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I'm not sure what Nat and Acajack's positions are.
Nat is saying there ARE distinctive Canadian and American accents, but Acajack is countering that, apart from small differences in vocabulary, there is little difference between the accents of the two countries and that someone from Toronto sounds more like someone from Seattle than someone from Alabama does -- is that right?
I guess that's sort of it.
Last night, I was feeling a bit masochistic and so I watched a bit of the GOP convention. Some of the ordinary people on there had very discernible accents, and some of them did not.
In very casual transactional conversations (ie being served in a restaurant), I highly doubt the average person could pick many of these Americans out from Canadians.
If people sat down together for a longer conversation - sure.
I think we've all heard of Canadians who lived for years next door to Americans, and the latter always assumed they were American and only found out when something came up that was related to citizenship, i.e. voting in upcoming elections. And then their Canadian neighbour tells them they can't vote because they're not American.
I have also known people in my life for quite some time before finding out that they were American, and always assumed they were (Anglo-)Canadians.
I realize that after a while living in a place, people's accent differences tend to get dulled. But with a lot of people there isn't much of a difference to be dulled to begin with.
Count me in as another one who doesn't know any American who thinks that a standard Canadian accent is a Quebecois accent. I know a lot of people on the East Coast (who know I'm originally from Canada), and I've never heard them imply this.
But Mr. Jester is, I believe, from California.
I think there is a bit of 2+2=4.1 in there.
It's true that in the NE US many people tend to overestimate the Frenchness of Canada due to the proximity with Quebec and Montreal. (Also, many people in the region are of French Canadian origin or know people who are, so that taints things as well.)
It's a very common view in New England (probably predominant there) but in my experience it still has legs even when you get down into the Greater NYC area.
I am not sure it goes as far as to believe that the Québécois accent is the "Canadian" accent, as much as it is that Québécois might stand out a bit more in their minds, given that they're more obviously different and foreign.
Count me in as another one who doesn't know any American who thinks that a standard Canadian accent is a Quebecois accent. I know a lot of people on the East Coast (who know I'm originally from Canada), and I've never heard them imply this.
But Mr. Jester is, I believe, from California.
He is, and as a fellow Californian, I have to say this is the first time I have EVER heard that the average American thinks that Quebecois is the typical Canadian accent. Bizarre.
Last night, I was feeling a bit masochistic and so I watched a bit of the GOP convention. Some of the ordinary people on there had very discernible accents, and some of them did not.
In very casual transactional conversations (ie being served in a restaurant), I highly doubt the average person could pick many of these Americans out from Canadians.
If people sat down together for a longer conversation - sure.
I can almost always pick up a Canadian accent in under a minute -- seriously. A few weeks ago, I'm talking on the phone to someone from a local AAA office, and I soon detect a Canadian accent. I ask her and, sure enough, she's from New Brunswick.
Just yesterday, a video series of some guy I've never heard of comes up in my YouTube feed. I start watching one of the videos, and again, I quickly think he sounds Canadian (even though he's taken on the persona of a right-wing Republican/libertarian and he has a US flag print hanging on his wall behind him). I Google his name, and, yep, he's from Toronto.
Yes, that I'm Canadian is probably one reason why I can pick up on a Canadian accent. But, like anywhere else, some Canadian accents are stronger than others, and like other places, the difference seems to lie between larger urban centers and small towns/rural areas. My former in-laws who live in the middle of nowhere in Manitoba have thick accents, which I bet most Canadians would detect, let alone most Americans.
Very true. But there are also no borders within England or within Scotland. And there are definitely different Scottish accents and English accents. Don't EVER tell someone from Edinburgh that they sound like someone from Glasgow. Not if you value your life, anyway.
That's exactly it. For a long, long time people used to be able to travel only as far as their legs could carry them and that's why you will find not only different accents, but different dialects throughout the world. https://www.scotsman.com/whats-on/ar...egions-1482546
Knowing accents of different parts of Canada and the US, especially the west coast of the US, my experience is quite different. I can ALWAYS tell an American accent. I do agree that there are certain Californian accents that are similar to Vancouver....not all of BC....accents but it only takes a few sentences to hear the drawled out vowels that most American accents have.
As for
"...when we think of the quintessential Canadian province, it's Quebec. So in our minds, we think of Canadians speaking English with a Quebecois accent. "
it sounds like a very east coast US mindset. My family and friend in California etc, certainly do not think that.
I agree. I “hear” a different accent when I think of Canadian. For instance I listen to the pronunciation of certain syllables Americans tend to elide. There are also slightly different vowel sounds.
I agree. I “hear” a different accent when I think of Canadian. For instance I listen to the pronunciation of certain syllables Americans tend to elide. There are also slightly different vowel sounds.
I’m lucky in that I hear accents and can usually distinguish differences, even if I don’t know its origination.
Australia vs NZ is simple due to clear vowel differences. A bit trickier for the average person is broad vs cultivated vs general accents in Australia. Or a Jo’burg vs say Durban or Cape Town accent for South Africa.
Some of those I would be clueless. Not enough experience with South African accents...although i can generally pick one out.
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