
The Great Canadian Vowel Shift - slvv
http://www.macleans.ca/society/life/in-the-midst-of-the-canadian-vowel-shift/
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sandworm101
The accents in north america are split east-west, not north-south. I'm from
Vancouver but whenever I am in the eastern US they think I'm from california
because I don't sound have the ontario/maritime accent they recognize as
"canadian". "aboot" doesn’t exist in the west. Never has.

~~~
kafkaesque
I'm in LA and every time someone finds out I'm Canadian, they say, "But you
don't have an accent" or "You don't sound Canadian", and on the rare occasion,
people refer to my Vancouver accent as "fake Canadian accent".

I just half-smile or say "I don't know", instead of explaining how provincial
their "typical Canadian accent" sounds to Vancouverites.

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sandworm101
I've been told that my accent isn't so much a sound, but a mode of speech. You
can spot the Canadians in LA because they are the ones using complete
sentences.

There is a certain neutrality to the western-canadian accent, much like that
of Minnesota. Take the word Going or anything else ending with ing. In much of
the US it is pronounced "goin", dropping the g. In the UK it has become
"going-g" ... they add an extra g sound. Right in the middle are the canadians
and minnesotans who pronounce the word as written.

Canadians, watch this vid to see the similarity with minnesota:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-BCxjYoOl0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-BCxjYoOl0)
(I know this guy)

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a3n
> There is a certain neutrality to the western-canadian accent, much like that
> of Minnesota.

??!? I don't think any American who isn't from the middle Northern tier can
watch Fargo without at least noticing the accent, or cracking a mild smile.
The accent was practically a character in the movie.

However, TBH, I don't know if I know any Minnesotans, and I've never been
there.

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bentcorner
> _The English version of “baguette” stops rhyming with “vague-ette,”_

Coming from central Canada, "bag" always rhymes with "vague". I get funny
looks sometimes when "lag" comes up in conversation here in the Pacific NW.

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ChrisGranger
By central Canada, do you mean Ontario? I've lived in Manitoba for decades and
I don't know anyone who pronounces "bag" that way.

~~~
anonbanker
Manitobans are the worst offfenders on the "bag"/"bayg" meter. If anything,
it's the trademark of their accent. It isn't until I point it out do they hear
it. anything that Americans (californians especially) say with the short A
sound that ends with a hard consonant is liable to be mangled by a manitoban.
If you aren't hearing it, it's because your accent is getting in the way (the
one you probably swear you don't have).

Ontario residents mangle their A sounds a little different. when you have an
"ar" combination in a word, they pronounce it like "air", but as if you're
simultaneously having a mild stroke. "Marnie had an Enlarged Heart" is always
fun to hear one say.

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mirimir
Interesting juxtaposition:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cities_Vowel_Shift](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cities_Vowel_Shift)

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txru
There are many more linguistically-oriented articles than usual today. I like
it.

Additionally, praat is really interesting software from the University of
Amsterdam that allows you to analyze speech recordings and see what the vowels
and consonants actually are.
[http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/](http://www.fon.hum.uva.nl/praat/)

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afhill
Hmm, I left Western Canada 15 years ago to move to Denver. I thought I had
grown out of the accent, but now it seems the accent is catching up with me?

I studied linguistics in school and was fascinated by the linguistic shifts in
Germanic languages long ago. But it seems a shame for it to be happening now
as pronunciation becomes homogenized.

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bdchauvette
For anyone who's curious about the stereotypical 'oot' and 'aboot' vowels,
Wikipedia has a nice overview[1] of the phenomenon (Canadian Raising).

[1]:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raising](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_raising)

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mijustin
As a Western Canadian (who works with a lot of folks in California, Oregon and
Colorado) one thing that gets pointed out all the time is my pronunciation of:

\- JavaScript \- Americano \- Pasta

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refurb
Yup. Canadians often pronounce "a" as "ah" vs. "awh". A great is example of
the Mazda brand. It's mahz-dah in Canada, but moz-duh in the US. Even the
commercials pronounce it differently in each country.

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CurtMonash
"These changes in the mouth are happening under our noses."

:)

Great line!

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microcolonel
I spoke all of the examples at the beginning of the article, and I don't sound
like any of the "new" examples; furthermore my mother was from the U.S., so I
should sound more like them if anything.

I've also lived on both coasts(as well as nearer the center), and honestly I
don't remember anyone speaking like this.

I've never actually heard "aboot" either.

I don't actually see any references, so I'm not sure what "linguists" they're
talking to.

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Mankhool
What a great thread - from one Canuck to all of you - "How's it goin' eh?"

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rdsnsca
In Nova Scotia the only people you hear saying eh are from Ontario, mostly
from the Toronto area it seems.

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vt240
It's a real life Pontypool ;-)

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hmhrex
That movie was great. Yay Canadian arts!

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hockeybias
I'm going to miss 'oot' and the rest. RIP

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xeper
"Soar-y" for sorry has always been my favorite. I've always associated that
pronunciation with obnoxious child-actors since so many of the shows I grew up
on were peopled almost entirely with Canadian actors/voice actors.

