American and Canadian accents - Telling them apart

[Crewman47]

I'm assuming that to most people outside Canada and the States that the accents of both these people sound fairly similar so if you were to hear a person with an accent local to those areas, without asking them directly, is there any way to tell apart any American accent from any Canadian accent just by the way they speak?

There was one way, short of asking directly of course, I thought once and that was if you're unsure you could always ask the person what letter comes after Y in the alphabet and if the say ZEE then there American or if they say ZED there Canadian?

I'm sure it's the same for everyone where accents are similar to neighbouring countries and you can't tell the difference off hand so I thought just ask about these twocountries first of all.

 

[DimesDan]

I'm assuming that to most people outside Canada and the States that the accents of both these people sound fairly similar so if you were to hear a person with an accent local to those areas, without asking them directly, is there any way to tell apart any American accent from any Canadian accent just by the way they speak?

There was one way, short of asking directly of course, I thought once and that was if you're unsure you could always ask the person what letter comes after Y in the alphabet and if the say ZEE then there American or if they say ZED there Canadian?

I'm sure it's the same for everyone where accents are similar to neighbouring countries and you can't tell the difference off hand so I thought just ask about these twocountries first of all.

You are aware that accents in North America are as varied as in the British Isles and there is no way that my accent (pretty neutral with a bit of a west country trang) would be confussed with say a Brum accent let alone a Welsh Vallies accent.

 

[thestrangequark]

You could also ask them what they call their mother -- a lot of Canadians say "mum," though I have known some who say "mom" too.
There is a subtle overall difference in accents, but it is very subtle. There are a few words, however, that we pronounce differently enough to be clues. Words like about, house, out -- tend to be pronounced differently. However, there's a lot of overlap, and there are so many regional accents in both Canada and the US that I'm sure it can be pretty confusing.

 

[Lonemagpie]

There are regional accents in both countries, but overall, Canucks tend to pronounce "about" in a Scottish fashion- "aboot"

 

[backstept]

I don't know enough Canadians to know how their accents differ from mine which is Northeastern US aka non regional american english aka TV accent which is what just about everyone on TV speaks unless they're specifically meant to have a regional dialect

edit - the oot and aboot and 'eh' stereotypes are there but in a far less pronounced fashion at least in my opinion
in Stargate terms Jack O'Neill has a Minnesotan accent often used to comedic effect, and Rodney McKay has a Canadian accent
in my opinion these accents are similar

 

[Goliath]

One thing to keep in mind is that there is no one "American" or "Canadian" accent. There are fewer regional variations in both countries than there are in the United Kingdom, but variations do exist. If you spoke to someone from the southern United States, and then to someone from Newfoundland, you'd hear the difference right away.

That said--the "zed" test should work in most cases.

Another small difference to listen for is the way Canadians pronounce their "o" and "ou" sounds.

When I say "out" and "house," it comes out sounding like "oat" and "hoase," even to my own ears. While to a lot of Americans, apparently, it sounds like "oot" and "hoose".

EDIT--God damn you people type quickly.

 

[Goliath]

I don't know enough Canadians to know how their accents differ from mine which is Northeastern US aka non regional american english aka TV accent which is what just about everyone on TV speaks unless they're specifically meant to have a regional dialect

I think the British equivalent of the "TV accent" would be "BBC English" or, more formally, "received pronunciation".

 

[backstept]

there was a fantastic documentary I saw on PBS a few years ago called Do You Speak American?
I was surprised at just how much variation there is
I loved it

 

[Roger Wilco]

Some Canadians I've met took offense at me thinking they are from the US, but I really don't hear the difference, except for example characters on tv-show that are "Canadian" (like Robin on How I Met Your Mother) - but if they played a US character, I wouldn't notice anything strange about it. US accents seem to be more distinctive than Canadian ones.

 

[ITL]

I don't know enough Canadians to know how their accents differ from mine which is Northeastern US aka non regional american english aka TV accent which is what just about everyone on TV speaks unless they're specifically meant to have a regional dialect

I think the British equivalent of the "TV accent" would be "BBC English" or, more formally, "received pronunciation".

And RP itself has changed over the years - I love hearing the plummy, clipped tones of the 40s and 50s.

 

[Goliath]

Some Canadians I've met took offense at me thinking they are from the US, but I really don't hear the difference...

Yes. Unfortunately, some of my fellow Canadians are much too sensitive on this point.

My mother was born and raised in Nebraska, before emigrating to Canada when she was twenty-eight. Her accent never stood out up here, and people wouldn't have known she was from the US unless she told them.

But another example from my own family reinforces the point I made earlier. My mom's brother and his family wound up moving, not to Canada, but to Texas. After living there for decades, they all have soft but noticeable 'Southern' accents. They even say "y'all".

 

[Canadave]

^ I say y'all and I've lived in Ontario nearly all my life.

On topic, probably the best example of what a Canadian accent sounds like is the Mackenzie Brothers series of sketches by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas. It's incredibly exaggerated, but it is definitely based on what a typical Central-Canadian accent sounds like.

 

[Goliath]

^ I say y'all and I've lived in Ontario nearly all my life.

You do?

One of my cousins swore she would never say it, no matter how long she lived in Texas. She even bet my uncle money that she could hold out.

Needless to say--she lost.

 

[Canadave]

^ Yup. I just like it as a contraction. It sounds good, and it can be useful sometimes.

 

[Goliath]

^Well, that's just great.

What's Crewman47 going to do now?

 

[Emher]

You ask them to say "bub". If they're American they go "What?", if they're Canadian they just sigh loudly.

 

[backstept]

You ask them to say "bub". If they're American they go "What?", if they're Canadian they just sigh loudly.

*snikt*

 

[FordSVT]

There are regional accents in both countries, but overall, Canucks tend to pronounce "about" in a Scottish fashion- "aboot"

No, "overall" they don't.

The stereotypical "oot and aboot" is Ontario and central Canada for the most part, people say it like that in parts of the mid-west US as well. Some people I know say it like that, especially from more rural areas) but most people I know don't.

There are 4-5 English accents I can think of in Atlantic Canada alone (not including the French who speak English), and we're only about 10% of the country's population people.

North American accents are entirely regional and have nothing to do with Canadian/American.

 

[Canadave]

^Well, that's just great.

What's Crewman47 going to do now?

Listen for the "eh?"s. That's one nearly pan-Canadian trick no American seems to be able to properly pick up, eh?

 

[TheSeeker]

There are regional accents in both countries, but overall, Canucks tend to pronounce "about" in a Scottish fashion- "aboot"

I have never heard any Canadian pronounce it that way. I don't know where people are hearing it but I haven't been there.

And just for the record, my wife says ZEE and not ZED. I give her crap for it every time too.