# Canadian English vs. American English along the border **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 1, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337 "2015-11-01T15:32:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/1 "2015-11-01T15:32:05Z")
When you cross the international border from the United States to Canada (or vice versa), is there a noticeable difference in the varieties of spoken English? Would an individual from Montana or North Dakota immediately notice that the person he or she is talking to hails from Alberta or Saskatchewan? What about Washington/British Columbia, Michigan/Ontario or Maine/New Brunswick? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/2 "2015-11-01T15:42:37Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > Would an individual from Montana or North Dakota immediately notice that the person he or she is talking to hails from Alberta or Saskatchewan? This is probably the best chance for a “yes” answer, given the relative paucity of border crossings once you enter the high plains and there are no towns of any size whatsoever which come close to even being border towns, let alone straddling the frontier. Seriously: There are more border towns in New Mexico than Montana. More than that, there’s no cultural exchange. We don’t get their TV, they don’t get ours. Products don’t cross the border. Radio, especially AM radio, can, but I’m probably one of the few people to know first-hand there’s a clear CBC Radio 1 signal in Havre, Montana. Even coins are rare. (For reference, Havre is one of the larger towns along the Hi-Line, which is the northernmost east-west highway and rail route in the Contiguous United States. The town’s economy is largely based on the Border Patrol.) That said, a large number of the Native Americans in the region have thick, stereotypical Bob & Doug Mackenzie accents. A White who spoke like that would be marked out as odd, though. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/3 "2015-11-01T15:46:41Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > When you cross the international border from the United States to Canada (or vice versa), is there a noticeable difference in the varieties of spoken English? Would an individual from Montana or North Dakota immediately notice that the person he or she is talking to hails from Alberta or Saskatchewan? What about Washington/British Columbia, Michigan/Ontario or Maine/New Brunswick? Living in Detroit, I’ve been in Ontario many times. Also a number of my co-workers live in Ontario. I’d say the differences are slight but noticeable; just kind of a different inflection here and there at certain times. and yeah, “eh?” is a thing but it’s not nearly as exaggerated as some like to do when they imitate it. Also I’ve encountered some folks who pronounce “sorry” with more of a long “O” sound so it sounds closer to “soary.” Now, Mike Vernon (former goaltender for the Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings) is from Calgary, and his accent stands out much more to me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/unjNYy-WNkc/maxresdefault.jpg "Mike Vernon speaks on Chris Osgood and the 1998 Detroit Redwings") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unjNYy-WNkc) > [@](#): > > More than that, there’s no cultural exchange. We don’t get their TV, they don’t get ours. depends on region, in Michigan we get CBC TV both by OTA (don’t know if that’s still active) and the region’s cable networks. It was fun when I was a kid watching Sesame Street on PBS, then after that was Sesame Street on CBC which had segments done in French. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/4 "2015-11-01T16:02:45Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > More than that, there’s no cultural exchange. We don’t get their TV, they don’t get ours. Canadians with cable absolutely do get NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, etc. from the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/5 "2015-11-01T16:15:16Z")
In New England, there is significant cross-border traffic in both directions, both for business and tourism. We pick up the Canadian radio and TV, and our local TV stations carry ads aimed at the Canadian audience. There is not too much in linguistic “cross-contamination”, we speak as we do, and they speak as they do. You will hear “Eh”, and the classic Canadian dipthong (“aboot” isn’t exactly it, but not a million miles removed, either) in the speech of Anglophones from Quebec, but they are considerably less pronounced than in English speakers from other provinces. And, of course, the Francophone Quebecois are a whole other story. (I once worked a car accident where the driver was French-speaking - he spoke English, but it was clearly not his native tongue. When we had to move him, he was in considerable pain, and his expression thereof was, I kid you not, “Ooh, la la la”. I never knew they actually said that!) ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/6 "2015-11-01T16:28:10Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > You will hear “Eh”, and the classic Canadian dipthong (“aboot” isn’t exactly it, but not a million miles removed, either) to my ear, it’s _closer_ to “aboat” in sound, but only subtly so. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/7 "2015-11-01T16:41:35Z")
There’s a soda/pop [isogloss](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isogloss) on the BC/Washington border, and a washroom / restroom-or-bathroom isogloss. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/8 "2015-11-01T16:58:33Z")
We’re pretty much the same. People have been giving the American slant on things, so I’ll give the Canadian slant on things. In Michigan and New York state they pronounce the ltter “o” like “a”. It is “hat” out today. Do you want a bottle of “pap?” Let’s put that back in the “bax.” Apart from that, Canadians are far superior. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/9 "2015-11-01T17:06:06Z")
Pronunciation and turn-of-phrase can reveal a person’s origin. F’rinstance, lever rhyming with fever is Canadian. Lever rhyming with never is American. Grade 6 (or whatever grade number) is Canadian. Sixth grade (or whatever grade number) is American. Yesterday I signed up with a Canadian company for online billing instead of snail-mail billing. The form I filled out had me choose questions I’d have to answer if something went awry with my identification. One the questions I could have chosen to answer was “What was the name of my sixth grade teacher?” Obviously the form was produced in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/10 "2015-11-01T17:26:54Z")
I remember listening to a podcast from Canada that was also hosted by two Canadians. They were discussing a criminal case in the United States (in Florida, IIRC), and one host kept referring to the prosecution as “the Crown”. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/11 "2015-11-01T17:31:55Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > to my ear, it’s _closer_ to “aboat” in sound, but only subtly so. It seems that the first vowel of the diphthong is still unrouded, but is a back vowel. For those who understand IPA, we say [əˈbaʊ̈t] while they say anything from [əˈbɑʊ̈t] to [əˈbʌʊ̈t]. (I think hear [əˈbɒʊ̈t] most often, which is right in the middle.) In other words, they don’t open their mouth quite as wide as Americans do for that diphthong. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/12 "2015-11-01T18:39:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > … > In other words, they don’t open their mouth quite as wide as Americans do for that diphthong. I dare say we don’t open our mouths as wide on any number of issues. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/13 "2015-11-01T19:12:48Z")
The western North Dakota accent (not the Minnesota one made famous by _Fargo_) is definitely verrrrrry close to newsreader Canadian, only really missing the “aboot” and a few other specific quirks. FWIW, I’m from Montana but when I’m down in California or Arizona I get mistaken for a Canadian snowbird all the time. > [@Derleth](#): > > More than that, there’s no cultural exchange. We don’t get their TV, they don’t get ours. Products don’t cross the border. Radio, especially AM radio, can, but I’m probably one of the few people to know first-hand there’s a clear CBC Radio 1 signal in Havre, Montana. Even coins are rare. (For reference, Havre is one of the larger towns along the Hi-Line, which is the northernmost east-west highway and rail route in the Contiguous United States. The town’s economy is largely based on the Border Patrol.) There used to be way more cultural exchange. Like the high school sports teams would play in the same leagues and stuff. One of the implications of the remoteness of eastern Montana and North Dakota is that they’re way closer to Calgary and Winnipeg than any major US cities so those would be the default “big city” shopping options. The tougher border rules and unfavorable exchange rate over the last couple decades has definitely changed that though. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/14 "2015-11-01T20:20:59Z")
> [@Donnerwetter](#): > > I remember listening to a podcast from Canada that was also hosted by two Canadians. They were discussing a criminal case in the United States (in Florida, IIRC), and one host kept referring to the prosecution as “the Crown”. That’s how a criminal prosecutor is referred to in Canadian criminal courts: “The Crown is seeking a five-year sentence,” would be an example. That being said, using “the Crown” to describe an American criminal prosecutor is just plain wrong. More likely, such a person would be described as “the State,” or something similar: “The State is seeking a five-year sentence.” ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/15 "2015-11-01T21:12:42Z")
‘Aboot’ is a dead give away on the US side, but that seems to diminish with time spent here in the US, at the border probably not so much. Even with the accent removed something will slip out like “When I was at University” instead of “When I was in college”. Maybe I don’t notice the Canadians here that much but crossing over it’s immediately obvious. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/16 "2015-11-01T22:39:02Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Canadians with cable absolutely do get NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox, etc. from the U.S. But not local broadcast TV from small markets, which was obviously meant in context. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/17 "2015-11-01T23:19:18Z")
> [@](#): > > We don’t get their TV, they don’t get ours. A friend of mine who lives in St. John’s, Newfoundland says they get TV from Rochester, New York. > [@](#): > > F’rinstance, lever rhyming with fever is Canadian. Lever rhyming with never is American. I’m an American, last time I checked, and have never lived in Canada in my life, and I pronounce it to rhyme with fever. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/18 "2015-11-01T23:29:08Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > But not local broadcast TV from small markets, which was obviously meant in context. Canadians can pick up American OTA TV and vice-versa, as long as the distance and terrain conditions are favorable. Canadian broadcast stations use the same frequencies and digital ATSC standard as the United States. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/19 "2015-11-01T23:29:31Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > But not local broadcast TV from small markets, which was obviously meant in context. What counts as a small market? For example, all my US networks and channels come from Spokane WA. Is Spokane what you would regard as a small market? ETA: Just checked. Seems I also get WSBK (Boston, I think), KTLA (Los Angeles), and WGN (Chicago), so it’s not all Spokane. Just the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and Fox). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2015, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337/20 "2015-11-01T23:34:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > We’re pretty much the same. People have been giving the American slant on things, so I’ll give the Canadian slant on things. > > In Michigan and New York state they pronounce the ltter “o” like “a”. > > It is “hat” out today. > > Do you want a bottle of “pap?” > > Let’s put that back in the “bax.” > > Apart from that, Canadians are far superior. 😉 I live in Michigan and no one here says any of those with the “a” sound. If I heard someone talking like that, I’d probably think they were from Chicago if anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/canadian-english-vs-american-english-along-the-border/736337.md?page=2)