Help! What is a Canadian Accent? (office, ticket, summer)

[MidniteBreeze]

Well, there goes the old theory of how "eh" must have existed way back when the would-be Canadians got together to come up with a name for their new country. You know, how the guy stood there with a bag of letters and pulled out a C ("eh?"), then an N ("eh?") and finally a D ("eh?")

(An oldie but goodie!)

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by ProLogic

Pretty mild accent. They pronounce Router as "Rooter" and "About" like "Aboot". Reminds me of a light Irish/Scot accent.

Nobody in Canada pronounces it like "aboot". If that was the case, get the Canadian to say about back to back with "a boot" and I guarantee it won't be the same.

A lot of Canadians (especially from Ontario and the prairies) pronounce about as "a-boat" - and that's probably what you heard.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Robynator

A lot of Canadians (especially from Ontario and the prairies) pronounce about as "a-boat" - and that's probably what you heard.

I know what you're talking about. Once in a while I hear "a-boat."

A little strange to me, as I only started noticed it as a teen, after vacationing a few weeks in South Carolina.

It almost sounds like a Caribbean influence, but if they say it on the Prairies probably not.

It still is a somewhat uncommon pronounciation. About with the combination of "ow" and "oo" seems to be the most common.

BTW I think I've heard British actors say "ou" the way we do.

[Robynator]

"Route" is usually pronounced "root" in Canada when referring a route to take. And yet, when you're routing the network to your computer, route rhymes with "pout".

Pout, shout all rhyme with "about" to me.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Robynator

"Route" is usually pronounced "root" in Canada when referring a route to take. And yet, when you're routing the network to your computer, route rhymes with "pout".

Pout, shout all rhyme with "about" to me.

Funny but true.

They all rhyme here too but sound like this in Canadian English:

"Pah-oot", "Sha-oot" and "Aba-oot"

[AsymptoticFaery]

Not sure if this is Canadian or coincidence but I notice that where some Americans will give pronounce a short a sound, some Canadians will pronounce the same word with a long a sound.

For example, when most here say Super Mario Brothers, the a in Mario is short...not long in sound. But I've heard many Canadians say it, "MARE-ee-o" rather than the traditional "MAHR-ee-o"...

I've even heard DACK-Sund rather than DOCK-sund for Dachshund.

So there must be something distinctive about the way some Canadians pronounce words with a...preferring to use a long a sound where normally a short a is used.

Anyone else notice this?

[Robynator]

Originally Posted by ColdCanadian

Funny but true.

They all rhyme here too but sound like this in Canadian English:

"Pah-oot", "Sha-oot" and "Aba-oot"

Then your ears are playing tricks on you. There's still an "o" vowel used, but not "ooooo". Get a Canadian to say the word "boot" and "about" and they will definitely not rhyme.

Of course, there are a variety of ways people say things. I have American friends who pronounce "about" the same way I would, and I've heard Canadians from Ontario say "a-boat". People from Scotland say "aboot". I also have American friends who pronounce it "a-bay-out"... but they'd also be the people who'd throw in an extra vowel to words like "can" and "dance" (cay-an, day-ance, etc).

[recycled]

I work with several people from BC who live here in southern cal, they don't have a significant accent except for a few of the "usual giveaways" that the previous posts have already mentioned like "a boat".

If you want to hear some real nitty gritty far north Canadian dialect, tune in sometime to the History Channel if they show re-runs of a program called "Ice Road Truckers". Crew Chief, did you see that one? A rather interesting "reality program" that followed a group of truck drivers that work up in the northwest territories. They leave from the town of Yellowknife above the arctic circle in mid winter driving trucks hundreds of miles across solid frozen lakes to haul loads to mining operations in the remote far north. Sometimes you have to listen very carefully to figure out what they are saying, in between the words that get bleeped out and the words that don't sound anything like they talk here in southern cal.

For something with a little more humor, tune in sometime to the Red Green show. Can't remember last time I saw that one, but they definitely throw in some Canadian accent or dialect.

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by AsymptoticFaery

Not sure if this is Canadian or coincidence but I notice that where some Americans will give pronounce a short a sound, some Canadians will pronounce the same word with a long a sound.

For example, when most here say Super Mario Brothers, the a in Mario is short...not long in sound. But I've heard many Canadians say it, "MARE-ee-o" rather than the traditional "MAHR-ee-o"...

I've even heard DACK-Sund rather than DOCK-sund for Dachshund.

So there must be something distinctive about the way some Canadians pronounce words with a...preferring to use a long a sound where normally a short a is used.

Anyone else notice this?

Funny!

I've heard both ways to say Mario. I say Mahr-ee-o only because it's an Italian name and I feel like making it sound Italian. I thought "MARE-ee-o" is a generic English sounding way to pronounce it. "MAHR-ee-o" is probably more common.

I pronounce that breed of dog "Dash-hound"
(you're talking about the "weiner-dog" right?)

Other possible Canadian pronounciations:

Pasta: Pass-ta
Taco: Tack-o

[ColdCanadian]

Originally Posted by Robynator

Then your ears are playing tricks on you. There's still an "o" vowel used, but not "ooooo". Get a Canadian to say the word "boot" and "about" and they will definitely not rhyme.

I don't think my ears are not playing tricks on me, but perhaps Americans listen for more subtleties in speech than we do.

An "o" sound here is clearly defined as either "donut" or "boss." Any other similarities to "o" sounds like how you position your lips would be pure coincidence and generally ignored.

Basically what I'm saying is I probably can hear and notice what you call "o" sounds, but to me they might not sound like "o" sounds.

*Wait a minute, are you talking about "a-boat"? Yes that has an "o" sound, but no "oo" sound, like in boot. I don't think I've pronounced it that way anyways, just "ab-uhwoot."

"A-boat" is not a common way to say it, but a kind of lazy way to say it. Clearly saying "a-boat" makes most Canadians either think about watercraft, or that you're Caribbean.