Northern Washington - Canadian influenced accents? (Vancouver, Bellingham: live, friendly, radio)

[iPwn]

This woman called into Coast to Coast AM from Bellingham, WA and before she said where she was from, I assumed she was Canadian. Do people in the northernmost 40 miles or so of Washington have Canadian-influenced accents, or was she just an exception?

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by iPwn

This woman called into Coast to Coast AM from Bellingham, WA and before she said where she was from, I assumed she was Canadian. Do people in the northernmost 40 miles or so of Washington have Canadian-influenced accents, or was she just an exception?

Not nearly as much, in my view, as Wisconsin and North Dakota and Minnesota. Perhaps a little, but I have a pretty good ear for accents and I never noticed it in the northwestern part of the state. I suspect the sample size of one is a bit misleading--there's always the possibility she moved there from one of the upper Great Plains states where they often sound quite Hoserific.

[AzDreamer]

I was just in Vancouver BC and it seemed that the typical accent there was close to US West coast.

[Wolf14016]

I lived in Bellingham for a few years and never noticed it.

I'm half Canadian, and visit relatives on Vancouver Island quite a bit. I've found - and I could be wrong - that the accent is much more pronounced there then it is in Vancouver proper.

[SHRS]

I've lived in NW WA my entire life and I don't think I could tell a Washingtonian from a British Columbian by voice whereas other Canadian accents are very aparent to me (probably the most jarring difference to me is the pronunciation of vowels).

If I did it would probably be because of something they said rather than their accent, like if they said, "My mom is in hospital" rather than, "My mom is in the hospital".
I'm not sure where the accent shift begins; the Canadians I'm refering to are probably for the most part British Columbians, and Albertans.

Though it seems that BC tv anchors and radio djs usually have a more central Canadian accent but I'm assuming it's because they're from central CA originally or that they're putting it on like American anchors do.

And like WA, those provinces have people who have a sort of pseudo southern US accent in addition to the "normal" accent most people from the region have.

[Bill Loney]

Not an issue. More than likely she was a transplant. There are lots of them here in Northern WA.

[iPwn]

Originally Posted by SHRS

I've lived in NW WA my entire life and I don't think I could tell a Washingtonian from a British Columbian by voice whereas other Canadian accents are very aparent to me (probably the most jarring difference to me is the pronunciation of vowels).

If I did it would probably be because of something they said rather than their accent, like if they said, "My mom is in hospital" rather than, "My mom is in the hospital".
I'm not sure where the accent shift begins; the Canadians I'm refering to are probably for the most part British Columbians, and Albertans.

Though it seems that BC tv anchors and radio djs usually have a more central Canadian accent but I'm assuming it's because they're from central CA originally or that they're putting it on like American anchors do.

And like WA, those provinces have people who have a sort of pseudo southern US accent in addition to the "normal" accent most people from the region have.

So would you say western Canadians have a more American or even redneck sounding accent?

[SHRS]

Originally Posted by iPwn

So would you say western Canadians have a more American or even redneck sounding accent?

I not sure if it would be considered an American or a Canadian accent, I'd call it a regional North American accent.

And the sort of southern US or redneck accent that some people have is in the minority even in rural and semi-rural areas where it's more common, I'd guess it's from southerners who migrated to the PNW; I know there was a big migration of "Tar Heels" to my area in the 1900's maybe their accent sort of stuck around with some people.

[j_k_k]

Originally Posted by iPwn

So would you say western Canadians have a more American or even redneck sounding accent?

I definitely would not say that. I know because I tend to slip into my own gentle Midwestern drawl at times, and when that happens in BC or Alberta, the Canadians instantly note it and comment. In some cases, they seem almost excited, as if they've found a real live US redneck. In others, they kid me about it. It's always been in a friendly way, though, just part of their way of testing Americans to see if we're okay.