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The upper Peninsula of Michigan was settled heavily by Fins, Swedes and Norweigans. The accent that puts on American English is very much like the accents you hear in the Twin cities or the Movie Fargo. To me that is a classic Canadian accent
I actually think a Canadian accent sounds somewhat different. That is more of a Scandinavian accent, Canadian sounds more Scottish/Native American to me.
The upper Peninsula of Michigan was settled heavily by Fins, Swedes and Norweigans. The accent that puts on American English is very much like the accents you hear in the Twin cities or the Movie Fargo. To me that is a classic Canadian accent
Living in the upper midwest all my life, (Michigan) and some of it right on the Canadian border ( Da Soo eh) I can say the two accents are different. I can understand why people in the rest of America think they are the same because they are similar sounding to an outsider. If you really listen to a Canadian, at least one from Ontario you will see that they do sound different than those of us in Mi, Wi or Mn. Also Canadian accents vary alot from one part of Canada to another as it is a huge country.
I voted for Pacific Northwest, due to similar settlement patterns.
Most Canadians don't talk like they do in Fargo. The generic Canadian accent is very close to the generic American accent, save for a couple of pronunciations (about = aboat, prah-cess = pro-cess, etc.).
For sure UP of Michigan, Minnesota and North Dakota. Wisconsin is hit or miss. Madison and Milwaukee folk definately not but up in da nord woods. Oh yea you betcha.
PNW, with the caveat that it's essentially indistinguishable from how people talk in British Columbia, and BC is far more "American" sounding than Central Canada.
Essentially, "Oregon County" was settled pretty evenly by Americans, British, and Canadians without reference to territorial boundaries before the official boundary was set. Several decades after the boundary was set, there were still many in mainland BC who wanted the U.S. to annex it as a state.
The earliest settlers tend to create the accent that everyone else picks up when they move into an area. Hence, people in the PNW sound a bit Canadian, and people from BC sound far more American.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Colts
I voted for Pacific Northwest, due to similar settlement patterns.
Most Canadians don't talk like they do in Fargo. The generic Canadian accent is very close to the generic American accent, save for a couple of pronunciations (about = aboat, prah-cess = pro-cess, etc.).
I agree with both of these.
My friend from Toronto sounds like she could be from Anywhere, USA until she says 'pasta' or 'about' and gives herself away. Most of the people from BC that I have met sound extremely similar to people from the Pacific Northwest, with the same exception as my friend from Toronto. People I know from smaller cities or rural areas in Western Canada and Ontario, like Saskatoon, sound a lot more like the Upper Midwest or the stereotypical Canadians in the movies with a very heavy accent. People from the Atlantic provinces sound a lot more Scottish.
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Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, basically the entire northern tier of the United States I'd say has the most similar accents to Canada, but without a doubt, the three Upper Midwest states (MI, WI, and MN) all have very Canadian-influenced accents...the dropping of u's in words like "house", "out", etc. is a pretty well-known feature of Canadian dialect.
Believe it or not, the accents in lower Michigan and Ontario are completely different. Crossing the Michigan/Ontario line in Detroit or Port Huron will give you two very different accents, depending on which border patrol you're talking to.
But the U.P. of Michigan has a very different accent from lower Michigan. It is more similar to Canada.
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