Do you think Canadians sound like Americans? (pay, complaints)
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Seth Rogen is from Vancouver and in the movie 'Knocked Up', he played a Canadian from Vancouver who was living illegally in LA and he spoke with his regular Canadian accent.
And contrary to popular belief, most Canadians pronounce "about" the exact same way as Americans, nor do they really say "eh" that much. I am always in disbelief how media and film have created this myth that Canadians talk like Sarah Palin. These are the same people that think most Canadians live in igloos and gather maple syrup.
you are wrong.
Pronunciation of "About" is one of the key defining differences between US and Canadian accents, among various others as mentioned before. I find it interesting that Australians, Brits (except Scots), etc etc all pronounce "about" more similarly to Americans, than Canadians do.
Pronunciation aside, Canadians often have a different intonation/ speech style than many Americans. When making statements, Canadians often have a slight lilt (sounding like a question when it's a statement), whereas Americans almost always end with a down-note (making questions often sound like statements). This is one of the things my Canadian ex also noticed- Americans with the down-note intonation/ tempo. There is a little raise in Southern CA, but it's not to the same extent as in the Cdn accent.
These are things you don't really pay attention to, but others from different parts of the world do when they are exposed, and these comprise "differences in accents"
My dad loves a show called Corner Gas, he has all the dvd's I think he identifies with the main characters grumpy old father because he's a grumpy old man too lol, and judging by that show I can definitely tell a difference between the Canadian accent and the American one.
When I say about I pronounce it a-bow-t. Like the way one would say cow, sow, wow, out, flower or the bough of a tree.
Not aboot or aboat. Everyone I know here in western Canada pronounces it the same way as me.
One thing about American speech that I've noticed is that Americans spend a much longer time speaking this word. "A-BAOWT" is what many Americans say; Canadians don't spend so much time on the vowels, and cut out the short "a" after the consonantal "b." That does not make the Canadian word "a-BOOT" or "a-BOAT"; it just makes the word, "a-BOWT."
I'm always surprised at how Canadians manage in American media, often without Americans noticing. Lorne Greene, Jim Carrey, John Candy, Rick Moranis, Peter Jennings, Morley Safer, Fay Wray, Walter Pidgeon, Dan Aykroyd, Leslie Nielsen, Dave Thomas, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Michael J. Fox, Christopher Plummer--all of these, and many others, are from Canada. Where are the complaints that Dan Aykroyd says "aboot," or that Lorne Greene spoke about the "hoose" on the Ponderosa?
Canadian cousins like to sprinkle their conversations with "eh" like asking a question.
"Eh" is technically a tag question, much like the American "huh." A Canadian would never use "eh" with a question; "eh" ends a statement, and turns it into a question.
Correct usage:
"Cold day today, eh?": It's cold today; do you agree?
"Damn cops tagged me for speeding, eh?" I got caught speeding; can you believe it?
"Those Roughriders! Great game, eh?" I'm looking for a response. You might like the Roughriders, you might not, but I'm trying to start a conversation.
Incorrect usage:
"Eh" by itself. As a tag question, "eh" always tags on to a sentence.
"Do you think Politician X should be pushing Policy Y? Eh?" Just no. As before, "eh" is never used with a question. Correct usage: "I think [or 'I don't think'] Politician X should be pushing Policy Y, eh?" This invites a response.
"Do you think it's going to rain, eh?" No; see the above as regards questions and "eh." Correct usage: "I think it's going to rain, eh?" Again, this invites a response.
In short, "eh" turns a statement into a question, and invites a response.
Last edited by ChevySpoons; 12-30-2013 at 02:07 AM..
i can very rarely tell the difference between a Canadian accent and an American one
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