Great Lakes Cities

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Wigs

what in the actual ****
you could not be more wrong

You're telling me that someone from, say, Pakistan or Uruguay would be able to readily distinguish between someone from St. Catherines and someone from Buffalo?

Locals, yes, obviously. Accents in Germany change every 20 km. But outsiders cannot understand the nuances, it's all High/Low German. Similarly, the Eastern Great Lakes accents aren't going to be easily distinguishable to non-native and non-local speakers.

I'd go further and assert that Americans and Canadians could "pass" for each other worldwide, with some exceptions (Deep South, Cajuns, French Canadians, Maritimes, Appalachians, a few localized, strong NE Corridor accents).

[Crawford]

Originally Posted by Razor

JI actually don't mind the New England accent.

When you say "New England accent" do you mean Boston accent?

New England probably has the largest geographic diversity of accents in the U.S.

Connecticut nowadays is basically NY/NJ accent (with remnants of old-school WASP accents like the rich guy on Gilligans Island), Rhode Island is like Brooklyn and Boston had a baby, Boston is singularly distinctive, Maine is a variation of Boston, and Vermont is like Upstate NY.

And the Portuguese areas have their own unique variation.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by Razor

Just curious.How does the Canadian accent come across to others?

Is it jarring, grating, annoying, funny, or pleasant sounding? I know that I like some of the American southern accents like Georgia, as well as some of the U.K .Wales to be more specific. I actually don't mind the New England accent.
I speak very little French, but someone from France once told be that the Quebec brand of French was a very old version..I myself find Quebec French very gutteral vs European French which has a singing quality to it.

And I know..I'm derailing this thread even more.

I don't have a strong opinion on it. The standard Canadian English accent sounds so similar to the standard American English accent that most Americans can't even tell them apart, other than those few keywords. I doubt any other native English speaking populations could easily tell the difference, either.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by iheartthed

I don't have a strong opinion on it. The standard Canadian English accent sounds so similar to the standard American English accent that most Americans can't even tell them apart, other than those few keywords. I doubt any other native English speaking populations could easily tell the difference, either.

yeah, a standard canadian english accent really is pretty damn similar to a standard american accent, with the exception of some of the vowel sounds in particular words like process, sorry, and about.

to our american ears, those slightly different vowel sounds tend to stick out and seem huge, but to an english speaker from, say, Scotland or Kenya or Hong Kong, no effing way are they picking up on those subtle differences.

[eschaton]

It should be noted the reason the Anglo-Canadian accent is so similar to a standard American accent go back to the settlement patterns.

Looking at the Maritimes first, they were incredibly light on Anglo settlement until the expulsion of the Acadians. The British then shipped in around 8,000 people from New England to populate Nova Scotia in the 1760s. Then there was a much larger influx after the ARW as loyalists looked for somewhere to move. New Brunswick was broken off from Nova Scotia at this time due to being so heavily settled by Americans it changed local demographics.

Quebec also had a heavy Anglo presence at one time in what is now called the Eastern Townships. This area, immediately north of Vermont, was a popular place for Americans to settle both before and after the ARW. Almost all of the Yankees who called this area home moved on, though the legacy can be seen in the town names, which are very English (Granby, Sutton, Dunham, Roxton, etc.).

Ontario was essentially almost entirely empty other than some scattered Francophone fur trappers until after the ARW when huge amounts of Loyalists settled here, which eventually caused Lower and Upper Canada to be split apart, which developed into Quebec and Ontario.

And skipping across the prairies to British Columbia, during the early "Oregon Country" period, there were probably more Americans living in the region than British people (though less than the British and Canadian-born combined). Meaning that BC got kind of a double dose of American.

Obviously lots and lots of later settlers came to all parts of Canada after the initial settlement of what were - for all intents and purposes - Americans - however, the way that accents tend to work is the first settlers establish them, and new waves mostly assimilate rather than cause accent shift.

[Razor]

Thanks!, and Oh okay..That's what I suspected..Peter Jennings was Canadian, and made a successful career in journalism/Broadcasting in the U.S..Ditto for Alex Trebek hosting Jeopardy (both RIP). Through television, accents don't show up much anyways. Sort of the same way that we don't hear them in most songs. To anyone watching either on T.V, they could of been from anywhere "neutral" U.S and not Canada.

Originally Posted by Crawford

When you say "New England accent" do you mean Boston accent?.

Ya..I guess..President Kennedy

Having said that, I did meet someone from Hartford who had some of that going on...I think you need to be from that area to really tell all the nuances apart..I don't have enough experience, so I lumped it all into New England.I should of perhaps referred to is as Boston.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by eschaton

It should be noted the reason the Anglo-Canadian accent is so similar to a standard American accent go back to the settlement patterns.

Looking at the Maritimes first, they were incredibly light on Anglo settlement until the expulsion of the Acadians. The British then shipped in around 8,000 people from New England to populate Nova Scotia in the 1760s. Then there was a much larger influx after the ARW as loyalists looked for somewhere to move. New Brunswick was broken off from Nova Scotia at this time due to being so heavily settled by Americans it changed local demographics.

Quebec also had a heavy Anglo presence at one time in what is now called the Eastern Townships. This area, immediately north of Vermont, was a popular place for Americans to settle both before and after the ARW. Almost all of the Yankees who called this area home moved on, though the legacy can be seen in the town names, which are very English (Granby, Sutton, Dunham, Roxton, etc.).

Ontario was essentially almost entirely empty other than some scattered Francophone fur trappers until after the ARW when huge amounts of Loyalists settled here, which eventually caused Lower and Upper Canada to be split apart, which developed into Quebec and Ontario.

And skipping across the prairies to British Columbia, during the early "Oregon Country" period, there were probably more Americans living in the region than British people (though less than the British and Canadian-born combined). Meaning that BC got kind of a double dose of American.

Obviously lots and lots of later settlers came to all parts of Canada after the initial settlement of what were - for all intents and purposes - Americans - however, the way that accents tend to work is the first settlers establish them, and new waves mostly assimilate rather than cause accent shift.

It's because American/Canadian English escaped Britain before the Brits changed their accent.

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180207-how-americans-preserved-british-english

[Razor]

Originally Posted by benp

Now, listen to Amy Bueme in this interview to hear the Buffalo accent.

Yup..I also hear that accent in around the Canadian side of Niagara. Good example!

This is a little exaggerated for a Canadian accent, but I can see it a little after watching. I know some rural Ontarians that sort of sound like this actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi_M

[JManc]

Originally Posted by Crawford

When you say "New England accent" do you mean Boston accent?

New England probably has the largest geographic diversity of accents in the U.S.

Connecticut nowadays is basically NY/NJ accent (with remnants of old-school WASP accents like the rich guy on Gilligans Island), Rhode Island is like Brooklyn and Boston had a baby, Boston is singularly distinctive, Maine is a variation of Boston, and Vermont is like Upstate NY.

And the Portuguese areas have their own unique variation.

VT is a tad bit different. Especially those who are native Vermonters. More 'sing-Songish' than Upstate NY. Rhode Island does have a quirky accent though Family Guy does embellish it.

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by Razor

Just curious.How does the Canadian accent come across to others?

It comes across as innocent sounding with a few goofy pronunciation of words with an "eh" or two and nice people "tok'in aboot hok'ie, eh".

I don't have an accent. I speak perfect standard American English. I sound like a Ron Burgandy or a Walter Cronkite, basically a deep radio voice, with stunning looks suitable for TV.


gfycat

[Buckeye Native 001]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, a standard canadian english accent really is pretty damn similar to a standard american accent, with the exception of some of the vowel sounds in particular words like process, sorry, and about.

to our american ears, those slightly different vowel sounds tend to stick out and seem huge, but to an english speaker from, say, Scotland or Kenya or Hong Kong, no effing way are they picking up on those subtle differences.

I went to college with a girl who, had she not been born and raised in suburban Toronto, I would've sworn was from coastal Southern California or the San Fernando Valley based on her accent. She pronounced the usual stuff (about, sorry, etc) the Canadian way, but otherwise sounded like a Valley Girl. It was the damndest thing to me because I'm a sheltered Midwestern —.

[Camelback]

Originally Posted by Buckeye Native 001

She pronounced the usual stuff (about, sorry, etc)

I forgot about the Canadian "sorry".

"Sore-ree", or think Jim Carrey 1990s.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Razor

Yup..I also hear that accent in around the Canadian side of Niagara. Good example!

This is a little exaggerated for a Canadian accent, but I can see it a little after watching. I know some rural Ontarians that sort of sound like this actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-glHAzXi_M

Literally no women I've met in Niagara sound even remotely as obnoxious or nasally grating as Amy from Western NY
Caaaaanuhdah

[Wigs]

Example of Canadians mocking the Western New York accent
BenP would be able to detect the Canadian accent still coming through

• Video Link

[benp]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Example of Canadians mocking the Western New York accent
BenP would be able to detect the Canadian accent still coming through

• Video Link

I'll give them a B+ -- they could have gotten an A- if they threw in a few expletives and with a little more practice (along with getting the highway numbers right).

I know after living away for a couple decades I'm sure my accent got tweaked and flattened - I get the quizzical look sometimes, followed by a squint and the surprised "are you from Buffalo??" question, so I know I've changed.

My SIL from Texas tried to imitate what she hears as the Buffalo accent and I hd no idea what sound she was producing, probably because she lived in Boston for awhile and mixed up her accents. I have noticed since I moved back that I hear many more different accents here than I remember from past days, some very strong old Buffalo, and many that I hardly notice at all.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

yeah, a standard canadian english accent really is pretty damn similar to a standard american accent, with the exception of some of the vowel sounds in particular words like process, sorry, and about.

to our american ears, those slightly different vowel sounds tend to stick out and seem huge, but to an english speaker from, say, Scotland or Kenya or Hong Kong, no effing way are they picking up on those subtle differences.

If the Canada-US border were to magically disappear and the two entities became a single country, the current standard Anglo-Canadian accent could immediately pass for a simple and fairly neutral variant of the standard American accent, of which there are many.

It's actually less of a blatant outlier relative to the American norm than the accents of the Deep South are, for example.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Camelback

It comes across as innocent sounding with a few goofy pronunciation of words with an "eh" or two and nice people "tok'in aboot hok'ie, eh".

I don't have an accent. I speak perfect standard American English. I sound like a Ron Burgandy or a Walter Cronkite, basically a deep radio voice, with stunning looks suitable for TV.


gfycat

But you do have an accent..Everyone does. Walter Cronkite did sound neutral though..I'll give you that.

[Steely Dan]

Everyone has an accent.

Just like everyone has a whale's —.

These are facts.

[jbermingham123]

Originally Posted by Acajack

If the Canada-US border were to magically disappear and the two entities became a single country, the current standard Anglo-Canadian accent could immediately pass for a simple and fairly neutral variant of the standard American accent, of which there are many.

In my experience, the border really doesnt exert much influence anyway... I grew up in Great Falls, Montana** and I (apparently) have a canadian accent.. For years since ive left Montana, countless people have asked me where in Canada im from and are surprised when they find out im American.

My theory about this has always been that the original english/scottish (and french) settlers in all of Canada and the inland northwest of the US were essentially a single group/groups at first, and nobody really cared where exactly they were... and then suddenly the straight-line border on the 49th parallel –which was only decided in 1818, roughly 200 years after the beginning of British and French exploration/settlement in North America– arbitrarily cut us right in half. The cross-border extended-family ties between Montana/North Dakota/Minnesota and Alberta/Saskatchewan/Manitoba are still pretty strong even in the 21st century


**Which, by the way, is another US city in which the nearest "big city" is in Canada.. Every now and then we used to drive 7 hours up to Calgary, which was 3 hours closer to us than seattle and 7 hours closer to us than Minneapolis or Denver

[kool maudit]

Weirdly, I have noticed a few "aboat"-like pronunciations from people in the Tri-State area lately. Anna Khachiyan from the Red Scare podcast has this, it's like a kind of outer-borough white ethnic accent that gets so clipped that it approaches the edge of Anglo Montreal, which is less "Canadian" than the standard but still has a bit of raising on that word.