+ Reply to Thread
Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: Canadian vs US

 
  1. #1
    Senior Member mvictoria's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    921
    Rep Power
    514

    Question Canadian vs US

    I am sometimes able to spot different US accents (from the south, from NY, from California, etc.) but for the life of me, I can't tell when a person is from Canada. Which are the main differences between Canadian and US accents?

    Thank you!

  2. #2
    Forum User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    86
    Rep Power
    227

    Default

    I think, although I'm not sure, the biggest difference is in the use of the "o" sound. Perhaps some of the other vowels are different, but definitly that one.
    If you have heard the Minnesota accent at all in comparison to, say, someone speaking to you from California, you should notice a really distinct difference in the way they say "Oh" "coke" "know" "soda" I think in other parts of the States, the "o" is followed by a "w" sound. But in Minnesota, for example, it's not. This accent is really similar to Canadians'. It might be where it comes from, but I'm honestly not sure of the origin.
    "About" is also always funny to hear a Canadian say cause it sounds more like, "a boot"
    There are other differences, too, that I can't think of at the moment, but I think the "oh" sound is the most obvious.

    They're also a lot nicer. jiji

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Buenos Aires
    Posts
    303
    Rep Power
    464

    Default

    I agree with Carla...the "o" sound can easily distinguish which part of the northern U.S. or Canada a person comes from. Also, I looked around on the internet and found this quote that was interesting:

    "In Canada we have enough to do keeping up with two spoken languages without trying to invent slang, so we just go right ahead and use English for literature, Scotch for sermons and American for conversation." -- Stephen Leacock

    There are lots of pages dedicated to Canadian English, but here is one I found that was good:

    http://www.cornerstoneword.com/misc/cdneng/cdneng.htm

    Hope it helps!



  4. #4
    Senior Member mvictoria's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    921
    Rep Power
    514

    Default

    hehe! interesting quote!

    I visited that link you posted and it's also interesting that they keep English spelling whilst speaking with an American accent.

    Thanks for sharing this info!

  5. #5
    Forum User
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Posts
    86
    Rep Power
    227

    Default Thanks Sarab

    Hah, I didn't know that-
    And thanks for the helpful link

  6. #6
    New Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Posts
    0
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    I am from Canada. A lot of people think the we say o as boot but we don't. Only people from the maritimes (the provinces the farthest east) say that.

  7. #7
    Senior Member Gabriel's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Posts
    277
    Rep Power
    608

    Default

    I agree with Jeremy... I have lived two years in Toronto and they don't speak like that. The idea of someone saying "a boot" is very funny (actually, I am kind of laughing as I'm writing) but, unless somewhere else in Canada, other than Toronto or Winnipeg, people speak like that, I would say Canadians don't speak like that at all. What they do say a lot is "uh?" at the end of the sentence.

+ Reply to Thread

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. French Canadian - Valuable resources
    By gentle in forum French Translation
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 09-11-2015, 08:16 AM
  2. Canadian vs European
    By mvictoria in forum French Translation
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-14-2009, 02:39 PM
  3. Canadian in Spain/ canadiense en España
    By Kane in forum Greetings to Newbies
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 07-06-2008, 01:55 PM
  4. Canadian vs European French
    By sabrina in forum French Translation
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: 02-21-2008, 04:09 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •