Broadcast English? - I thought that was "Canadian"! Lots of US news-anchorpeople have been imported from Canada, one reason is because of the bland, non-identifiable accent...
Really? I've found Canadians from the West Coast to have less of an identifiable accent than Canadians on the East Coast - can't say much about anyone in between because I've known very few Canadians from outside BC, Ontario and Quebec.
One thing I do notice about my
own speech is that I'm not a slow talker, and I don't think that comes from being Californian, necessarily, but from being bilingual. I'm used to the rapid-fire patter of Cuban Spanish (or any Spanish dialect, really), and that speech pattern tends to shift with me when I speak English. It's not a conscious thing, but since I work so extensively with the public, I have had to make myself aware of it, pace myself and slow it down, especially since I have to work with many people whose mental processes may not be as quick as mine, which is part of the reason I also talk fast - I have to try to keep my mouth ahead of my brain, or my life would be one constant "open mouth, insert foot" moment!
