# Is the "Aboot Canada, eh?" accent associated with a particular region? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 28, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346 "2010-07-28T19:01:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**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 29, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/41 "2010-07-29T07:41:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > > > His “out” does not sound like “oot” to me. > > It doesn’t sound like “oot” to me, either. As I explained above, it’s a sound distinct from the way Americans pronounce the ou/ow sound. The best I could phonetically transcribe it is something like “uhwt” or “ehwt.” “Ehwt” is actually a good way to transcribe it, assuming you meant ‘e’ as in ‘set’. Loud = ‘l a oo d’, lout is almost like ‘l e oo t’. This often had me jumping up and down in frustration, shouting, "We do _not_ say it like ‘aboot’, until it occurred to me that maybe they didn’t mean the way _we_ pronounce ‘aboot’. > [@pulykamell](#): > > I can’t find where he’s from, but he went to Queen’s University in Toronto. Um… Queen’s is not in Toronto. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/42 "2010-07-29T14:13:58Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > > [@pulykamell](#): > > > > I can’t find where he’s from, but he went to Queen’s University in Toronto. > > Um… Queen’s is not in Toronto. Sorry. Kingston, Ontario. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/43 "2010-07-29T15:08:04Z")
> [@UncleFred](#): > > I live in the metro Boston area and have met people here with the thick Boston accent who swear they don’t have an accent. They think they sound just like the people on national TV. In Buffalo, where the Great Northern Vowel Shift is strongest, locals also swear up and down they don’t speak in an “ee-YACK-sint”. Thing is, around here, even television news anchors and reporters speak strong GNVS. Nobody makes any attempt at accent reduction. Yet, just across the Niagara River, in Fort Erie and Niagara Falls, Ontario, it’s Canadian raising, “oat and a-boat”, “pro-gress”, “pro-cess”, “eh?”, and the like. Solid Canadian English, too; “in hospital”, “gas bar”, “milk bar”, “hydro”, “grade 6”, and so on. The river is like a Berlin Wall for accents. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/44 "2010-07-29T17:40:44Z")
You want an even narrower Berlin wall? Try the St. Clair River dividing Sarnia, Ontario from Port Huron, Michigan. The two cities may as well be one community. The cross-pollination of workers and shoppers is unreal. And yet, the difference in accents is exactly like Buffalo and Niagara Falls, ON. It’s hard to imagine after a few centuries that the difference would still be as stark. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2010, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/45 "2010-07-31T23:24:56Z")
Threads like this are an example of why IPA is so useful. Nevertheless, I’ll take a shot with roman letters. You need to separate the diphthongs into their constituent phonemes. Sound them out slowly and then speed up to the pace of normal speech: “About” American: uh-bah-oo-t Canadian: uh-buh-oo-t “Out” American: ah-oo-t Canadian: uh-oo-t “House” American: hah-oo-s Canadian: huh-oo-s Spelling the Canadian pronunciation as “aboot” etc. is inaccurate because “oo” phoneme is present in both the Canadian and American pronunciations. The real change is the “ah” to “uh” shift. I’ve heard this shift even among young people born and raised in Vancouver. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone under forty (or even fifty) years old sincerely use “eh” in the manner described. It’s either a regional thing or a generational thing. Also, one should try to avoid using “aw” when spelling out pronunciations, because people from different regions (or even the same region but different generations) will disagree about which phoneme it indicates. ---
**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:** [July 31, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/46 "2010-07-31T23:58:26Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Spelling the Canadian pronunciation as “aboot” etc. is inaccurate because “oo” phoneme is present in both the Canadian and American pronunciations. The real change is the “ah” to “uh” shift. And, as mentioned, in some speakers it’s even more forward, shifting from “ah” to “eh,” especially in Ontario. And in some speakers, it does approach “oh,” so “about” and “a boat” are homophonous. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/47 "2010-08-01T00:09:46Z")
Tourist: _Do you speak English?_ Constable: _Certainly. And I understand American._ ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/48 "2010-08-01T00:26:43Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Threads like this are an example of why IPA is so useful… I’ll link to the former vocal samples threads. I was hosting the samples on my server, and I changed hosting providers and had to reinstate them. They should be okay, and then you can hear us all. 🙂 [Vocal samples thread: how do _you_ say it?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445112) [Vocal samples thread #2: the accent whisperer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=467688) ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/49 "2010-08-01T00:41:01Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > why IPA is so useful What’s not to be useful about a nice cold hoppy malt barley beverage? ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/50 "2010-08-01T01:01:00Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > > [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > > > Threads like this are an example of why IPA is so useful… > > I’ll link to the former vocal samples threads. I was hosting the samples on my server, and I changed hosting providers and had to reinstate them. They should be okay, and then you can hear us all. 🙂 > > [Vocal samples thread: how do _you_ say it?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445112) > > [Vocal samples thread #2: the accent whisperer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=467688) That’s really cool. Lots of examples of Canadian raising (and different articulations of it) in that one. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/51 "2010-08-01T01:09:15Z")
In that thread, where’s **Fatwater Fewl** from? He’s got the raising in the “about,” but he also has a Scottish/Irish-type of accent which makes me want to say Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. Although it seems that his audio sample was recorded by GorillaMan, who is in the UK (as far as I remember), so I’m curious about this one. ETA: I misunderstood a post in that thread. **GorillaMan** recorded _himself_ speaking the sentence that **Fatwater Fewl** did. So I’m assuming **Fatwater Fewl** is Eastern Canada along the Atlantic somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/52 "2010-08-01T03:42:25Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone under forty (or even fifty) years old sincerely use “eh” in the manner described. It’s either a regional thing or a generational thing. Do you mean as in the thread title, where it’s tacked on to a random sentence? Then you’re right, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone use “eh?” like that either (and it is always a question, IMHO!). Canadians of all sorts do, however, use it as a filler when they want to confirm that the listener is following the conversation or has understood a reference in what was said. It’s also used as a prompt to get someone to clarify something. “So I was talking to Sarah, eh?, and she was telling me about her new job…” is that quick pause and use of eh? to verify that the listener knows who Sarah even is, or at least doesn’t need an explanation about her existence. Other person: “I was working on the sdhfsuihjs project…” Canadian: “Eh? The sdijgkgf..? What’s that?” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/53 "2010-08-01T03:47:08Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Canadians of all sorts do, however, use it as a filler when they want to confirm that the listener is following the conversation or has understood a reference in what was said. It’s also used as a prompt to get someone to clarify something. Maybe they do in Quebec or Ontario, but in my experience they don’t in BC or Alberta. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/54 "2010-08-01T04:55:28Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Maybe they do in Quebec or Ontario, but in my experience they don’t in BC or Alberta. In my experience, living in both Ontario and Alberta, the use of “eh?” is rarer in Alberta, but not unknown. It is used here, but not as often as it would be in Ontario. Aside to **Sunspace** : Thanks for posting links to those speaking threads. They were interesting. Maybe we should create some new ones, with emphasis on passages that display the sounds that this thread is questioniing. ---
**Author:** ![Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hypnagogic_jerk/32/4252_2.png) [@Hypnagogic\_Jerk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypnagogic_Jerk)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/55 "2010-08-01T05:31:38Z")
Interestingly enough, I do believe I use “eh?” when speaking English. I think I use it to strengthen a question, as in “so you really want to do this eh?” for example. I don’t use it all that often and not in any random sentence. I don’t know if it’s especially Canadian. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/56 "2010-08-01T15:52:47Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > > [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > > > Maybe they do in Quebec or Ontario, but in my experience they don’t in BC or Alberta. > > In my experience, living in both Ontario and Alberta, the use of “eh?” is rarer in Alberta, but not unknown. It is used here, but not as often as it would be in Ontario. > > Aside to **Sunspace** : Thanks for posting links to those speaking threads. They were interesting. Maybe we should create some new ones, with emphasis on passages that display the sounds that this thread is questioniing. Okay, if anyone wants to send me vocal samples, I’ll put them up and link to them. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/57 "2010-08-01T16:03:30Z")
I like the Canadian ay. Nice day ay? I gather it’s a substitute for “isn’t it?”. Nice day isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/58 "2010-08-01T17:27:03Z")
I have worked with several Canadians from both sides of their fine country. The ones from the eastern provinces have - to my ear - the “aboot” pronunciation more than those from the western provinces. I did work with one fellow that used the “eh” ending for practically every sentence. When I first met him I thought he was just doing it for my amusement but he said he had always done this. He was from a rural area of Alberta so perhaps it is more common in the country towns. On a more amusing note, one colleague from Ontario said that “eh” was short for “asshole.” I think he was kidding. OK…Tom ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346/59 "2010-08-01T18:34:37Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > [There’s a pretty standard western Canadian “about” at 2:46 in this Corner Gas clip.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4E9oa4BnbI) I posted this recently as an example of the western Canadian accent - I sound very much like the gas station guy (we were both born and raised in the same area of Saskatchewan). > > Don’t let the Ontarians tell you they don’t say “aboot” - they get a lot closer to it than western Canadians do. 🙂 No, not really. That “About” at 2:46 is the way most English-speaking Canadians say it. Thicker Canadian accents are generally found along a **rural/urban** divide, not Western/Eastern. The “Bob and Doug MacKenzie” voice is easily found in small town Ontario, but washes out in larger cities or among people who’ve gone to university. Telling the difference between a person from Calgary and a person from Oakville is nearly impossible, but someone who’s liuved in Arthur or Sharbot Lake is very distinctive from the big city dwellers. It’s definitely dying out, though, likely in part due to the fact that the country is becoming increasingly urban. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-aboot-canada-eh-accent-associated-with-a-particular-region/548346.md?page=2)