WHY IS EVERYBODY FORGETTING ABOUT CANADA???

no kidding, when i watch AbFab, i can hardly understand what that cockney boss is saying!

A "mobile" is a thing that hangs from the ceiling, and it moves when a draught blows it. A mobile phone is called a "mobile" phone because you ae a ble to move aroung anywhere with it.

That was rubbish typing.

I wouldn't say that Geordie English is mutually intelligible. Even other British people find it difficult to understand a Geordie.

Down with Newcastle, bastion of beasts.

All hail Leeds.

To respond to the original topic: yes, Canada deserves recognition as separate accent. It is unfortunate that the subtle differences between Canadian speech and its (mainstream) American counterpart can be detected only by those whose ears can cut steel.

>> whose ears can cut steel

The people writing X-Men 3 should know about this, I'm sure.

it's pretty ironic that this discussion is called "WHY IS EVERYBODY FORGETTING ABOUT CANADA??? " because it seems in the course of the discussion, everyone has.

Good grief.

People from Michigan can recognize a general Canadian accent because Canada is so close and we get to hear it pretty often. Besides the "aboat" thing, Canadians say their ae sounds completely different than people in the northern United States. The word "cat" is pronounced more like "key-at" to us, while when Canadians say it there is more of a short o sound so it sounds kind of like "cot." And, of course, Canadians merge the o and O vowel, so "cot" and "caught" sound exactly the same. Many Americans do this, but people in Michigan do not (well, not counting the Upper Peninsula). But Canadians do it so much that a word with an "o" sound to Americans like "sorry" sounds like "sawry" to Americans.

Of course, none of this applies to the Maritime Provinces, and British Columbia pronounces some of their other vowel sounds differently than the rest of Canada. But the thing that is most confusing is that Canadian sentence rhythm is very similar to general American. One has to listen specifically for the vowel sounds to actually distinguish a Canadian accent.

Somebody said earlier that a Canadian accent sounds midwestern, but I find it sounds more like refined New England speech--not the kind you'd find in Boston but what you might hear in more inland areas of Maine and New Hampshire.

I think the biggest difference between Canadian and American English, honestly, is that Canadians tend to be taught to speak much more, and thus tend to have much crisper diction. This is not to say that Americans are less educated, it's just that Canada is a much more language-driven society than the states. If you don't believe me, watch a tape of the US Congress convening, then compare it with a tape of the Canadian Parliament. US politicians will often attempt to sound as "common" as possible, whereas their Canadian counterparts are usually trying to sound as astute and educated as they can.

I knew there was Mid-western and Western American Accent.
And I knew there was a definate Southern and Texan American Accent.
I even knew there were Eastern or New York/ Jersey Accents.
But what ever happened to the North American Accent, that you hear in the play, Our Town, by Thorton Wilder.
It must have move North into Canada!

Regards, Paul Vandenbrink

Originally posted by Paul -

"As for the discussion on Portugese, I thank G-d that Cockney english never became popular, and English and British English are still mutually understandable."



What's the difference between English and British English?!?!

Originally posted by Anna -

"Now this is getting off topic, eh?"


Are you Canadian?

Ahhh,
G'day mates
Youse might be leaving out Australia
were the country down below every1 forgets

G'day?
is dere ne1 left in here?