Do any of you Dakkanauts find the Canadian accent that much different from American accents? To me they sound identical with the exception of Newfie, Quebecer, New Yorker and Southener accents.
Cheesecat wrote:Do any of you Dakkanauts find the Canadian accent that much different from American accents? To me they sound identical with the exception of Newfie, Quebecer, New Yorker and Southener accents.
I don't know eh? It must be the eh? Eh? or am I stereotyping eh you to much eh?
Cheesecat wrote:Do any of you Dakkanauts find the Canadian accent that much different from American accents? To me they sound identical with the exception of Newfie, Quebecer, New Yorker and Southener accents.
I don't know eh? It must be the eh? Eh? or am I stereotyping eh you to much eh?
Cheesecat wrote:Do any of you Dakkanauts find the Canadian accent that much different from American accents? To me they sound identical with the exception of Newfie, Quebecer, New Yorker and Southener accents.
I don't know eh? It must be the eh? Eh? or am I stereotyping eh you to much eh?
Wait you think that no one actually hasn't thought of something like that? Canada is funny, but i love canada more than the us XD.
But the Canadian accent is different
As a Canadian, I find a number of American accents to be quite different. Plus, Canadian maritime accents are more distinctive...particularly the Newfs.
Apparently we say 'ruff' instead of 'roof', though I find it the other way around.
Also, I do say 'eh' more than I should...I am the stereotype...
Blacksails wrote:As a Canadian, I find a number of American accents to be quite different. Plus, Canadian maritime accents are more distinctive...particularly the Newfs.
Apparently we say 'ruff' instead of 'roof', though I find it the other way around.
Also, I do say 'eh' more than I should...I am the stereotype...
I say "eh" too, it just seems so natural to say, I don't pronounce "about" as "aboot" however.
Canadian accents are pretty similar to American ones. They make more of an 'ee' sound instead of 'a', and then simultaneously go 'eh' constantly. I give up.
Don't get me wrong, the difference between an American and Canadian accent (for everyone who isn't on the east coast) is quite subtle. I say 'eh' all the time, giving away my Canadian accent obviously, but other than that, its nothing compared to the British English vs. North American English.
Also, we spell things correctly...like harbour and neighbour. Note the 'u' in those words.
I can ping a Canadian accent pretty easy, they sound like a mixture of American/British. You can hear the difference pretty easily though.
And I met a bloke from Newfoundland on holiday, and he sounded almost fully Scottish but..well.. not quite.
It depends on location in country too. Some Americans sound more British/Irish too depending on where they are from. Accents are funny things, but its not correct to say that only the British accents vary hugely by region as well as country. I definitely find the same to be true in the US/Canada as well.
I live in Michigan, we get alot of you Cannucks around here during vacation time. And yea, your accents give you away pretty quick. But I will agree, you guys sound pretty close to us anyways, but still, dead giveaway. And yea, you guys say Eh ALOT
halonachos wrote:
I've heard both, and they sound awfully close. My family in Wisconsin sounds a lot like Canadians in most cases.
I don't know. I lived in MN for 4 years, 5 if you count all the trips up to see my ex (who was from Wisconsin) and I never thought to compare either to a Canadian accent.
Saying the Canadian Accent is a little misleading, as there are multiple Dialects here in Canada, Newfie, Maritimes(PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick), English Speaking Quebec, and then from Ontario to BC most of us sound the same. They are just not as noticeable as someone from Texas as opposed to someone from New York.
mattyrm wrote: I can ping a Canadian accent pretty easy, they sound like a mixture of American/British. You can hear the difference pretty easily though.
Thaanos wrote:Saying the Canadian Accent is a little misleading, as there are multiple Dialects here in Canada, Newfie, Maritimes(PEI, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick), English Speaking Quebec, and then from Ontario to BC most of us sound the same. They are just not as noticeable as someone from Texas as opposed to someone from New York.
The Québécois accent is hilarious.
mattyrm wrote:
I can ping a Kiwi over an Aussie too, usually.
I get that you want to ping Aussies, but pinging Kiwis is just weird.
Cheesecat wrote:You don't have to go through the window, none of us keep the door locked anyway.
You do have lots of guns however, so it is better to be safe and sound. Also why I carry round a few bottles of chloroform.
Canada only allows hunting-grade weapons, you can't carry stuff like assault rifles or Uzi's like our neighbours in the south plus most of us don't even have guns anyway. This is Canada were to polite and friendly to use
guns for self-defense we would probably just give you warning to not to do it again instead.
Im with my neighbor to the north. SouthPark is a terrible show. It just annoys me to no end. Sure some episodes will make me laugh, but that doesnt mean I like it. Take the show Everybody loves Ramond for example
Id agree, only because newer FamilyGuy gets on my nerves just as bad, but since its on syndication on damn near every tv channel, the old, funny reruns are on more then the new ones
mattyboy22 wrote:I though all Canadians sounded like this.......
After a few brews, we mostly do!
I lived for 5 years in Banff, which is full of ski bums and tourists from around the world, so the topic of accents was frequent. I've heard people say that Canadians don't have an accent, that we talk in a accent-neutral kind of way. I'm not sure I believe that.
I agree that people sound pretty much the same from BC to Ontario, and I'd say americans along the border sound fairly similar.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
To be honest, I don't think anyone expects to talk to someone local when they call customer service anymore!
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
They are probably just happy you don't sound foreign.
On a more related note, during my visit to California, people I met would use the word 'huh' in the same manner as us Canucks say 'eh'.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
They are probably just happy you don't sound foreign.
On a more related note, during my visit to California, people I met would use the word 'huh' in the same manner as us Canucks say 'eh'.
That's because (No offense) the Western peoples sound funny. It's odd.
The again, I am a Masshole, so I might just be biased.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
They are probably just happy you don't sound foreign.
On a more related note, during my visit to California, people I met would use the word 'huh' in the same manner as us Canucks say 'eh'.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
I too worked phones, doing 411 for an Alberta phone company who contracted their operators out to various american phone companies for 411 services. I would talk to people (hundreds/day in short 411 calls) all over the continent, and had the same experience of people usually not noticing. Having americans think I was australian was fairly frequent, when they did detect an accent, which was kinda weird.
I work telephone customer service for one of Americas largest Television and Internet providers.
In a given week I speak to about 150 customers from locations as scattered as California, Florida, Maine, Oregon, Michigan, Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Indianapolis.
Lest than 1% of customers ever notice I don't sound local.
I too worked phones, doing 411 for an Alberta phone company who contracted their operators out to various american phone companies for 411 services. I would talk to people (hundreds/day in short 411 calls) all over the continent, and had the same experience of people usually not noticing. Having americans think I was australian was fairly frequent, when they did detect an accent, which was kinda weird.
No, thats not really as weird as youd think. For some incredibly odd reason, most Americans hear an accent and instantly think its Australian. Cant explain it, but they do
feeder wrote:
On a more related note, during my visit to California, people I met would use the word 'huh' in the same manner as us Canucks say 'eh'.
So they speak like Tommy Wiseau?
I had to youtube the name to find out what he sounded like. Wow. What an actor. No, they use "huh" like we use "eh".
"So, you're a Libra, eh?"
"So, you're a Libra, huh?"
I thought it was amusing that nearly everyone I met there would bring up the "eh" when they found out I was Canadian, but most didn't notice their own use of the "huh".
Those Yankees, eh?
biccat wrote:
feeder wrote:
biccat wrote:
Isn't Canada virtually the definition of effete?
Not by any definition of effete that I can find.
1. Sarcasm.
Ah-ha. Good ol' sarcasm on the internet. Fair enough.
Although I might note that it was the non-conservative in this thread who threw them together not once, but twice.
I'm not conservative?
If you're a conservative, then you've admitted that you used the word incorrectly. However, an earlier post indicates the belief that you did not use it incorrectly.
Either you're not conservative or you still don't know what it means.
I figured I'd give you the benefit of the doubt
edit: I'll also note that there's a difference between the noun "conservative" and the adjective "conservative."
Yes, Canadians absolutely have an accent. It varies from location to location, and the one you see on TV is typically extra-exaggerated to be funny. But, every single Canadian does have at least, a slight "Canadian" accent.
To be fair, everyone has an accent. You typically don't notice your own, and with the world so inter-connected these days, we're so accustomed to hearing different accents that we've become somewhat numb to them. But, if you listen closely enough, and know what you're listening for, you can pinpoint where someone comes from pretty accurately and to a shockingly specific location.
biccat wrote:
If you're a conservative, then you've admitted that you used the word incorrectly.
If that's the case, then we both did.
I actually didn't use the word incorrectly. I simply intended the use to be sarcastic.
dogma wrote:
biccat wrote:
edit: I'll also note that there's a difference between the noun "conservative" and the adjective "conservative."
A minor one in nominal parlance. We didn't just start calling conservatives conservatives for lack of reason.
While conservatives tend to be conservative, not all people who are conservative are conservatives.
You could be conservative while not being a conservative.
It's like when people refer to Left-wing type as "Liberals." There's very little connection between the root word and the label (at least in the United States).
biccat wrote:
I actually didn't use the word incorrectly. I simply intended the use to be sarcastic.
If we're operating on the premise that you can either be conservative, or use the word effete correctly you couldn't have.
biccat wrote:
While conservatives tend to be conservative, not all people who are conservative are conservatives.
You could be conservative while not being a conservative.
It's like when people refer to Left-wing type as "Liberals." There's very little connection between the root word and the label (at least in the United States).
The word "liberal" existed before political Liberalism, just as the word "conservative" existed before political Conservatism. The root word can be applied to other things in both cases, but the connection is definite, and certainly not happenstance.
biccat wrote:
I actually didn't use the word incorrectly. I simply intended the use to be sarcastic.
If we're operating on the premise that you can either be conservative, or use the word effete correctly you couldn't have.
Ah, that's where you're wrong.
The only people who use it incorrectly (at least for purposes of this exchange) are "conservatives that think Canada and effete belong in the same sentence."
The only people who use it incorrectly (at least for purposes of this exchange) are "conservatives that think Canada and effete belong in the same sentence."
You seem to have placed both words in the same sentence, whether for the purpose of sarcasm or not this seems to indicate belonging.
The only people who use it incorrectly (at least for purposes of this exchange) are "conservatives that think Canada and effete belong in the same sentence."
You seem to have placed both words in the same sentence, whether for the purpose of sarcasm or not this seems to indicate belonging.
dogma wrote:When you have to grade 153 papers you would be off your game too.
Ah, but they're from undergraduate college students. Among the best and brightest that high schools have to offer. They've already got excellent writing, college is just a stepping stone to something else.
...and I'd take it over reading 300 pages of scientific literature on an obscure physics topic that no one really understands.
biccat wrote:
Ah, but they're from undergraduate college students. Among the best and brightest that high schools have to offer. They've already got excellent writing, college is just a stepping stone to something else.
...and I'd take it over reading 300 pages of scientific literature on an obscure physics topic that no one really understands.
Sounds like a British person who's been in the US too logn and is trying to sound French.
Québécois here.
If you meant Anglophone, that's more or less what happened to them.
If you meant Francophone, when speaking in English, move each nationality one position to the right.
There's a notable difference to my ear. They get most similiar with Central and Western Canada and the States near them. They all basically have that accent you hear on TV the most.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Anyways, if you have any interest in this at all I must highly recommend a CBC Documentry called "Talking Canadian, eh". It thoroughly goes into the history of various accents and bascially every single difference between Canadian and American accents.
I'm originally from about as far west in canada as you can get (I'm from Nanaimo BC. Don't worry, you've likely never heard of it ) and have lived in australia for the last...9-10ish years. I've found that the further east you get, the more the accent becomes pronounced. You hit ontario and you get the stereotypical Canadian accent, then go further and you start getting the friggin' weird accents. My Dad is from rural Nova scotia, and while his accent has become more BC, his family... and then you get into the _really_ rural parts of Nova scotia and newfoundland, and when they interview those people on the news they need subtitles. It's like a combination of a canadian, scottish, english and irish accents, with about 100 years of lingual drift... and then there's the local slang... But I still have troubles picking out a west coast canadian accent from the west coast american ones. The difference is there... sometimes. Mine has apparently only changed a little. Which my wife loves She hates the aussie accent...
I don't think Ontarians have an accent. I didn't think anyone had that stereotypical Canadian accent you see on TV but then I visited some family in Nova Scotia and realized some people actually do...It's like someone from Hollywood went to NS one time and that's it and based everything he knows about about Canada just on them.
Coming from the west coast I can pick up the ontario accent easily. That's where I believe they got the 'canadian' accent from. But the maritimes, in the cities, are pretty close as well. I've noticed that the 'u' sounds are dragged out a bit more for one. Russel Peters made the analogy of the donkey braying for an example, and I can't really argue...LOL
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I don't think Ontarians have an accent. I didn't think anyone had that stereotypical Canadian accent you see on TV but then I visited some family in Nova Scotia and realized some people actually do...It's like someone from Hollywood went to NS one time and that's it and based everything he knows about about Canada just on them.
Nope, its an American TV/Movie thing. We are a bunch of jerks when it comes to slaughtering other cultures. You should hear what we think Asians and Indians (yes fellow Americans, Im talking from India, not Natives) its wrong, but dammit its funny. Notice I had to explain with Indian I was talking about as well (though that might be a Michigan thing)
I've met some of our Canadian employees at various company training classes and on conference calls. I can usually pick it up fairly quickly, but not always. It probably depends on what part of Canada they're from or me confusing them with a Minnesota accent.
You've got to love the Canadian Forces. When you're in training, especially during BMQ when you do a tonne of theory, they make a point to speak with a subtle but pronounced 'Canadian' accent and frequently make use of "Eh", "Lads", "Buddy", and "Boys". Active reinforcement of stereotypes FTW.
I personally can't tell the difference between American and Canadian accents most of the time. I make an effort to listen out for if they say "eh" or "aboot"... that's pretty much the only thing that makes it obvious, though they probably wouldn't say those in all parts of Canada, right?
I have no way of telling Australians and New Zealanders apart... which is bad.
Skarwael wrote:I personally can't tell the difference between American and Canadian accents most of the time. I make an effort to listen out for if they say "eh" or "aboot"... that's pretty much the only thing that makes it obvious, though they probably wouldn't say those in all parts of Canada, right?
I have no way of telling Australians and New Zealanders apart... which is bad.
Australians are the ones drinking heavily and stealing from you, Kiwis are the ones who start sweating around sheep
metallifan wrote:You've got to love the Canadian Forces. When you're in training, especially during BMQ when you do a tonne of theory, they make a point to speak with a subtle but pronounced 'Canadian' accent and frequently make use of "Eh", "Lads", "Buddy", and "Boys". Active reinforcement of stereotypes FTW.
I was thinking this too. I think the words that Canuckistanis use are what can mark them out as not being 'American'. I've been told I've said the word 'buddy' way too much by some of my friends around here as well as using the term 'boys' at the end of sentenceｓ. "I've got too much salt in my eyes, boys. I gotta get out this ocean,eh. Where did buddy go with my friggin flip flops?" って感じ。
I dont believe you. Every Canadian Ive met that says they dont ever say it, says it. Thats like me for example, I swear I dont use foul language, but apparently I swear like a sailor
Trondheim wrote:Not to come accros as a iggnorat European but they do seen quite similar, except for those from Quebec
Yea, the accent itself isn't as common out west. Here in Kamloops, we get a lot of New Zealanders and Aussies up at the Sun Peaks Resort during the winter season, and they say that Western Canadians tend to sound very similar to most of the people in the Northern US. Seems that the difference in accent, the whole "Aboot" deal, is more of an Eastern Canada thing.
We do all still frequently say "Buddy", "Guy", "Boys", "Lads", and "Eh" on a roughly equal basis, save Newfies. But we have a saying for Newfies. "Everytime we Canadians begin to take ourselves too seriously, a Newfie comes along and says something that makes us all laugh, intended or not."
Trondheim wrote:Not to come accros as a iggnorat European but they do seen quite similar, except for those from Quebec
Yea, the accent itself isn't as common out west. Here in Kamloops, we get a lot of New Zealanders and Aussies up at the Sun Peaks Resort during the winter season, and they say that Western Canadians tend to sound very similar to most of the people in the Northern US. Seems that the difference in accent, the whole "Aboot" deal, is more of an Eastern Canada thing.
We do all still frequently say "Buddy", "Guy", "Boys", "Lads", and "Eh" on a roughly equal basis, save Newfies. But we have a saying for Newfies. "Everytime we Canadians begin to take ourselves too seriously, a Newfie comes along and says something that makes us all laugh, intended or not."
Yeah, I use the words "buddy" and "guys" all the time.
Anyone says otherwise and I'll show up at your house, pee in your kitchen sink, and then tell you what's what. If I don't have to pee at that exact moment, then I'll first drink all the beer in your fridge, THEN pee in your kitchen sink, and then tell you what's what. If you don't -have- any beer in your fridge, then I'll go out, buy some beer, put it in your fridge, wait until it gets cold, drink it all, then pee in your kitchen sink, then tell you what's what.
That's awesome. However, "Kanata" was a native name for a stretch of land along the St. Laurence where Quebec City is. It means 'Village', but us whitefolk couldn't pronounce it right, so we just changed it to "Canada" and made our way the right way of saying it
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I don't think Ontarians have an accent.
I'd have to disagree...I know several people from Ontario, and they have an accent for sure...it's just less prominent that accents from other providences
KamikazeCanuck wrote:I don't think Ontarians have an accent.
I'd have to disagree...I know several people from Ontario, and they have an accent for sure...it's just less prominent that accents from other providences
Ever see a Newfie Jigsaw puzzle?
Spoiler:
You're telling me you can tell the difference between someone from Toronto and someone from Calgary just by listening to them?
I've been told multiple times that the Canadian accent is the easiest English accent to understand among non-native speakers (i.e. English as a Second Language). Unrelated to the Canadian accent, I love it when Japanese people practice their Aussie accent by saying "good die." over and over again.
The Canadians definately have accents different than those of us in the US.
Inhabitants of Ontario (Ontarians, Ontari, Ontarioi, Ontariites, Ontarions?) Most definately have a particular accent. The prairie provences and BC sound alot like a blend of the accents you find in our northern tier of states and the upper west coast including Northern California.
The Maritimes are more varied, but are distinct... and the Newfies drive me batty.
KamikazeCanuck wrote:You're telling me you can tell the difference between someone from Toronto and someone from Calgary just by listening to them?
Welp, got me there. I personally cannot, but I'm stating they have a different accent compared to someone from Quebec or Newfoundland.
Yes of course. The east coast has a few accents because accents develope with the age of a region. That's why every town in England seems to have it's own accent. Toronto and westward all sound the same.
KamikazeCanuck wrote:You're telling me you can tell the difference between someone from Toronto and someone from Calgary just by listening to them?
Welp, got me there. I personally cannot, but I'm stating they have a different accent compared to someone from Quebec or Newfoundland.
Yes of course. The east coast has a few accents because accents develope with the age of a region. That's why every town in England seems to have it's own accent. Toronto and westward all sound the same.
To a Canadian your last comment is true, KamikazeCanuck...
feeder wrote:What is your opinion on the sport of hockey?
Who? Me? I think it's for girls.
ICE hockey, on the other hand....? Well, that's for Canadians, i.e. lunatics.
And Minnicanadians.
Fix'd, Eh?
Didn't the very top part of Minnesota try to secede to Canada?
Probably.
TBH, we'd gladly trade the US Quebec for Minnesota.
Hey, Quebec's starting to realize it's part of Canada.
metallifan wrote:It's just a ploy so they can keep getting tax handouts from the rest of Canada
Once we cut them off, they'll leave for the States. You'll see.
Whoa whoa whoa....who said America wants some Frenchified version of us...or you guys, its hard to tell sometimes. Either way, we dont like the French
It's too late. They'll be YOUR problem soon
Awwwww crap. Thats it, Im making my floating island with defense guns and getting the hell out of here. See you guys next time I catch a free wifi signal
To me they sound identical with the exception of Newfie, Quebecer, New Yorker and Southener accents.
