# 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:** 4
**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, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/61 "2019-04-19T21:57:46Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > For Canadians, consider how you say the words ‘lout’ and ‘loud’. Same vowel? Not for most of us. ‘Loud’ is more dipthongy, as it were. When the ‘ou’ dipthong appears before a voiceless consonant like ‘t’ it is shifted slightly, starting at a different place than when it precedes a voiced consonant like ‘d’. In most American dialects this doesn’t happen, and ‘lout’ (and ‘about’) have exactly the same vowel as in ‘loud’ or ‘crowd’. I think that’s it exactly. I would think that almost everyone pronounces the “ou” in “lout” and “loud” differently, and to my ear the Canadian “about” has the “lout” diphthong while the American has the “loud” diphthong. If that’s not precisely accurate in describing the difference, it’s pretty damn close. > [@eschereal](#): > > Around here, we just talk normal; we have no accent. So you live in Canada then? I’ve noticed that, too. No one here has an accent. Obviously I mean the real Canada, what the Newfies call “the mainland”. With the exception of Quebec, of course, where everyone sounds [exactly like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSo0duY7-9s). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/62 "2019-04-19T22:02:35Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > 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! 😉 Half? Really? I don’t see that in your “Canadian Encyclopedia” link. Interestingly, it has this to say: _“That (Canadians getting jobs in U.S. broadcasting) is despite - or because of - such distinctions as a marked accent and a different way of viewing the world. “Canadians do say ‘eh’ and they pronounce out and about as oot and aboot,” insists Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News…(Peter) Jennings describes (an early) experience as “my great failure.” Critics carped that he was too pretty, inexperienced and young. Jennings insisted on using Canadianisms - pronouncing lieutenant as lef-tenant, and schedule as shedule. Viewers were irritated or unimpressed, and the ratings did not improve.”_ 😃 ---
**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, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/63 "2019-04-19T22:21:55Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > … With the exception of Quebec, of course, where everyone sounds [exactly like this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSo0duY7-9s). Really? I was under the impression that anyone trying to speak English in QC would be met with a bare poignard. On the other hand, William Shatner grew up in Montreal and he has no trace of cajun in his speaking. ---
**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, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/64 "2019-04-19T22:23:55Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Half? Really? I don’t see that in your “Canadian Encyclopedia” link… Yeah, half is hyperbole: more like a dozen out of what must be thousands. ---
**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, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/65 "2019-04-19T22:32:26Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Half? Really? I don’t see that in your “Canadian Encyclopedia” link. You know, I actually anticipated a retort like that and almost worded it differently, but thought, to hell with it. No, not literally half. Not even remotely close to half. Merely a hyperbolic allusion to the concept of “many”, and the fact that you do _ **not** _, in fact, have large numbers of TV viewers exclaiming “hey, another Canadian!” after hearing them for 30 seconds. The same goes for a lot of A-list Hollywood actors. People on both sides of the border who don’t know these individuals’ histories are usually surprised to hear they are Canadian ex-pats. In fact, as I noted earlier, I read somewhere that the reason so many Canadian broadcasters are hired by US networks is the perceived accent-neutral speech, so that you don’t get perceptions of regional and cultural bias. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > Interestingly, it has this to say: > > _“That (Canadians getting jobs in U.S. broadcasting) is despite - or because of - such distinctions as a marked accent and a different way of viewing the world. “Canadians do say ‘eh’ and they pronounce out and about as oot and aboot,” insists Andrew Heyward, president of CBS News…(Peter) Jennings describes (an early) experience as “my great failure.” Critics carped that he was too pretty, inexperienced and young. Jennings insisted on using Canadianisms - pronouncing lieutenant as lef-tenant, and schedule as shedule. Viewers were irritated or unimpressed, and the ratings did not improve.”_ > > 😃 I saw that, and I don’t agree with it. See the discussion above regarding “about” and the comparison with “lout” and “loud”. The whole “aboot” thing is idiotic and probably arose from someone’s idea of satire. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2019, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/66 "2019-04-19T22:48:12Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > 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. My grandmother was from Sarnia. She had a Michigan accent for some reason, maybe having to do with living in Port Huron. When I lived in the GTA for a year, I easily adopted an Ontario accent, which I suppose is easy because I grew up watching Gobal. ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/67 "2019-04-19T22:54:56Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > You know, I actually anticipated a retort like that and almost worded it differently, but thought, to hell with it. No, not literally half. Not even remotely close to half. Merely a hyperbolic allusion to the concept of “many”, and the fact that you do _ **not** _, in fact, have large numbers of TV viewers exclaiming “hey, another Canadian!” after hearing them for 30 seconds. The same goes for a lot of A-list Hollywood actors. People on both sides of the border who don’t know these individuals’ histories are usually surprised to hear they are Canadian ex-pats. > > In fact, as I noted earlier, I read somewhere that the reason so many Canadian broadcasters are hired by US networks is the perceived accent-neutral speech, so that you don’t get perceptions of regional and cultural bias. > > I saw that, and I don’t agree with it. See the discussion above regarding “about” and the comparison with “lout” and “loud”. The whole “aboot” thing is idiotic and probably arose from someone’s idea of satire. The lout and loud thing is perfect, because there is a difference in there, although I’m not sure why: about and loud share the same diphthong. ---
**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, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/68 "2019-04-19T23:27:47Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > The lout and loud thing is perfect, because there is a difference in there, although I’m not sure why: about and loud share the same diphthong. You can read [about Canadian raising here](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raising). As mentioned before, we do a similar thing here in the US in various dialects, including my own, with “writer” and “rider.” “Rider” gets the standard “eye”/“long i” /aɪ/ diphthong, but “writer” gets raised to /ʌɪ/, so something starting with more of an “uh” sound instead of an “ah” sound. You can also notice it in the pair “I scream” and “ice cream,” where the "long i"s in both examples sounds different in many American accents. (For me, without using IPA, the distinction would be like saying “AHY” vs “UHY.”) Like with Canadian raising, it occurs before unvoiced consonants, but not before voiced consonants. ---
**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 20, 2019, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/69 "2019-04-20T00:57:13Z")
I was thinking of that Michael Palin song and it occurred to me that in Canada they say “lumberjack” because when you say “logger” it makes Canadians thirsty. ---
**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:** [April 20, 2019, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/70 "2019-04-20T01:33:46Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > And how the heck DO you pronounce Santa, Ludovic, if both “As” don’t sound the same? Like [on this page](https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/pronunciation/american/santa-claus). The first A is the A in man, while the second A is the A in about. That is the standard pronunciation across all of English, as far as I know. Now the A in man varies a bit, depending on the pre-nasal raising of the /æ/ vowel. It can [meən] or [mæn] or anything in between. (The former might be spelled out as may-un if someone is spelling out dialect. But that’s the best I can do without IPA. Even IPA has trouble distinguishing between the exact vowels, as it was not designed to do so.) But it still is never the a in about. And the final A is never the A as in man. They are always different. I would be very, very surprised if you recorded yourself saying the word “Santa” and both used the same vowel. ---
**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 20, 2019, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/71 "2019-04-20T02:59:01Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Like [on this page](https://www.macmillandictionary.com/us/pronunciation/american/santa-claus). > > The first A is the A in man, while the second A is the A in about. That is the standard pronunciation across all of English, as far as I know. … This cracks me the hell up. ---
**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 20, 2019, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/72 "2019-04-20T03:21:59Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No. > Not “Mazz-duh,” “Mazz-da.” Same with “Pass-ta.” The “a” sound as both vowels in Santa, and Clara. This is odd to me. You don’t schwa the last syllable? I’m looking at [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pasta), and in all the English variants, the final syllable is a schwa. Maybe we’re just hearing the vowels differently. [Here on Forvo](https://forvo.com/word/pasta/#en) you can find three Canadians pronouncing “pasta” and in all three cases, I hear a schwa at the end. ---
**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 20, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/73 "2019-04-20T03:30:32Z")
It’s not the final vowel that sounds different to me, but the middle vowel. What **Leaffan** is describing matches my pronunciation : “past-a”, not “paast -a” ---
**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 20, 2019, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/74 "2019-04-20T03:32:55Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > It’s not the final vowel that sounds different to me, but the middle vowel. What **Leaffan** is describing matches my pronunciation : “past-a”, not “paast -a” Yes. This I understand. ---
**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 20, 2019, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/75 "2019-04-20T03:50:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > This is odd to me. You don’t schwa the last syllable? I’m looking at [Wiktionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pasta), and in all the English variants, the final syllable is a schwa. Maybe we’re just hearing the vowels differently. [Here on Forvo](https://forvo.com/word/pasta/#en) you can find three Canadians pronouncing “pasta” and in all three cases, I hear a schwa at the end. I don’t understand now. I listened to the Canadians and I hear past-a. What’s a schwa at the end? ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/76 "2019-04-20T03:53:47Z")
Everyone has an accent, but here’s a few I personally have been most exposed to. Newfoundland - [Professional broadcaster Anthony Germain interviews N.L. Premier Dwight Ball](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCu32JtXg_c) Cape Breton - [Humorous video on the Cape Breton dialect](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXkamp46eZI) Ottawa Valley - [A roommate teasing his friend’s Ottawa valley pronunciation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-LJXYNuG8) ---
**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 20, 2019, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/77 "2019-04-20T04:08:55Z")
> [@orcenio](#): > > Everyone has an accent, but here’s a few I personally have been most exposed to. > > Newfoundland - [Professional broadcaster Anthony Germain interviews N.L. Premier Dwight Ball](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCu32JtXg_c) > Cape Breton - [Humorous video on the Cape Breton dialect](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXkamp46eZI) > Ottawa Valley - [A roommate teasing his friend’s Ottawa valley pronunciation](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D-LJXYNuG8) Oh, the Ottawa Valley thing is bang on. There is definitely a subtle hint of Irish in the accent. The word “bank” sounds a bit like “boink” and “tiger” comes across as “tager.” Quite interesting. ---
**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 20, 2019, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/78 "2019-04-20T04:14:34Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t understand now. I listened to the Canadians and I hear past-a. > > What’s a schwa at the end? A schwa is a type of unstressed vowel. But I understand that we’re talking about the same sound now–we just have different ways of representing it. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/79 "2019-04-20T04:27:56Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Oh, the Ottawa Valley thing is bang on. There is definitely a subtle hint of Irish in the accent. The word “bank” sounds a bit like “boink” and “tiger” comes across as “tager.” > > Quite interesting. In all the provinces I’ve lived, the common theme I’ve noticed is that urbanites always seems to tease rural folk for having strong accents. This has been true in Nova Scotia (Haligonians will say that Capers/valley folk talk funny), Quebec (everyone criticizes every region for some imagined/real linguistic quirk), Ottawa (will always point out the valley as people who speak differently). I have yet to live in other places in Canada, but I’m starting to think this tendance is universal. ---
**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 20, 2019, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734/80 "2019-04-20T04:45:08Z")
Similar to the “tiger” “tager” mentioned by **Leaffan** , in Saskatchewan it’s not uncommon to hear “malk” for “milk”. And then there’s “film” pronounced with two syllables. Dying out with electronic cameras. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-canadians-get-offended-if-they-are-mistaken-for-americans/832734.md?page=5)