Quote:
Originally Posted by someone123
The accent is somewhat different but also they jump right into talking about random things that I don't expect. There is a weird impedance mismatch. I usually just mutter something or say hello then leave.
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That's a good observation. A dialect is not only tone, rhythm and cadence, but also the position of content in a spoken sentence, all of which can catch you off guard.
America is just a much more exhibitionist/expressive culture. The difference between American expressiveness and Canadian reticence takes on all forms. It's not just the way they talk, it's also public displays of written communication: all the bumper stickers on their cars; their roadway signs, which are both bigger and more numerous ("Be a Hero, Report Carpool Lane Violators","Adopt a Highway Next 4 Miles: Kiwanis Club of Mount Vernon"); the size of their billboards, and the kinds of things that they advertise.
At the end of the day, the United States and Canada are very different places with very different people and very different values. I'm not necessarily saying ours are always better, but I can't understand how some people seem to think that there are few differences between the two countries.
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