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One of my eccentricities is to watch television with the captions on, even though my hearing is good. I notice that only some shows filmed in Canada have Canadian spelling in the captions. I also notice that some Canadian posters on C-D use American spelling.
Speaking of accents, I once heard Rick Mercer on YouTube talking about President Bush's proposed mission to "Murs".
I'm not from North America and I've noticed the Canadian accent.
It takes a little while, but you eventually pick up on little things that distinguish Canadians from Americans.
Other than the most obvious differences, I find that Canadians sound more relaxed and pronounce their words more clearly. There is this soft clarity to the way their words sound.
The Americans are louder and seem somewhat harsher with their pronunciation. I don't mean that negatively, though.
These are just general observations, and I don't want to imply that all Americans and Canadians speak a certain way. I know that regional differences within the two countries have an impact too.
Last edited by Fish & Chips; 11-14-2016 at 04:41 PM..
I'm not from North America and I can tell the difference. It takes a while, but you get it eventually.
Other than the most obvious differences (e.g. the "ou" sound), Canadians sound somewhat more relaxed and pronounce their words more clearly on the whole. There is this pleasant softness to the way they speak.
On the other hand, I have met some Canadians who sound like they're from Southern California.
Here is one for you. I heard this lady on CBC radio today. There is basically nothing in her accent that would tip off a Canadian that she is not from their country. I've known countless Canadian women in my life who sound exactly like her.
good observations.I find that most Canadians are very sloppy in their pronounciations. very few people will pronounce the g on the end of verbs in the past tense. Goin, comin. talkin feelin, etc. The H sound is almost always omitted in words such as Wheat, where, when why, Etc. Many common phrases are put together as if it's one word, Wuddooya for what do you, wearduya for where do you, ar ya for are you. A very typical Canadian phrase would go like this, R ya goin ta teller wuts goin on? I doan think so, ittlebe better if I dint.
The following information, I think provides some insight to the OPs query.
......is a variety of English used in Canada. More than 25 million Canadians (85 percent of the population) have some knowledge of English ( 2001 census ). Canadian English spelling can be described as a mixture of American English, British English, Quebec French, and unique Canadianisms. Canadian vocabulary is similar to American English, yet with key differences and local variations.
The aboriginal languages have added words to the Canadian English vocabulary, not found in other English dialects, (I.E. "Inuit") , and the French of Lower Canada (now Quebec) provided vocabulary to the English of Upper Canada (now Ontario), which is why Canadian English contains words borrowed directly from French, not found in American or British English.
Pronunciation in the Maritime Provinces is nearly identical to that of Scottish and Irish English.
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