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There is no neutral accent. To you, it's neutral. To me, it's not. Everyone has an accent, there's no way around that. This isn't even a debate, it's a fact. I promise you speak differently than I do and I also promise that, no, your accent isn't considered "neutral" because no accent is really neutral. The newscaster accent isn't even an accent, they are trained to speak that way. My friends from CA say many words oddly to my ears, and their sentence structure when they speak sounds different, too, and they supposedly have that "neutral" accent. It doesn't exist.
What makes you think you up in Canada are so different? Having accents is normal. I like mine. There is nothing to be ashamed of, you shouldn't really want to sound like anyone else. Your accent tells people where you're from and it's a good conversation starter. I'm not sure why you're insisting that you sound so similar to Americans, especially because Americans don't even sound similar to one another by region or even state. Or even region of a state.
I suggest you read this article then. This linguist proves that the standard Canadian accent and west coast U.S accent are virtually no different.
Because they do! And Americans have accents as well. Look...EVERYONE has an accent. Why do people like to pretend General American is not an accent, because even that is. Sorry Iowa, but to somebody's ear you guys talk funny. Period. Canadians say eh...but what really defines their accents is how they pronounce certain words...been=bean, house=hoooowse, pound=pooooound.You want to run that by me again that Canadians actually don't have accents? Accents are defined as a speech pattern that distinguishes them apart from everybody else. So even the general american accent is an accent when you compare to a Canadian accent. Get the picture? Good.
I don't personally know any Canadians. I just think most people don't really hear their own accent. I had a Canadian web friend who used the "eh" very often. I always thought she was asking a question.
Even if that's true, not every American is from the West Coast, which is a very general region anyway. Why do Americans think Canadians have accents? Because to the ears of most Americans, you do. You act as if the West Coast accent is the only American one that exists. It's not.
I can assure you that someone from California does not say "aboat" or "hoase" or "oat" or any other word like that. I'm also sure not every Canadian does, but that is definitely not an American thing. It depends on who you ask, but to most Americans, Canadians do not sound exactly like us. Hell, people from the Southern US don't even sound like me - and they're fellow Americans.
Even if that's true, not every American is from the West Coast, which is a very general region anyway. Why do Americans think Canadians have accents? Because to the ears of most Americans, you do. You act as if the West Coast accent is the only American one that exists. It's not.
I can assure you that someone from California does not say "aboat" or "hoase" or "oat" or any other word like that. I'm also sure not every Canadian does, but that is definitely not an American thing. It depends on who you ask, but to most Americans, Canadians do not sound exactly like us. Hell, people from the Southern US don't even sound like me - and they're fellow Americans.
Sigh.... my point was to try to express that the "Canadian accent" most Americans perceive Canadians to have is actually not common or has receded dramatically in the last 20 years or so. Nobody says "Oat" or "hoase" anymore - Canadian raising died off years ago, it only occurs in some regions and that's mostly in the far eastern parts of Canada. Neither do Canadians sound anything like Minnesotans, that's a completely different dialect influenced by the Swedes.
Sigh.... my point was to try to express that the "Canadian accent" most Americans perceive Canadians to have is actually not common or has receded dramatically in the last 20 years or so. Nobody says "Oat" or "hoase" anymore - Canadian raising died off years ago, it only occurs in some regions and that's mostly in the far eastern parts of Canada. Neither do Canadians sound anything like Minnesotans, that's a completely different dialect influenced by the Swedes.
Weird, because every Canadian I've met, every Canadian I currently work with (all 3 are in their 20s or 30s and from the Toronto area), every Torontoan I went to school with, and every Torontoan on HGTV have easily identifiable Canadian accents. So strange, right?!
To you, you may not hear it, but I'd bet a Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut that if you posted a recording of your voice, we'd all hear something that sounds different to us.
I'm still curious which American accent you think you have.
Weird, because every Canadian I've met, every Canadian I currently work with (all 3 are in their 20s or 30s and from the Toronto area), every Torontoan I went to school with, and every Torontoan on HGTV have easily identifiable Canadian accents. So strange, right?!
To you, you may not hear it, but I'd bet a Tim Hortons coffee and doughnut that if you posted a recording of your voice, we'd all hear something that sounds different to us.
I'm still curious which American accent you think you have.
The Canadians you know are probably just those backwoods bumpkin types. No educated Canadian carries any CR in their dialect.
If I were to post a recording of myself speaking on this forum the results would be unremarkable, you'd never be able to detect any "canadian-ness". Also according to this New york times accent quiz my accent is closest to the "Omaha" region actually. So there you ago.
The Canadians you know are probably just those backwoods bumpkin types. No educated Canadian carries any CR in their dialect.
B.S.
Having lived close to the Canadian border for almost all of my 50 years on this Earth and working/ interacting with PhD's, Dr's, Nurses, University Professors, etc... I can, with the utmost confidence, say Canadians (even highly educated ones) have an accent. Depending on which part of Canada they come from, it is different of course, just like different parts of the US have different accents. The whole BS line of only Canadian backwoods bumpkins having accents is laughable.
Give it up, everybody who has a shred of intelligence knows this entire thread and your stance on it is hogwash. No matter how hard you stamp your little internet feet and shout to the heavens that Canadians don't have an accent, we all know you are wrong; Either through personal experience or common sense.
The Canadians you know are probably just those backwoods bumpkin types. No educated Canadian carries any CR in their dialect.
If I were to post a recording of myself speaking on this forum the results would be unremarkable, you'd never be able to detect any "canadian-ness". Also according to this New york times accent quiz my accent is closest to the "Omaha" region actually. So there you ago.
I am still waiting for one person to agree with you. Just one.
Fine. I'm wrong, I must be too stupid to hear my own accent, huh?
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