# Do Canadians get offended if they are mistaken for Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 18, 2019, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734 "2019-04-18T18:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/41 "2019-04-19T16:28:18Z")
It’s funny how some people claim they never say leftenent and others saying it is always pronounced that way. My main experience is with English speaking Montrealers and people from Ontario, including my close friend originally from Toronto who always says shedule and leftenant, not to mention ofTen. ISTM that all CBC announcers say ofTen. Another explanation is that I notice these differences only when they clash with my expectation and when they say it the way I do, I don’t notice. None of this explains how it is that I still cannot pick out Canadians while they can always tell I am American. I grew up in Philly incidentally and while we have our own quirks of speech (e.g. sad does not rhyme with bad, nor ran with fan) we are not anywhere near as extreme as a southern or New England accent. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/42 "2019-04-19T17:09:11Z")
Thirty plus years ago, on my first trip to SEAsia, I was being chatted up by a drunken Kiwi in a bar in Singapore. He kept asking me why all us Canadians sounded just like ‘stupid bloody Americans.’ I was trying to ignore him but he just wouldn’t quit. The next time he said it, I turned and blurted out, ‘For the same reason all you Kiwi’s sound like stupid bloody Aussies!’ He was mortified and deeply freaking offended, and now mightily pissed off! I thought it was a good analogy, and hardly expected him to actually get pissed. We up and left, right after this exchange! What a dickhead! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/43 "2019-04-19T17:16:00Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > One other subtlety not mentioned is the pasta/Mazda thing. Canadians pronounce both the vowel sounds the same way, like you’d pronounce Santa. Americans say something like “pawsta” and “Mawzda.” I don’t know exactly what you mean by this, as I use a schwa in the ending syllable for all three of your examples. It could be that my “pasta” sounds like “pawsta” to you, but I definitely don’t pronounce both of the vowels in “Santa” the same way. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/44 "2019-04-19T17:18:01Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > One other subtlety not mentioned is the pasta/Mazda thing. Canadians pronounce both the vowel sounds the same way, like you’d pronounce Santa. Americans say something like “pawsta” and “Mawzda.” I don’t. You must be thinking of some other Canadians. Pronouncing pasta like you would santa makes it sound like you’re talking about a priest from Boston. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/45 "2019-04-19T17:42:30Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I don’t know exactly what you mean by this, as I use a schwa in the ending syllable for all three of your examples. It could be that my “pasta” sounds like “pawsta” to you, but I definitely don’t pronounce both of the vowels in “Santa” the same way. I believe **Leaffan** is saying he pronounces them with an /ae/ sound. So, /'mæzdə/ “MAZZ-duh” and /ˈpæstə/ “PASS-tuh” instead of /'mäzdə/ (MAHZ-duh) and /ˈpästə/ (PAH-stuh). I’m also guessing **Leaffan** is in a dialect with the cot-caught merger (where they’re pronounced the same), as “pawsta” doesn’t work as a phonetic spelling in my dialect (nor for about 60% of Americans) for the pronunciation of “pasta.” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/46 "2019-04-19T17:46:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No, we all do in fact say “eh” a lot. I have to catch myself when I’m in the US because the speech pattern is very much ingrained in us. I’d like to say “eh” if people wouldn’t always ask me if I’m Canadian when I do so: it’s a shorter syllable than “right”. In the 80s in Upstate NY we “eh’ed” quite a bit too and no one had to inquire as to our nationality when we did. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/47 "2019-04-19T18:07:21Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I believe **Leaffan** is saying he pronounces them with an /ae/ sound. So, /'mæzdə/ “MAZZ-duh” and /ˈpæstə/ “PASS-tuh” instead of /'mäzdə/ (MAHZ-duh) and /ˈpästə/ (PAH-stuh). I believe he’s saying that as well. And, he’s wrong. I don’t pronounce it that way at all, never have. Maybe it’s a Tronnuh thing. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2019, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/48 "2019-04-19T18:17:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I believe **Leaffan** is saying he pronounces them with an /ae/ sound. So, /'mæzdə/ “MAZZ-duh” and /ˈpæstə/ “PASS-tuh” instead of /'mäzdə/ (MAHZ-duh) and /ˈpästə/ (PAH-stuh). I’m also guessing **Leaffan** is in a dialect with the cot-caught merger (where they’re pronounced the same), as “pawsta” doesn’t work as a phonetic spelling in my dialect (nor for about 60% of Americans) for the pronunciation of “pasta.” No. Not “Mazz-duh,” “Mazz-da.” Same with “Pass-ta.” The “a” sound as both vowels in Santa, and Clara. And how the heck DO you pronounce Santa, Ludovic, if both “As” don’t sound the same? You are correct about the American pronunciations though. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/49 "2019-04-19T18:32:45Z")
I wouldn’t be offended to be mistaken for an American but would definitely correct them. There are a number of reasons for this. One is that I suspect travelling Americans are often called upon to defend American politicians and political actions, as if they were responsible or could personally influence these. Also, Canadians in certain countries are more respected than Americans. In Mexico recently, a taxi driver told me “Canadians are not gringos”, which I found slightly surprising/amusing. Canada is so much a patchwork of people, and influenced by American media, that you could hear any pronounciation of words like schedule or lieutenant. Colourful spelling can be a giveaway. Americans talk much more openly about money and religion than most Canadians, and discuss politics in ways that are more direct. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/50 "2019-04-19T18:33:24Z")
And yes, caught and cot are exactly the same for me. I don’t even know how the can’t be ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/51 "2019-04-19T18:54:47Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Link to the _Forensic Files_ [“Bad Blood” episode](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABK6L0oHbbw&t=4m40s) (3 "eh"s from three separate participants within 20 seconds beginning at the 4:40 mark). > > They’re from Saskatchewan, if that makes a difference. Ah yes, Dr. Schneeburger. I knew him. Didn’t trust him. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/52 "2019-04-19T19:01:08Z")
I agree with **Leaffan** about the pasta thing. My pronunciation is by adding an “ah” at the end of “past”. The first syllable of “pasta” and the word “past” are exactly the same. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/53 "2019-04-19T20:11:15Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I don’t get offended. I just gently correct them. > > The accent thing is funny. On more than a few occasions, when I’ve been in the US in touristy areas (Las Vegas, for example), I’ve been chatting with American strangers, and they’ve wondered where I was from. I told them, and they were surprised–they thought, with my accent, that I was from Chicago! That doesn’t surprise me. I can hear a noticeable Canadian accent - especially around the “ou” diphthong of _house_ and _about_, and a sort of flatness. But this accent, at least to my ears, blends in to the Upper Midwestern accent continuum - I could probably tell an Albertan from a New Yorker, but I’d be hard-pressed to distinguish her from a Minnesotan. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/54 "2019-04-19T20:28:51Z")
I grew up in the US and moved to Canada as an adult. I’ve now lived almost half my life in Soviet Canuckistan. I think Canadians can often tell that I’m from the US, but they don’t often comment. My American relatives always comment on my Canadian accent, so go figure. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/55 "2019-04-19T20:33:17Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And yes, caught and cot are exactly the same for me. I don’t even know how the can’t be In some parts of the US, the short “o” sound is flattened to the palate, so that “cot” sounds aboot halfway between “caught” and “cat”. It is most noticeable in Wisconsin and Michigan, where I suspect that the weather patterns across the surrounding big lakes cause some sort of permanent deformity in the nasal/palate area. Around here, we just talk normal; we have no accent. ---
**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:** [April 19, 2019, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/56 "2019-04-19T20:50:11Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > In some parts of the US, the short “o” sound is flattened to the palate, so that “cot” sounds aboot halfway between “caught” and “cat”. It is most noticeable in Wisconsin and Michigan, where I suspect that the weather patterns across the surrounding big lakes cause some sort of permanent deformity in the nasal/palate area. Around here, we just talk normal; we have no accent. I grew up across the St. Clair river from Michigan. It was amazing to me how people separated by a bridge could have such different accents. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/57 "2019-04-19T20:54:45Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And yes, caught and cot are exactly the same for me. I don’t even know how the can’t be For me (and about 60% of the US), they are different vowel sounds. They are even indicated as different vowels in the dictionary. So much as there is a “standard” US dialect, they are separate vowel sounds. (And in UK English, they are different. Wikipedia tells me in rapid Cockney speech they might be merged, and apparently it can also be heard in Scotland.)Years ago, [I made this audio clip](http://www.peterpawinski.com/cotcaught.mp3) to demonstrate the difference. There’s also the Don-Dawn merger. Some places distinguish cot and caught, but not Don and Dawn. For me, Don and Dawn are pronounced differently. That said, in my case, I _am_ part of the Marry-Mary-merry merger. All three of those words are pronounced the same in my dialect. I can hear and reproduce the difference if I concentrate, but, otherwise, all three will register the same to me if pronounced by somebody who does not merge those three. It was very weird for me to hear that those words can be pronounced differently, just in the same way that it was odd for me to find out some people use the same vowel for “cot” and “caught.” ---
**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:** [April 19, 2019, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/58 "2019-04-19T21:01:51Z")
Marry-Mary-merry are definitely different for me, but it certainly is subtle. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/59 "2019-04-19T21:08:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Marry-Mary-merry are definitely different for me, but it certainly is subtle. [Here’s a USA map of the cot-caught merger](https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1ogzeo/american_dialect_survey_do_you_pronounce_cot_and/). Red areas is where they pronounce the words differently, blue where they’re the same vowel. Note that these areas are, of course, going to have a mix of people, so it’s not like the red areas are 100% non-merged and the blue areas are 100% merged, but the intensity of the color will indicate the dominance of one pronunciation over the other. It’s not just a Great Lakes phenomenon; it is prevalent in the south and along much of the Eastern seaboard. Once you get west of the center of the US, the distinction pretty much disappears for most speakers. There’s also an interesting little pocket of mergers down there in West Virginia and SE Ohio/NW Pennsylvania, as well as much of New England. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/60 "2019-04-19T21:39:34Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Obviously you’ve never listened to NHL hockey broadcasts. Canadian announcers reveal their origin within 30 seconds on average. You must find it amusing, then, when half of American TV network hosts and anchors [reveal themselves to be Canadian](https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadians-invade-us-news) within 30 seconds on average! 😉 > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Catch [this episode](https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/2018/11/01/what-happened-to-dr-john-schneeberger/) of _Forensic Files_ sometime. It’s a classic eh-fest. 🙂 So is this [equally typical depiction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssCZWBtwUTI). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734.md?page=4)