What Exactly Is The Difference Between a Canadian and an American Accent??

SharpshooterTom · 28-02-2012 01:41PM #1

What is exactly the difference between a Canadian and American accent?

I've just come back from a 5 week holiday in Australia and I know I confidently can say I know the difference between an Australian accent and a New Zealand accent. I knew it before I left kinda but I definitely know it now. If a New Zealander spoke to me I would detect his accent within a few sentences easy. Their constant mis-pronounciation of replacing any vowel with an 'I' where possible becomes apparant. Excellent becomes 'iggcellent' an accent becomes iccent, special becomes 'spicial', batter/better becomes 'bitter' etc. It becomes dead obvious after a while.

Canadian and American I can't though?

On the way back I was in Dubai, and I spoke to a guy to a Canadian guy who I thought was American but then told he was Canadian (from Saskatoon). I ended up speaking to him for a few hours and I couldn't figure out for love nor money where his accent was supposed to different exactly to rest of Americans. I tried hard but I couldn't.

My father was born in Canada and I feel quite embarresed to not know the difference. I'm usually quite good at understanding accents, but the difference between American/Canadian is some of the hardest I've come across at distinguishing. About 98% of Irish people wouldn't understand either probably.

Could someone tell me what the difference is supposed to be? Do they even have one? If that Canadian guy was speaking to an American, would an American know that guy was Canadian within a few sentences? Is it that different?

ballsymchugh · 28-02-2012 01:43PM

what's this aboot?

Sam Vimes · 28-02-2012 01:44PM

Eh?

rgmmg · 28-02-2012 01:44PM

Eh?

rgmmg · 28-02-2012 01:44PM

Sam Vimes wrote: »

Eh?

Haha - beat me to it!

mysteries1984 · 28-02-2012 01:44PM

I think South Park did a few bits and pieces on this, didn't they?

Anyway - I don't think it's the same as comparing an Australian and an NZ accent. They're both different countries, yes, but Australia and NZ are also different islands, geographically separated...Canada and the US are right beside each other, border-wise. There'd be much more of an audible 'overlap' of accents with them.

TheZohanS · 28-02-2012 01:44PM

Aeeeeehh?

Elba101 · 28-02-2012 01:46PM

There is a real difference and after hanging aboot with Canadians and Americans for teh past few months I can definitly tell the difference. Although, you'll find that some northern American states have quite a Canadian accent to them.

There's defo a distinct difference though!

BraziliaNZ · 28-02-2012 01:47PM

There's a difference alright, I always found they sound almost a little bit irishy, the ones with strong accents anyway, especially in the Maritimes. But you can tell Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba people apart quite easily usually from Americans, although it's hard to explain the differences in words. I found in Vancouver the people were pretty much the same as yanks, same goes for Toronto, or at least much harder to differentiate.

prinz · 28-02-2012 01:47PM

Gnobe wrote: »

Could someone tell me what the difference is supposed to be? Do they even have one?

There is a difference. You can usually tell by the Canadians dragging out and putting an emphasis on certain vowel sounds, and then other quirks like ending sentences with eh? But some American accents have this aswell, like Minnesota and the Dakotas I've found.

theteal · 28-02-2012 01:47PM

"stoopid fat gun-toting american's, eh"

StephenHendry · 28-02-2012 01:49PM

very hard to tell the difference op. but it got me thinking. i would say people from america/canada may not be able to tell the difference between an irish accent and an english accent. from my own experience, most europeans i.e. germans, spanish whatever find it difficult to
know our accent from the british accent.

going back to you question, i cheated as i looked up this site which again points to the similarities yet mentions certain words which americans and canadians say differently, the words being "out" and "got"

here is the link

http://www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic13412.html

PogMoThoin · 28-02-2012 01:50PM

They're essentially the same, Canada is just America without guns

CreepingDeath · 28-02-2012 01:51PM

Canada = America-Lite

mathie · 28-02-2012 01:52PM

It's aboot three fiddy.

Elba101 · 28-02-2012 01:52PM

PogMoThoin wrote: »

They're essentially the same, Canada is just America without guns

Canada is the American Dream!

xflyer · 28-02-2012 01:53PM

They're essentially the same, Canada is just America without guns

No the Canadians have plenty of guns. They just don't feel the need to use them on each other quite as much.

SEPT 23 1989 · 28-02-2012 01:54PM

Canada has never had a girlfriend

old hippy · 28-02-2012 01:56PM

Like asking what's the difference between an Irish and Scottish accents

ejmaztec · 28-02-2012 01:58PM

old hippy wrote: »

Like asking what's the difference between an Irish and Scottish accents

Ulster.

Badgermonkey · 28-02-2012 01:58PM

StephenHendry wrote: »

very hard to tell the difference op.

It's really not.

Superficially similar but very easy to tell 'em apart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqz0it_RnAo

Techno_Toaster · 28-02-2012 02:00PM

Ask a Canadian person to say "we went out and about again and again"

HAAA! HAAA! · 28-02-2012 02:01PM

Make them answer a question with OK

OOOK

al28283 · 28-02-2012 02:07PM

Gnobe wrote: »

What is exactly the difference between a Canadian and American accent?

They sound different

danslevent · 28-02-2012 02:20PM

I used to not be able to tell the difference but I can a little bit now. I find the American accent immediately very irritating but not Canadian. Canadian accent is almost sweeter or something? All that maple syrup :P

danslevent · 28-02-2012 02:20PM

I used to not be able to tell the difference but I can a little bit now. I find the American accent immediately very irritating but not Canadian. Canadian accent is almost sweeter or something? All that maple syrup :P

God... · 28-02-2012 03:04PM

Sounds more Irish to me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8rIbitJAbQ

smash · 28-02-2012 03:06PM

Canadians are Eh Holes!

Kristin_87 · 28-02-2012 05:20PM

Being Canadian, sometimes even I have trouble telling the accents apart. A lot of this depends on where your from in either Canada or America. The people from the East coast of Canada (Nova Scotia, Newfoundland etc.) generally have a different accent to those who are from the rest of Canada. Also Americans from the east and south tend to have a more distinct accent. To be honest not a lot of people cant tell the difference i've been called American more times then I care to remember, I'm used to it at this point, only 2 people in Ireland have ever called me Canadian right off the bat.

Additionally using shows like trailer park boys and south park as a reference for a Canadian accent is like using Ps I love you as a reference for an Irish accent. And for the record I've never heard a Canadian person say "aboot" although "eh" does tend to pop up a lot in conversation

.

biko · 28-02-2012 05:45PM

Canadians are the pleasant ones.

SteelyDanJalapeno · 28-02-2012 06:03PM

A boot

What Exactly Is The Difference Between a Canadian and an American Accent??

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