very american

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