Question to Americans and British and Australians and any English speakers. Can you hear a Canadian accent?

I notice it whenever I'm visiting my mom and she is watching those cheesy Hallmark movies that are filmed in Canada.

Oot.

Aboot.

Zed.

Toronno.

Fill Yer Boots.

Your Worship.

Toque.

I have a friend born in Ontario and raised there until he was 10. I still hear something of an accent on occasion, but when I'm around his mom, I really hear hers.

On a related note, having studied French, I can usually tell pretty quickly when someone is speaking Canadian-French.

Against

Process

Sorry

News

I left Toronto for the US seven years ago. I hear the accent more and more when I go home now.

Definitely in western Canada but even in Toronto which has a different, less stereotypical accent.

R3 it’s Québécois French, not “Canadian-French.”

I'm very sensitive to it, having spent about 10 years in Buffalo and having a Canadian boyfriend for about 2 years during that time.

I can spot it within just a few words. Most people I know can't - and don't - hear in California. It's pretty glaring to me when it comes out of the mouths of actors or presenters.

I can hear the Canadian accent and it is not charming,

I watch a lot of Wisconsin police videos and they pronoun "down" as 'dah-wooon'.

I find the Canadian accent eardrum shredding!

I hate it.

Get OOT!

The kids on “You Can’t Do That on Television” in the 80s had very identifiable Canadian accents. The way they would say certain words were different.

It's noticable when I visit Vancouver but less noticable when I watch Canadians actors on TV. I think actors tone it down a lot. It's a silly accent.

"Project" is a dead giveaway for me.

Also, "washroom."

There are probably others I can't think of now, but I spent a lot of time in Ontario as a kid, and I can hear an Ontario accent a mile away.

I assume the western provinces are different.

I don't find it grating. If anything, I find it sort of relaxing...good to go to sleep to. Not a lot of expression to it, just sort of monotonous and boring. Precise.

[quote]monotonous and boring

Much like Canadians.

Yes. It's kind of like a dorkier version of the American midwest accent.

Sometimes but not always. I've traveled in Canada a bit and love the place. If you ever want a fabulous adventure, explore Nova Scotia.

I’m Canadian and I can tell if somebody is from Ontario

I can hear it easily, and find it grating and irritating.

Is there a distinct Nunavutian accent?

[quote] I spent a lot of time in Ontario as a kid

Which grades were you there. I have a friend from Buffalo who spent grade 3 there.

They do pronounce a few things different, some already mentioned. They also tend to put the emphasis of the word “Canada” itself on the “-da.” It’s not a big deal.

My sister in law is Canadian so, yes.

r21 just summers. My family had a cottage in Northern Ontario

Yes, and I dislike that high pitched sing-song shit.

I notice it. The Canadian accent gets more pronounced the further north you go. I once went to northern Ontario where the Canadian accent is or at least was, very strong. So much fun, because to the locals I was the one with my flat midwestern US pronounciationd, the one who had an accent. People lived to hear me talk just to hear my accent.

Plenty of Canadians (both French and otherwise) are Florida snowbirds, so I've heard it often. It is a little grating, but the Anglo-Canadians have always been very nice to me, so there's that.

I like the way they say "process" and "against."

I noticed, from a couple of Canadian YouTubers, that they say "similar-i-ly" instead of "similarly." I don't like that extra syllable.

The Winnipeg accent makes me think a Chicagoan has found therapy. Everyone I’ve met from Toronto has had a much better sex life than me so who gives a fuck about that accent…I pick up something that sounds Norwegian around Vancouver.

Newfoundland speech is its own thing

I am Canadian we say both pass-ta and pah-sta so this word is not a dead giveaway.

Once in a bar a drunk from "P.E.I." somehow thought I was too: "I can always tell a P.E.I.-ler!"

It was like listening to someone speaking Welsh.

Ontario is a vast province, with many dialects. Just which Ontario accent do you imagine you recognize, R13? Durham county? Brant county? Southwestern Ontario? Northern Ontario? Ottawa Valley (gidday)? Tronno?

Do tell, you sound so knowledgeable.

A dialect and an accent are two different things.

Of course I can pick a Canadian accent! But then again, I’m not American, so I’m slightly more attuned to these differences.

Eh??

R35, are you a native English speaker? I ask because the differences between Canadian and American English are subtle. If you're comparing standard American and standard Canadian (that is, the accents you're mostly likely to hear from national news announcers), telling them apart is impressive for a non-native speaker.

Anyway, yes, as an American, I can spot a Canadian accent pretty quickly. I don't any feeling about it one way or the other. It's just a slight accent, like the accents of different regions in the USA minus the positive or negative regional associations. Sometimes, Canadian news announcers sound a bit prissy and precise, but ordinary Canadians don't seem to do that.

It sounds insipid.

Yes, R37, I am a native English speaker.

Incidentally, the cutest boy I ever met was an Ontario boy who was visiting New England with his dad, an old friend of my stepfather.

They met in the '60s in NYC, where my stepdad grew up and where his bud relocated after college. Eventually, the friend went back to Canada, got married, and raised a family. But they kept in touch over the years.

Meanwhile, my stepdad moved to Massachusetts and met my mom in the early '90s, when I was in middle school. A few years later, his buddy and his son, who was around my age, visited for the first time.

My God, was he gorgeous! Dark hair, blue eyes, dimples, kissable lips, and the most adorable personality you just wanna squeeze! He just had a way of BEING that made you wanna go, "Aww!" I've never met anyone so endearing. Anyway, I thought his accent was very charming, especially when he'd pronounce "sorry" as "soar-ee."

Needless to say, I wanted to get into his pants, but he was more interested in my older sister, who, of course, liked him in return. I remember one night they drove off somewhere without telling me and left me behind. I was so livid and tried to give him the silent treatment afterward, to no avail. haha

I went on a gay cruise 🚢 in July and I met a lot of people from Canada 🇨🇦 and assumed that they were American until they told me they were where they were from.

None had discernible Canadian accents.

I can tell a Canadian accent but not immediately, I have to hear them talk for a while before I can pick up the differences. Most people here down under will assume American = Canadian are the same unless they are told the person is Canadian

Accent and dialect are two different things.

Every once in a while, you could hear the Canadian slip in when Eric McCormack was speaking on "Will & Grace."

No shit R43–

R31- How do you pronounce this word-- ORANGE

as AREnge or ORenge

People from Ontario sound like hillbillies. They sound like asshole hillbillies around Toronto.

Aboot.

I know they're Canadian when they say something dumb.

Anne Murray and her sexy lonely houswife videos are the best of Canada.

Who else could rock a fur coat roaming around Edmonton?

Yes. The way they pronounce the O syllable gives it away.

I can listen to someone quite a while before realizing

A Canadian accent is more like a small regional variation in an American Midwest accent than a foreign accent. It can vary even less than Chicago, or Wisconsin, or Minnesota.

Canadian Uber

As a Canadian, American accents are easy to spot.

Eh?

I can.

Interestingly, I got a call that went to voice mail. When I listened, the person said, you have a British guy for your incoming calls. I had changed Siri (iphone - YAY Apple, I have stock in them) and picked a man with a British accent. Just a tip if you want a man to welcome voice mail callers.

YAY Apple

I’ve been to Vancouver and Montreal, and what I heard in those cities sounded exactly the same as a standard American accent, with the exception of just a few words that they put their own spin on - words that have been mentioned above.

Ta-RAWN-oh.

Even the Frenchies, r58?

R57 I re-read your post several times and I have no idea what you're trying to say.

R46, you left out the cross between AH and AW that cultivated Americans use. It's not AHHH-orange, like somebody from wrong part of Long Island, but it's not OHH-range or AWW-range, like somebody from the flyover states. There's no way to render the sound in phonetic English, but you know it when you hear it. It's like a drawled version of the clipped British way of saying "orange".

I assume cultivated Canadians say it the same way.

I hear it in the different terms more than accent (I'm from Buffalo so I developed an ear for it early). Terms: Chesterfield (American sofa); washroom (American bathroom). Accent: Sorry, crap (more like "crop"). Here's an odd one -- a Canadian told me that you can always tell an American because they always have pretzels as snacks.

Didn’t Anne Murray have an affair with Elvis?

I have never heard any English speaker from any country pronounce "crap" like "crop".

Really? I hear it distinctly when in Canada — possibly more akin to “crahp.” It was always considered a sure sign you’re talking to a Canadian. I don’t often hear “holy shit.”

Americans are nicer. Canadians have really become assholes

Canadians say “con-TROH-versy” instead of “controversy.”

Back in the 60s-80s we Canadians noticed the Buffalo NY accent of our cousins. I probably exaggerate but Canada sounded like Keyanada. Then I noticed the same accent in Hamilton (heyamilton) Ontario.

I grew up as an anglo in Quebec so all other Canadians say I sound French but only when I pronounce French words correctly. But much like cities in The States, accents change from one neighborhood to another.

You can tell an Anglo Montrealer, they say Muntreal. Americans say Mawntreal.

[quote]You can tell an Anglo Montrealer, they say Muntreal. Americans say Mawntreal.

The broad "a" sound is very common among New Englanders as well. I'm from CT and we pronounce "aunt" as "ont" and not "ant" like people in pretty much every other region of the US.

Aboat gives it away.

When I try to say it your way my face changes r71.

R70, at the same time, there are word pronunciations common to both Eastern Canada and New England, especially in Anglo "Muntreal" or maybe it's just my Jewish neighborhood.

Canadians say "Holy shit" a lot. At least I do. And I say "crap" like 'tap". It's a rapid fire. But "Holy shit" can be elongated for emphasis (cf. 'Ho-- leee shi--T).

I say it too r73 but I extend the ho leeee part and look around for little kids before I say shit or crap. Then I say COW.

But my niece's little 6 year old has latched onto "bum crack! Tabernac!"

That's another thing. We say bum for backside.

R74 Funny!! 🤣

Ex, why, and zed.

[quote]Canadians say “con-TROH-versy” instead of “controversy.”

R68 common down under too, NZ and Australia

All of those backward places!

I honestly see no difference between Americans and Canadians, except for maybe a minor difference in the way some words are pronounced.

In fact, I think that the cultural and accent differences are more distinct between American Northerners and Southerners, than between American Northerners and Canadians.

Culturally, American Southerners are very different from the rest of Canada and the US.

As a native Californian, I was asked several times if I was from Canada. I felt very flattered. I didn't know there was a difference. Now maybe I'll go on YouTube and have a listen.

I couldn't even begin to tell you what kind of accent Canadian Ryan Gosling has.

It's all over the place.

[quote]Didn’t Anne Murray have an affair with Elvis?

Yes, while they were filming "Viva Vancouver!".

I’m a Canadian who is always asked by other Canadians if I’m American. I have no idea what they’re hearing

A funny line I heard on a British TV show:

Person 1: (Upon hearing the other person speak): "So, what part of the States are you from?"

Person 2: The Canadian part.

If anyone watches the new Netflix doc about Ashley Madison, it will be an ear shocker of Canadian accent. Just warning you, or advising you if you want to hear it.

Funny line from Guy Fieri at the end of one of his DDD shows, where they usually show a comedy clip at the end of every episode.

Guy was visiting a restaurant in Toronto, and the chef made a turkey burger sandwich with stuffing and cranberry sauce, which the chef said was reminiscent of Thanksgiving.

Guy asked, "You guys have Thanksgiving up here?" And the chef replied, "Yes, but it's earlier than the American Thanksgiving."

Guy then said, "What are you thankful for?"

And before the chef could answer, Guy replied "For being next to us?"

Lol.

[quote]Didn’t Anne Murray have an affair with Elvis?

Since Elvis had a penis it's highly unlikely.

Jim Carrey talks about Canada in early stand-up.

It's not on this clip, but he used to say that when his family was homeless and living out of their van, he (as a Canadian) just thought they were camping.