In high school I was on a school trip to Boston. We went into a Friendly's and when the order asked for our drinks one of us asked for a pop. He said without missing a beat "No problem, so where are you all from?"
I should have responded "Aww geeze d'air b'y, how d'yer knows weeze be fram away?!"
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"Calgary Flames is the best team in all the land" - My Brainwashed Son
I use ZED in Canada and ZEE when Stateside. In Vegas a few years ago I spelled my name, has a Z in it, and watched the utter confusion at my saying ZED.
I spend a lot of time in Idaho and have had a clerk actually tell me they knew I was Canadian because of my funny accent.
When the performers on SNL do Canadian accents, I don't think we sound anything like that? Or, do we?
Sounds more like the Fargo accent, than how we talk.
Timely post; I read OP and was about to post how the media/etc think Canadian accents are basically just "Fargo" accents (basically the Dakotas thru Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois talk that way).
I have lived in San Diego for nearly 12 years.
People continue to ask if I am Canadian when they hear me talk.
I have never been asked if I was from Minnesota or North Dakota, though.
My wife is never asked. People are surprised to hear that she is Canadian. They just assume she is American. Very little accent I guess.
I am not certain what it is about my accent but I can definitely hear the Canadian accent when we go home and visit Calgary/Edmonton/Saskatoon.
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"And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should."
went to a concert last year in Oakland of all places and was asked if i was from Minnesota. not a proud moment but clearly there is something there. DOH
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I was watching a documentary (Atomic Homefront) and someone pronounced “beta” like “better” instead of “bay-ta”. Most unusual pronunciation of a word that i have heard.
Except she was right in asking where I was from, and we had not told her at that point. She might have got lucky and guessed I suppose.
The only "Northern Alberta" accent I can think of is the Ukrainian Canadian accent which is pretty common in/around Edmonton. Think Premier Ed Stelmach. I'm not sure if it's pronunciation even so much as it is a rhythm to the speech that stands out.