Céline Dion

Do you think Céline speaks English perfectly?

I haven't heard her speak extensively but she definitely has a nonnative accent. However, considering the fact that she started learning English at a pretty late age she does a pretty good job, I think.

I have no comment on her musical abilities.

I agree with Kirk on all counts. Her accent isn't strong, but it's definitely there.

Is Céline Caught-Cot merged?

<<Is Céline Caught-Cot merged? >>

I don't think you could actually give a definitive answer to that since she has a foreign accent.

Céline is Canadian so she can't possibly have a foreign accent. Only foreigners have foreign accents.

JJM
(A Canadian)

Really? Her native language was French. Maybe nobody talked to her in English when she was a child, so she learned it when she was older.

She has what I've heard is a "French-Canadian" accent. Many people have ridiculed this, saying it is an act, citing many times where she has spoken more "accentless" English. They say she wants to sound "French". Whether this is true or not, I don't know.

As both French and English are the languages of Canada, neither can be considered "foreign" to a Canadian.

Céline did indeed learn to speak English "late." She learned it in order to boost her career from Québec "teenybopper" chanteuse to international star - a very risky move which paid off handsomely.

Though she's very competent in English, Céline has a very gentle but definite French-Canadian accent which is quite evident to me.

Deborah,

Celine Dion is Canadian.When you say she has a foreign accent, you are comparing to which English language accent? British, American or other one?
Even the English speaking Canadians (the ones that don't speak French at all) for exemple have an accent to the American English ear.
Brits have an accent in comparison with Americans and vice versa.
I would call this Canadian accent and not foreign accent.

How about this? She has the accent of a language that is not English. I'm not so sure in can be called foreign (though by definition of foreign, we Americans could call Canadians foreign and therefore her accent is foreign), but it is definitely not akin to the accent of someone who natively speaks English from the UK/Australia or even Canada! Her native language is obviously French if she only learned English later in life. It sounds French to us and thus foreign, though I don't know the right word.

Chamonix, I didn't use the word foreign.

"Celine Dion is Canadian.When you say she has a foreign accent, you are comparing to which English language accent? British, American or other one?
Even the English speaking Canadians (the ones that don't speak French at all) for exemple have an accent to the American English ear."

Yes, she is Canadian, but she's not a native speaker of English. Some Candians are bilingual from birth in French and English, but Céline became fluent in English after childhood, thereby rendering her accent as nonnative. As JJM pointed out, she's quite competent in English but it was not her mother tongue, so the comparison with different accents of English you make is irrelevant because those are assuming native accents.

sorry Deborah. It was Ed.

to Ed.....see above......

I fully agree with Kirk.