Does Jim Carrey have a Canadian accent?

Claudio   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 10:24 GMT
Well does he?
Joel   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 11:50 GMT
Dont have a clue. The Americans and the Canadians can tell the different.
Gabe   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 13:05 GMT
Is he Canadian? I've never noticed one before.
JJM   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 13:15 GMT
He's Canadian alright - from Newmarket, Ontario.

But this subject has been tossed around the forum before.
Kess   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 13:32 GMT
In DUMB&DUMBER he had a Midwestern accent with no COT CAUGHT merger
Ben   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 13:51 GMT
He doesn't usually have much of an accent--however, he did sound very Canadian in Eternal Sunshine for some reason. Part of the problem with him is that he tends to use so many silly "voices" during interviews--you can hear his Canadian accent only during rare moments when he's speaking sincerely.
andre in usa   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 15:28 GMT
I noticed his accent in ESOTSM, too. One thing that sticks out in my mind is the way he said "I'm not a stalker" to Kate Winslet's character. He said it as "stahker" and not "staulker."
Claudio   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 16:12 GMT
Okej, thanks for your replies. I was just wondering since Carrey has lived in the States for so long now :)
Adam   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 16:47 GMT
I can differentiate between American and Canadian. Americans are much louder and annoyingly brash, whereas the Canadian accent is easier on the ear. Nicer to listen to.
andre in usa   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 17:06 GMT
This thread is about Jim Carrey's accent, not about whether you prefer a Canadian accent over an American one.
Anti-Adam   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 17:57 GMT
=>Nicer to listen to.<=

Unlike you...
mjd   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 18:04 GMT
It'd be interesting to actually put Adam to the test and see if he really could pick out a Canadian accent from an American one.

My guess is no.
Kirk   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 23:19 GMT
"It'd be interesting to actually put Adam to the test and see if he really could pick out a Canadian accent from an American one.

My guess is no."

Unlikely he could tell the difference. Few non-North Americans seem to be able to tell the difference between American and Canadian English unless they're specifically trained on what to listen for to tell the differences. The matter is complicated somewhat that accents don't always stop cold in their tracks at the extraordinarily long, largely artificial border we share with our northern neighbors, so some features typically seen as Canadian are present in some Americans' speech and vice versa. That's why andre in usa's following comment is somewhat interesting to me:

"I noticed his accent in ESOTSM, too. One thing that sticks out in my mind is the way he said "I'm not a stalker" to Kate Winslet's character. He said it as "stahker" and not "staulker."

Because I'm an American, yet, as is typical here in California, I also say "stahker" ([stAk@`]...it rhymes perfectly with AmE "stocker"), so I would never identify that particular aspect of Jim Carrey's pronunciation as "different," since I don't identify the "cot-caught" merger as foreign-sounding. In fact, quite the opposite. Americans who clearly distinguish "cot-caught" sound noticeably "other" to my ears.
andre in usa   Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 23:56 GMT
That's true, Kirk. The example I pointed out has more to do with the cot-caught merger, which is found in all of Canada but is also found in about half of American English (I think it's half, right?). I picked up on J.C.'s pronunciation of "stalker" because I don't have the merger.
american nic   Wednesday, April 27, 2005, 00:08 GMT
When I read Andre's post I was confused because I've never heard anyone pronounce 'stalker' with the 'l'. I say 'stahker', BTW.