HomePod Now Supports French, German, and Canadian English, While Canadian French Coming Later This Year

[Mike MA]

Please enable Bluetooth instead of all this nonsense.
howcome AirPods support Bluetooth and can pair with any device,but not HomePod?
Makes zero sence,no wonder these bombed.

Why is this nonsense at all? People in these countries want Siri to be enabled for English content aswell like music, movie titles or whatever. This was not possible as Siri didn’t understand the local pronunciation. Same still for other countries. You will now also be able to ask for a German /French (sounding) artist name while connected to a English Apple ID which before only worked occasionally or when a special treatment by Apple took place. Maybe this helps to get rid of your ignorance.

 

[Baymowe335]

Well that's the point, you shouldn't have to. In the morning when I tell Siri on the HomePod to stop the alarm, she doesn't understand but Google Assistant does

You should completely shift to Android because of this.

 

[ColdShadow]

Why is this nonsense at all? People in these countries want Siri to be enabled for English content aswell like music, movie titles or whatever. This was not possible as Siri didn’t understand the local pronunciation. Same still for other countries. You will now also be able to ask for a German /French (sounding) artist name while connected to a English Apple ID which before only worked occasionally or when a special treatment by Apple took place. Maybe this helps to get rid of your ignorance.

The point is there is a far more requested and important basic feature lacking,but you ignorance didn’t let you see that.
Bye.

 

[Mike MA]

The point is there is a far more requested and important basic feature lacking,but you ignorance didn’t let you see that.
Bye.

Well, it's just that Apple is enabling its features to people across the world - not only the English speaking customer base. If there's a delta, this has priority before other features are being rolled out. Easy as that

 

[ChrisCW11]

Hey Siri, what's 70 Fahrenheit to Celsius, eh?

Siri: It's aboot 21 Celsius

As an English Canadian, I am dismayed by the idea these companies think I need to be pandered to where the US vocal acting for things like Siri and Alexa can't be understood in Canada. I've used Siri and Alexa for years without some special Canadian English mode, I don't need to see Canadian English as an option, EVER, on a vocal assistant.

Sure, the UI text for the apps that manage these assistants can be localized using Canadian spellings, but when Amazon used a completely different (and poorer quality) of voice acting when they rolled out the Canadian Echo, it just shows how little these US companies think of the rest of the world, or at least Canada.

 

[manu chao]

I'm not an expert in French, but my son is in French immersion school and is fluent in French at the age of 8. He has had teachers from France, Belgium, and Quebec. I've read up on the differences between Metropolitan French and Quebec French, and it doesn't seem that there is that much of a difference. Some words are different, like the word for blueberry is different in France and in Quebec, and of course, the infamous ARRET in Quebec used differently from the way it's used in France. Also, I remember reading that the word for getting out of the car in Quebec is the same word as the word for getting off a ship, whereas in France it's the same word as for getting off a horse. But, French as spoken by educated French speakers in Quebec is completely standard and fully mutually comprehensible with Metropolitan French. Now, when you go to remote areas of Quebec, then all bets are off, but I'm sure it's the same thing in France. I believe that the differences between standard Quebec French (as it's spoken in Montreal and Quebec City) and standard Metropolitan French (e.g as it's spoken in Paris) are minimal. They are two standard dialects of the same language, with the differences between the two being similar to those between standard British English and standard American English.

The problem with Canadian French is not really different words or grammar but the pronunciation/accent (though there are also quite a number of words and expressions that are different). I've been in Quebec only for a few short stays, so most of my experience comes from movies, radio, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.. But I can assure you, that there is a clear difference between 'standard Quebec French' and standard Metropolitan French. You won't mistake one for the other.

Overall, I have noticeably more problems understanding les Québécois. If they go full throttle colloquial, my level of understanding might drop below 50%. And that is not just me as a non-native speaker, many native European French speakers also have some trouble understanding le français québécois.

Among the differences is a shift of how the vowels are pronounced (eg, 'a' sometimes turns into 'o'), generally things become more nasal. A number of contractions and omissions are added and 's' and 'z' sounds are inserted when a 'd' or 't' is followed by a 'u' or 'i'. A few examples:

• Il est malade => y'est malade
• Je suis fatigué => Chu fatigué
  
• Je ne serai pas à la fête de Laura => J’s’rai pô à’ fête à Laurô.
  
• C’est dur à dire => C’est dzur à dzire.
  
• Toi tu vas savoir ce que je pense => Toé tu vô savoère c’que j’pense
  
• As-tu déjà vu ça => Tatu djavu ça

Two relatively random examples of first-person Youtube channels: one from France and one from Québec. Even if you don't speak French, you probably will notice that they sound quite different. Since Siri is about understanding spoken language, I am not very surprised that Siri requires additional training to understand les Québécois.

 

[sirozha]

Well, even if the words used are the same (they're not), the way they're pronounced is VERY DIFFERENT.

Paris French sounds very different than even how educated people around Quebec would speak (I'm an Engineer and got my degrees from Polytechnique, HEC and McGill). I'm french Canadian and I've lived in France for years (and in the US too) and even dated a french guy for 5 years so I think I'm well versed on the differences.

Of course, we can understand Paris French (cause it's the one mostly used in French movies), but that doesn't mean the different is not significant enough to make speech recognition difficult.

Anyone who thinks Canadian English sounds like US English has a very poor ear for dialects.

It doesn't sound the same as upstate NY, NYC, Connecticut, Massachusetts or Michigan or Illinois.
So, where on earth does it sound similar as?

Just listen to say, the CBC or CTV or GLOBAL national news and tell me it sounds the same as CNN, ABC, CBS news... Come on.

I said that differences between Metropolitan French and Quebec French are similar to those between British English and North American English. I never said they were indistinguishable from each other.

However, many non-French speaking people have an impression that Quebec French is so far from Metropolitan French that people can’t understand each other, which is not at all close to the case. Quebec French is not a creole language like the French Creole of Louisiana or Haiti or even dialects like Acadian French in Canada and some parts of Maine or Cajun French in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The areas of the US that you mentioned use a disntinct New England (Northeastern) dialect of American English, which is not standard in the US. Another area of the US that has a distinct dialect is Sothern and Southeastern dialects. Anywhere else in the US, the pronunciations are pretty much identical to Canadian ones. If you consider the West Coast, pronunciation is basically the same between the US and Canada. In Minnesotta, the pronunciation is pretty darn close to the one in Ontario. Montana is similar to Alberta, etc.

Most Americans can’t distinguish a Canadian person by the accent unless he/she is from Ontario or a Francophone from Quebec.

Examples are many. There are a lot of Canadian actors and journalists who cannot be recognized as Canadians by the way they speak. There are many TV anchors and TV reporters in the US who are Canadian, and I can’t tell their nationality unless I google them. I could tell that Peter Jennings was Canadian, though, but he was from Toronto, Ontario.

I can’t tell the nationality of most US and Canadian hockey players by their accent (except for those from Ontario and Quebec) when they give interviews. And when a little deviation from the standard American pronunciation is detected, the person may very well be from a US state adjacent to the US-Canada border and not a Canadian at all. The way I recognize Canadians in the US is by their behavior rather than by their accent. Canadians are usually more laid back and more polite than Americans. So, when I detect a little deviation in the accent along with a different behavior, I can guess a Canadian, but not 100% of the time.

 

[Casfin]

I think the home pod will look nice on my shelf next to my Apple newton.

Sorry Apple. You are too late to this party. Sonos all the way in my house and not making any changes since I am so vested in sonos.

agree. I waited...and waited for the homepod, but ended up gettings few echos and dots for far less than what this thing will cost.

If I want to shake the walls I have a soundbar, but for casual listening, the echos are fabulous.Sounds very good.

And Alexa is great, Siri is a freaking dunce.

 

[Soccertess]

Canadian English doesn’t have translation to other languages.


Do you know who doesn’t care and just translates languages? Google now.

That is why google now is far far superior. Again, Apple is 5 years behind. Good job timmy

 

[BillyBobBongo]

Now Siri can’t understand me in several languages.

I've always had more success when I use Siri in Australian, I'm British, but for some reason it seems to understand me more.

Note: I said more success, not complete success, Siri is still about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

 

[Mackinjosh]

I'm sure this will be good news to the 10 people who bought one of these awful speakers.

 

[AlbinoPigeon]

The problem with Canadian French is not really different words or grammar but the pronunciation/accent (though there are also quite a number of words and expressions that are different). I've been in Quebec only for a few short stays, so most of my experience comes from movies, radio, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.. But I can assure you, that there is a clear difference between 'standard Quebec French' and standard Metropolitan French. You won't mistake one for the other.

I'll tell a quick story: I have a québécoise friend from just outside Quebec City, born and raised. In high school, she took a trip to France and after getting off the plane and asking for some help from the airport staff, they switched to english and asked her what she wanted.

She kept speaking french, telling them she couldn't speak english. Once again, they asked her what she wanted in english.

It took several more increasingly frustrated attempts before they realized she was from Quebec and spoke to her in French.

The difference is real. Folks from some french-speaking African countries also have to deal with this to some extent.

 

[sirozha]

The problem with Canadian French is not really different words or grammar but the pronunciation/accent (though there are also quite a number of words and expressions that are different). I've been in Quebec only for a few short stays, so most of my experience comes from movies, radio, Youtube videos, podcasts, etc.. But I can assure you, that there is a clear difference between 'standard Quebec French' and standard Metropolitan French. You won't mistake one for the other.

Overall, I have noticeably more problems understanding les Québécois. If they go full throttle colloquial, my level of understanding might drop below 50%. And that is not just me as a non-native speaker, many native European French speakers also have some trouble understanding le français québécois.

Among the differences is a shift of how the vowels are pronounced (eg, 'a' sometimes turns into 'o'), generally things become more nasal. A number of contractions and omissions are added and 's' and 'z' sounds are inserted when a 'd' or 't' is followed by a 'u' or 'i'. A few examples:

• Il est malade => y'est malade
• Je suis fatigué => Chu fatigué
  
• Je ne serai pas à la fête de Laura => J’s’rai pô à’ fête à Laurô.
  
• C’est dur à dire => C’est dzur à dzire.
  
• Toi tu vas savoir ce que je pense => Toé tu vô savoère c’que j’pense
  
• As-tu déjà vu ça => Tatu djavu ça

Two relatively random examples of first-person Youtube channels: one from France and one from Québec. Even if you don't speak French, you probably will notice that they sound quite different. Since Siri is about understanding spoken language, I am not very surprised that Siri requires additional training to understand les Québécois.

I'm not either.

 

[manu chao]

I'll tell a quick story: I have a québécoise friend from just outside Quebec City, born and raised. In high school, she took a trip to France and after getting off the plane and asking for some help from the airport staff, they switched to english and asked her what she wanted.

She kept speaking french, telling them she couldn't speak english. Once again, they asked her what she wanted in english.

It took several more increasingly frustrated attempts before they realized she was from Quebec and spoke to her in French.

I not too long ago played some français Québecois to a German friend with decades-old highschool knowledge of French (but with some occasional exposure to French) and they said that it sounded noticeably closer to English than standard French.

 

[sirozha]

I'll tell a quick story: I have a québécoise friend from just outside Quebec City, born and raised. In high school, she took a trip to France and after getting off the plane and asking for some help from the airport staff, they switched to english and asked her what she wanted.

She kept speaking french, telling them she couldn't speak english. Once again, they asked her what she wanted in english.

It took several more increasingly frustrated attempts before they realized she was from Quebec and spoke to her in French.

The difference is real. Folks from some french-speaking African countries also have to deal with this to some extent.

I heard a similar story from a friend of mine, who is bilingual. She said her relatives in France refuse to speak French with her even though she is native in French. She is also native in English (she is from an Anglophone family in Montreal, but was educated in French schools). She says her relatives in France can barely speak English, and it would be much easier to communicate in French than in English. She attributes this to the way the French are so arrogant about their version of the French language and not at all to any difficulty in communicating in French. She traveled to France many times, and she doesn't believe that there is any barrier to the French speakers from Quebec being able to communicate with the French speakers from France. She is from Montreal.

Now, I've spoken to a guy from Paris who traveled to rural Quebec (far from the beaten path), and he said that he had real difficulties understanding French in remote areas of Quebec. However, along Saint Lawrence River (Montreal, Quebec City, the Charlevoix region, etc.), French is standard enough to be mutually comprehensible with the France's French. Don't forget that in the past several decades, there have been a lot of cultural exchange between Quebec and France. They watch movies and listen to the music from Quebec in France, just like other Europeans watch American movies and listen to American music. So, the diversion of the two variants of the French language has been stemmed. You can encounter insular areas in Quebec, like some islands on the Saint Lawrence river that were isolated from the mainland for a couple centuries with very limited contact with the mainland until mid-20th century, when a ferry service was established to those islands. Their French is much more problematic to understand than the French of residents of Montreal or Quebec City.

 

[deannnnn]

What exactly is the difference between English and Canadian English? I mean, other than spelling some words with a “u” (the actual English way)?

There is very little difference. As you noted Canadians typically use British spelling as opposed to American spelling but the pronunciations of those words is usually identical to American.

I would imagine it just makes the HomePod more compatible with the slight pronunciation variations in words like "sorry" and "home" as well as variations in how Canadians say things like "grade 9" instead of "9th grade" etc.

 

[araadt]

This demo video activated my iPhone across the room.

 

[sirozha]

I've always had more success when I use Siri in Australian, I'm British, but for some reason it seems to understand me more.

Note: I said more success, not complete success, Siri is still about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

There is very little difference. As you noted Canadians typically use British spelling as opposed to American spelling but the pronunciations of those words is usually identical to American.

I would imagine it just makes the HomePod more compatible with the slight pronunciation variations in words like "sorry" and "home" as well as variations in how Canadians say things like "grade 9" instead of "9th grade" etc.

Or maybe if Canadians say, "Hey Siri, set the second *storey* thermostat to X degrees" instead of *second floor*. Like you said, this may have more to do with word usage than pronunciation.

Also, a Canadian would certainly say something like, "Hey Siri, I locked my house, eh?" Siri would need to understand that this is actually a question.

 

[Tech198]

Neat.. This should give "new life" back into a "underselling Homepod sales"

Add language support would just anyone to buy more Hompods just to change languages.