How strong is your Canadian accent?

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I used "zed" unless there is some other reason (ZZ Top) to use differently.

Except for a Z-28. Zee-28 just sounds weird in comparison.

And Zedbra.

[afc wimbledon]

Zeds dead baby

[Barnet Flame]

I never say ‘eh’ eh.

[zamler]

FYI everyone has an accent.

I personally favour a mix of American, British and Canadian accents, phrases and the like. Pop sounds stupid say soda, say aluminium instead of aluminum it sounds cooler. I say algae with a hard G because of Sir Ateenborough. Zed sounds silly I say zee.

People in Scranton say Screeanton, Canada is Keenada.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I’m born and raised Canadian but have a Ugandan accent. Not sure why.

[edslunch]

Is it just me or do most singers not have a recognizable accent?

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Wormius

I used "zed" unless there is some other reason (ZZ Top) to use differently.
Bag like Egg not Bog

Roof like Poof not Puff

Creek like Eek not Crick
About like ah-bout not ah-boot.



I was at a training course in the states, and people picked up on the "about" immediately. I can tell Americans by the way they pronounce "creek" and "roof", but I don't hear the distinction they do with "about".

I say “zed zed top” to my Americans friends as if it is normal

Also, on a more serious note, I help them understand that it is correct to pronounce ‘ou’ and ‘ow’ differently.

It is a house. We don’t say ‘hoose’. You have a hearing problem. And is it not a ‘howse’

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by edslunch

Is it just me or do most singers not have a recognizable accent?

Only when they sing. And the reason is that singing is its own 'accent' - it pulls, slants, and forces pronunciations on words in its own ways.

[MoneyGuy]

I’ve said Zed Zed Top to annoy people.

[8 Ball]

Process or prawcess...

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

I never really thought about my accent until I moved to America.
Now people comment on my Canadian accent on an almost daily basis. It's not just the accent, I think Canadians often use different words altogether.
How do you pronounce these words? Please excuse my bad phonetics. I grew up in Calgary and I use all of the alternatives listed on the right (zed, bayg, marks, soary, drawma, supper, pop, chocolate bar).

-For the letter "Z", do you say "Zee" or "Zed?"
-For the word "bag", do you say "Bahg" or "Bayg"? (This is by far the biggest one, as it affects the pronunciation of words like dragon, wagon, flag, leg, etc)
-For school, do you say "grades" or "marks"?
-For "sorry", do you say "sawry" or "soary"?
-For "drama", do you say "drahma" or "drawma"?
-Do you say "dinner" or "supper"?
-Do you say "coke", "soda", or "pop"?
-Do you say "candy bar" or "chocolate bar"?

And I refuse to believe that Canadians say "about" different. Many of the Torontonians I've met seem to take the American version of the words listed above. But it seems like Calgarians are a lot more likely to use the Canadian alternatives.

- Zed. French influence.
- Bayg. Only people who I've heard say "Bog" are Aussies.
- Grades. I only hear marks in British colonies.
- Soary. But I do also say sawwies as a joke.
- Who the hell says draw ma? Siblings to artist siblings about getting their mother a drawn portrait?
- I use both dinner and supper. Afternoon meals are known as dunch.
- Pop.
- Chocolate bar.
- Aboot is like taking something a redneck says in the USA and thinking the rest of Canada says it that way.

[TorqueDog]

-For the letter "Z", do you say "Zee" or "Zed?"
I'm guilty of using both depending on what I'm talking about. Same as using different pronunciations for the word route / router (root or rowte) depending on the context.

-For the word "bag", do you say "Bahg" or "Bayg"? (This is by far the biggest one, as it affects the pronunciation of words like dragon, wagon, flag, leg, etc)
Bayg.

-For school, do you say "grades" or "marks"?
Both? They're interchangeable.

-For "sorry", do you say "sawry" or "soary"?
Soary.

-For "drama", do you say "drahma" or "drawma"?
Depends. Long A sound for 'drama', short A sound for 'dramatics'.

-Do you say "dinner" or "supper"?
Dinner.

-Do you say "coke", "soda", or "pop"?
Coke if it's a Coca-Cola, soda is my short-hand for 'Club Soda', and pop for generic fizzy drinks like Pepsi, 7-Up, etc.

-Do you say "candy bar" or "chocolate bar"?
Chocolate bar.

[AltaGuy]

Most accents are moving toward North American - neutral these days because of technology.

A place like Calgary is actually really close to North American neutral because of its young age and people from many different places. Atlantic Canada and Ontario have both had accents develop before television, etc, but even then the accents are moving very quickly toward North American neutral as well.

Most of the Western US and Western Canada are basically North American neutral with slight differences here and there - mostly vocabulary.

We'll all be speaking with the same accent soon enough. You just don't have many isolated communities anymore.

[N-E-B]

I didn’t think I had a very strong one until a few years ago in Anaheim when I had this conversation with a random lady in line for a ride at Disneyland:

Lady: “you’re Canadian aren’t you?”

Me: “oh yeah”

Lady: “you know how I knew?”

Me: “No, actually, I don’t”

Lady: “It’s obvious. You just said aboot”

I could have sworn I said about but I guess not.

[John Doe]

I used to say about but after realizing I was saying it wrong as a Canadian I now always try to say aboot.

[midniteowl]

For me, supper or dinner, depends on the situation. For example, lets say, I'm having duck for supper, then I'll use "supper". If I'm going over to my brothers for dinner.



I'll say candy bar unless it's actually a chocolate bar.


I'll say pop unless it's actually Coca Cola, then I'll say Coke.

[Coach]

A Soorry, aboht, and oht slips out every now and again (I find those more accurate than aboot or oot).

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I don’t know about my Canadian accent but there are some words I can’t resist saying with other regional accents.

Like the word whore. I can only say it Ralph Cifartto style. She was a whowaa!

[Maritime Q-Scout]

Ok, I don't want to side track this thread, but...

is chocolate candy?

To me, no. It's chocolate, it falls under the generic confectionery, but not candy. Candy is sugar based; chocolate is cocoa based.

I don't see how this is a Canadian vs American thing (I mean it is).

Confectionery = yes
Junk Food = Yes
Candy = No

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Maritime Q-Scout

candy is sugar based; chocolate is cocoa based.

I don’t call them candy bars, but by your definition you should.

Milk chocolate has more sugar than chocolate, which would technically be a sugar base.