If there is one thing locals from Toronto are, it is proud of their people. Whether they’re born in the city or simply live there now, they’re part of a collective whole—and that extends to anything referencing Toronto in gaming. However, one moment in a recent Overwatch 2 cinematic is making fans question whether Canada’s hero Sojourn is really a true Toronto native.
Toward the end of Aug. 4’s Overwatch 2: Calling cinematic, when Sojourn is preparing for battle, she calls to her allies with a simple phrase: “Toronto is under attack.” The pronunciation of the word Toronto is accurate to how it is spelled but is different from how locals actually say it. Normally, the second T in the word is smoothed, sounding more like “Tor-on-no” or “Ta-ran-na” than “Tor-on-toe”. That could be an aspect of Sojourn’s more professional way of speaking, but maybe her street cred isn’t as high as we thought.
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Plenty of local Canadian Overwatch fans were quick to notice, spreading the word to others on Twitter. The Toronto Defiant themselves pointed out the slip-up with a meme of their own.
As much as this is a questioning of Sojourn’s Canadian heritage, it is all in jest. The cinematic shows many staple Canadian moments, from the location behind our heroes to the coffee and croissants. If you aren’t local to Toronto, or the cities that surround it like Mississauga or Hamilton, this small detail would be easily missed. Then again, not all Torontonians pronounce it with a hard T, just the majority.
Considering how much of Canada revolves around immigration, people who moved to Toronto or didn’t spend a lot of time there might not have this integrated into their speech, as one Twitter user pointed out. Trust me, I was born there but moved to Ottawa at a young age, and it’s something you don’t even notice until it’s pointed out. Plus, people are naturally inconsistent with their speech too, especially if English isn’t their first language. It could be “Tor-on-toe” today, and “Tor-on-no” tomorrow.
The Overwatch League itself seems to have picked a side in this minor debate, stating that pronouncing Toronto with the “toe” at the end is the way to go, much to the disappointment of the Defiant and many locals.
What isn’t debatable is how Canadians were appreciative of a local hero joining the game, a historic area becoming a map to explore, and how they can see one of their family fight against evil foes in Overwatch 2 with this recent cinematic—with or without the “toe.”
