# Do us Canadians really have an accent to you Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 13, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837 "2016-07-13T19:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/81 "2016-07-14T19:23:11Z")
> [@Hoserted](#): > > 70%-80% of the population in Canada lives in Toronto or around the area. I’m assuming you’re trying to whoosh me as the entire province of Ontario’s population is less than 40% of the country with TO’s population being roughly 5.5 million. [Cite](http://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/canada-population/). FWIW, Y’all is a dead giveaway for detecting most Americans, as is “soda”. Most Canadians say “pop” to refer to soft drinks. Also, dinner for supper although that varies a bit by region. **Wolfpup** , if you really want to find out about TO hatred mention how big a Leafs fan you are in Alberta. Oh, and throw in how great the National Energy policy was for Ontario… ---
**Author:** ![Randolph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Randolph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randolph)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/82 "2016-07-14T19:25:06Z")
The people of Montreal have such thick accents that I can’t even understand what they’re saying half the time. ---
**Author:** ![Hoserted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8c91f0/32.png) [@Hoserted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoserted)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/83 "2016-07-14T19:26:17Z")
> [@Paxx](#): > > Is this some kind of Canajun joke? > > According your percentages, at least 25 million Canadians live “in Toronto or around the area”. Does that sound right to you? About 12 million live in Southern Ontario in Toronto and it’s suburbs. Another 8 million live around Montreal. MY percentage was too high lol, but that doesn’t change the fact that the majority of us live in Southern Ontario around Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/84 "2016-07-14T19:33:09Z")
12 of 35 isn’t a majority. Now if you’d said 80% of Canadians live in urban centres you’d be right. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/85 "2016-07-14T19:33:27Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > FWIW, Y’all is a dead giveaway for detecting most Americans, as is “soda”. Most Canadians say “pop” to refer to soft drinks. Also, dinner for supper although that varies a bit by region. I grew up with pop, but these days I’d notice if someone said it. Dinner and supper are the exact same word to my brain and if you asked me five minutes later “did that guy say supper or dinner” I wouldn’t be able to tell you. ---
**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:** [July 14, 2016, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/86 "2016-07-14T20:02:53Z")
> [@Hoserted](#): > > About 12 million live in Southern Ontario in Toronto and it’s suburbs. Another 8 million live around Montreal. MY percentage was too high lol, but that doesn’t change the fact that the majority of us live in Southern Ontario around Toronto. In terms of population there are at least half a dozen ways to define “Toronto”. There is the City of Toronto, the Greater Toronto Area, the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, various census areas, and the great big mass of population that commute to Toronto and are even served by commuter mass transit who live in a nebulously defined area that sprawls outside of those boundaries. I’m not sure what the population is of the latter but it’s huge, and a lot of it is basically continuous adjacent towns. The population of the GTHA is about 7 million, and that doesn’t include numerous populous areas north of it that are part of that commuter zone. 12 million is way too high, though, for any definition of “Toronto area”, but probably close for Southern Ontario. Being farther south than many parts of the US, lots of Canucks huddle here for warmth! ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/87 "2016-07-14T20:34:11Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > “Eh” is real, don’t deny it, even though it seems to be mainly an Ontario thing. > > Otherwise, the dead giveaway for me is hearing you say “progress” or “process” with a long O sound. That’s the mark of not being just another Minnesotan. A Canadian I worked with said that “eh” was short for “asshole.” I think he was joking… :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Hoserted](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8c91f0/32.png) [@Hoserted](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoserted)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/88 "2016-07-14T22:49:02Z")
The Canadian accent is really dying in major cities. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/89 "2016-07-14T23:37:23Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > For the record, I’m a toke man. > > Wait, that doesn’t sound quite right… One toque over the line, sweet Mary … ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/90 "2016-07-14T23:42:50Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > In terms of population there are at least half a dozen ways to define “Toronto”… I tend to define the Greater Toronto Area as “anywhere you can get to on GO”. GO Transit is that vast commuter-oriented bus and train system that you mention upthread, but its outposts–places like Kitchener, Barrie, and Newcastle–are far beyond convenient commuting range to downtown Toronto. Last weekend I went from Peterborough to Niagara Falls on GO. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/91 "2016-07-15T00:40:49Z")
I’m from Minnesota. I’ve had numerous encounters with people where we talk - a salesguy giving a presentation, my seat mate on an air line, my sister’s surgeon - three examples that come to mind of actual cases. At some point they say something, and I say “are you from Canada” - and they always are. (And its usually about). They are also ALWAYS shocked. They don’t hear any difference in their accent from mine - and the Upper Midwest of the U.S. and the lower Mid-Canadian accent is really close. Now there are probably plenty of other Canadians I haven’t been able to tell who have slipped through my life unaccounted for, fully assimilated working undercover for the super secret Canadian spy ring. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/92 "2016-07-15T01:09:00Z")
Hundreds of years ago, when I was young, trailer camping still happened near Cape May and sometimes we’d be fortunate enough to have a campsite next to a family from Ontario or Quebec. Nicest people, spotless campers. Always took their shoes off when visiting a trailer. Their manner of speech was emphatic, specific, and there was never a stutter or a pause. When they spoke, that had a clear thought in mind, every single word seemed carefully picked out and specifically chosen beforehand. In speech, they were extremely precise and right to the point, but with some slight tonal inflections that I wasn’t familiar with. I always admired them for that. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/93 "2016-07-15T02:29:09Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > “Toque” was the answer to a question on a recent episode of _Jeopardy!_. Both the contestant and Alex Trebek (who is, interestingly enough, Canadian) pronounced it as “toke.” On a _Jeopardy!_ discussion board that I frequent, a huge discussion quickly ensued, with some people saying, “Who the hell pronounces it toke? Everyone knows it’s took!” And other people saying “What do you mean took? It’s toke, who doesn’t know that?” > > The upshot of the discussion being that there seem to be two different pronunciations, and almost no one, whichever pronunciation they used, had ever heard the other one. > > For the record, I’m a toke man. > > Wait, that doesn’t sound quite right… I actually came in to comment on that. Everyone I know says “Toque” as if it rhymes with Luke. My partner is Franco-Ontarian and perfectly bilingual (His mother tongue is French, grew up going to French language schools, but his family spoke both at home and he studied at his post secondary entirely in English) but says Toque like it is in French a clipped syllable tock. Goes with the French syllable “coq”. Alex Trabec said it the same way. Anglo Canadians are amateurs at discussing accents. Get French Canadians discussing the finer points of regional accents, then you will really see /hear a discussion. Acadian French is NOTHING like Ontario French, and neither is like Quebec City French. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/94 "2016-07-15T02:43:01Z")
> [@Count\_Blucher](#): > > Nicest people, spotless campers. Always took their shoes off when visiting a trailer. I know this is controversial on this board, but most Canadians, if we don’t automatically take off our shoes/ boots (which we would, in winter) we at least ask if we should take them off before entering anyone’s home/trailer/ or even tent! Also, the fact is that 80% of Canadians live within 200 km of the US border. That is the fact that “Tranna-centric” Dopers are mis-remembering. I’ve mostly lived that close to the US but never lived in/near Toronto. ---
**Author:** ![Cyros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a698b9/32.png) [@Cyros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyros)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/95 "2016-07-15T09:52:34Z")
> [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](#): > > Anglo Canadians are amateurs at discussing accents. Get French Canadians discussing the finer points of regional accents, then you will really see /hear a discussion. Acadian French is NOTHING like Ontario French, and neither is like Quebec City French. Don’t forget the unholy franglais mess that is [Chiac](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac). ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/96 "2016-07-20T07:00:10Z")
> [@Cyros](#): > > Don’t forget the unholy franglais mess that is [Chiac](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiac). Yes. Chiac is interesting to listen to. I have heard Chiac rap, it’s right de le fun. ---
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/97 "2016-07-20T07:35:50Z")
For some godforsaken reason many of you Canadians pronounce asphalt as “ash-phalt” which is to me the Candian equivalent of the Brothers pronouncing ask as “axe”!😃 ---
**Author:** ![davida03801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@davida03801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davida03801)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/98 "2016-07-20T13:10:16Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone say “aboot” or “eh?”, but I have encountered a few people from Eastern Canada who have a certain Irish-like accent, which seems distinct to Eastern Canada. I grew up in northern Vermont and interacted with many Canadians. Heard Eh ?, hundreds of times. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2016, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/99 "2016-07-20T13:24:05Z")
My sister in Green Bay Wisconsin has no idea she sounds like Fargo. I tease her, but she really doesn’t hear her own accent and speech patterns. I get the giggles when I visit but people there don’t think they sound any different from a network news broadcaster. People will say aboot and look you right in the face and tell you they DO NOT say that. ---
**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:** [July 20, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837/100 "2016-07-20T14:45:12Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > People will say aboot and look you right in the face and tell you they DO NOT say that. OK, now I’m convinced that some Americans have a _ **hearing** _ accent! 😃 Those will be the ones who pronounce “about” as “a bowed”. The Canadian opinion is that “about” is pronounced neither as “aboot” nor as “a bowed” but pronounced more or less the way it’s actually spelled. And in fact it’s actually much closer to the American pronunciation than to anything that sounds even remotely like “aboot”. Some Canadians’ pronunciation is in fact indistinguishable from the typical American, but typically it’s lighter on the “aw” sound. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-us-canadians-really-have-an-accent-to-you-americans/759837.md?page=6)