I am from Florida and have lived in Canada since 1988. When I moved to Canada I had a slight southern drawl and used a lot of slang. I lived in Newfoundland for 5 years and now live in Ottawa. I have since lost my accent (which I miss), but laugh at the southern accent every time I hear it.

When I lived in Newfoundland, right, I was teased a lot about my accent, right, and that I talked too slow, right. I had a lot of trouble understanding them, right, because they talk too fast, right. It didn't take long before I was talking like them, right.

Now I live in Ottawa, eh, and have lost my Newfoundland accent. Every once in a while all three of them come out. It all depends on who I talk to and what accent they have, eh.

My favourite words (in Florida) was fixin and y'all. One day I asked a friend's mother (in Nfld) what y'all fixin and she said, "I'm not fixin anything. I'm baking a cake." I still laugh at that one.

My husband and kids are Canadian and we get into play fights on how to pronounce the letter Z. I say zee, they yell zed. In my opinion, zed doesn't ryhme with the alphabet song.

Michelle Christian
Ottawa, Ontario

The only regional accents I can distingush in North America are Bible-belt, New York and The Rest. I am constantly surprised to hear that famous people like Neve Campbell are Canadian.

Steve
England

P.S. It's not an insult - I think your accents sound much better than most of ours!

Sincerely,
Jodi A. Maroney

Do any of you know anybody who speaks English EXACTLY like the Queen or any other member of the Royal family? It is the "Queen's English," you know. My boyfriend who is English to the core, native Londoner, and has a very good "BBC accent" pointed out to me a bank in London where he knew he couldn't get a job any higher than a teller. Why? Because he doesn't have the right "aristocratic, pronounce every vowel" accent. (his words) He has the right "school tie", just not the right accent.

This is not about nationalities, it is about regional dialects and accents. In England there are 70+ regional variations and dialects, in the US there are something like 20 or so. I do not know how many there are in Canada but I do know that pronunciations and use of terms vary there, too. In reading some of the comments of the Canadian respondents it appears that there exists the same level of xenophobia, jingoism, and arrogance in Canada as these same Canadians accuse the Americans of.

Katie Walsh

I was on a chat room with this American girl and, like me, she liked football (soccer to Americans). She asked me which was the best football team in England so I replied "Man U are the best," (Man U being the common abbreviation for Manchester United). She then says "Thanks your pretty cool, too." I was going to tell her what I actually meant, but I was rolling on the floor with laughter and besides I couldn't be arsed (assed to Americans).

Matt Atkins (English)

Being neither American nor British, and speaking with a strange American accent which isn't QUITE American, I find this list amusing because of what Brits, Canadians and Americans say. They're all strange. But I can't say I agree with some of these weird "ahxygen, hahspital" things. I guess I'm just curious about what strange American accent these pronounciations were taken from. :)

But this is a good basic list on general differences. It's interesting to see how you can tell a Canadian to pronounce something by thinking of spelling it in a different way.

Do not take me too seriously,

Anne-Marie

I don't know if this will be helpful, but there were two things I caught on the American side that are regional, not national. I'm originally from New Jersey and am living in Pennsylvania, so I've experienced two different regional lingos. In Western Pennsylvania they always say "pop" in place of soda, where back east, in New Jersey, it's always "soda". I think "pop" is used more in the mid-west and the south here-- but in those places if you ask for "soda" they know right away that you're not a local.

Also, in Pennsylvania and some of the southern states they pronounce the word "coupon" as "kyoo-pon" not "coo-pon".

Jenn Thorson

We've been living in North Carolina for 2 years and we've found that the "south" has its own english "adjustments". Some of them include: the word "tag" instead of license plate, the word "tea" is only used to describe a cold beverage - not hot tea as Canadians would assume it to mean.

Barbeque (even now my spell check is telling me BBQ is spelled with a "c") is a noun here- never a verb. When a southerner acknowledges you they will say "uh-huh" with the huh receiving a forced enthusiasm and slight inflection.

Also, there is no Boxing Day after Christmas, although I think they all shop like crazy soon after the 25th.

There are probably even more but I can't think of any at the present time. What one must remember is that it really depends on what part of America one is in when making distinctions but on a day to day basis, we always run into people we just can't understand-period. Then again, if you go to Newfoundland...enough said.

A. Marris

You've covered the others that come to mind. An American would never say "on holiday" or "in hospital," instead they would say "on vacation," and "in the hospital."

Mary Farrell
Windsor, On

I wish to suggest, Mr. LeReaney serve his patrons with greater linguistic & theatrical integrity by making a pilgrimage to the US ... i.e. actually driving around & chatting at length with REAL Americans from other places than New York, Philly & a few southern states ... to professionally gather a "well rounded" sample of REAL American. If he planned it right, he could use such an expedition as a "research project" {Canada's gross national product} & even use it as a tax write off to boot. Regretablly, I found LeReaney's listings globally naive, too well worn ... but more troublesome ... regionally limited. His verbal scope of "American" is embarrassingly narrow. Canadians are supposed to be more knowledgable in such matters of international affairs. As an Canadaian actor/dialect coach ... he should be ashamed, especially if he desires to be of higher calibre than bigoted, shallow, egocentric Americans. As the majority of Canadians are not drunken, gambling, mall trolling sots {as is experienced in many American holiday spots frequented by Canadians} neither do 90% of Americans speak as Mr. LeReaney tutors.

The longer I reside in Canada, the more appreciation I hold for the American Revolutionary War & the sweeping linguistic evolution that came in its wake. There was such disdain of British oppression, that language was one "rowt" taken to declare & substantiate American Independence. A public, verbalization of automomy. The calculated redefinition of pronunciation & spelling have been gloriously celebrated for the past 200+ years. Zeeee forever!

During my 16 year "odd-I-see" in Canada, I continue to be amazed, sometimes amused, but more often bored to tears with the selective focus of Canada & differences in general. Except for the infrequent gutsiness of shows like Air Farce & 22 Minutes, rarely is there genuine recognition, love, humoUr or celebration of the linguistic, regional or local differences in Canada ... let alone the States. The constant rehash of American-speak {& misinformed Canadian perceptions of American life} is incredibly BORING. Would some imagenative Canadian person {before they leave for the U.S.} ... PLEASE .... pull themselves away from the back 49th fence {parallel} and spend more time enjoying, loving, exposing & sharing the uniqueness of Canada. Having rolled up my sleeves & sweated in both places .... Canada is every bit as peculiar as the U.S. ... Canadians are real hoots {not as polite as they would like to think, nor as globally minded as they imagen} but hoots, none the less!

So here's looking forward to some Canadian out there to begin classes in Advanced New Foundlandese, & How to Fake a Quebecer Accent, Intermediate Pairie Jargon & Lotus Land Semantics 101. "Gawd" how I long for someone to teach me how to accurately say "ga-raaje" like my Canadian father-in-law. And "wudz" the name of the gum boots they use in the Maritimes?

Way ta go, eh?

Anna Bird

You hear different Cdns pronounce the same word differently. I say day-ta, you say da-ta. And I NEVER say 'chesterfield'. That's a British thing. I say 'couch'. Big deal. Sure, you go to certain regions in the US ie., the south and they'd like pronounce some words a bit differently. But for the most part most Americans do not pronounce their words any differently than do most Cdns.

I just think that any difference between how Cdns and Americans speak is minor and there certainly isn't an American accent or way to talk anymore than there's a Cdn one.

Leon Ferguson
Calgary, Alberta

Thanks so much to all who have written in about the differences between American and Canadian pronunciation. Paul Hunter did a wonderful job of covering my course but in the limited duration of the piece, one important idea was not made clear.

I am teaching this to actors who regularly face directors and producers who have just flown in from LA. What I am trying to teach is, for the most part, a STANDARD American, coloured by a California "sound." (Particularly the "ow" sound)

Most of my research into the matter has come from listening to and interviewing Americans I know and have worked with in the film industry as well as auditing American film and television actors on a daily basis.

While some of the pronunciations I offer are not strictly Standard, like "prahblem" and "marry" and "ahrange," most of them are chosen to help the Canadian actor over-compensate somewhat for the fact the he/she may be auditioning for an American producer/director who is highly sensitive to the Canadian "sound" and may be on the lookout for telltale Canadian-isms. If the same actors were auditoning in LA without identifying their Canadian status they would would not need to be as concerned, making only the necessary shifts in pronunciation.

Also, I am not insinuating that all Americans speak slovenly or sloppily but when Canadian actors pick up a script they instinctively try to speak clearly and crisp in a subconscious effort to be correct and clean. American actors have a much more relaxed casual approach to the language and I am trying to teach my actors to embrace that by choosing to say "twenny' or "twunny" instead of "twenty." And saying "Couldja" "didja" etc. It simply sounds more natural. Canadians do it all the time in conversation, but rarely when reading aloud.

I do not advocate trying to speak like Americans in day to day Canadian life (I howl in protest when my kids come home saying "zee").

I'm a fiercely proud Canadian but American producers come to Canada to produce American stories for the American public. They have a right to hear their dialogue spoken as Americans speak it and we have the right to convince them that we can speak it any way they like and be paid handsomely for it!

Thank you for some of the corrections to my assumptions, like "pop" - "soda" etc.

I will take these into consideration and amend my notes accordingly. I hope I have not offended my fellow Canadians and my good neighbours (note: sp) to the south. But I hope I have put it into context a little better.

It's not about who speaks better or trying to become American. I am simply offering the Canadian actor another tool for his/her "toolbox."

David LeReaney
Calgary, Alberta

About twenty years ago, I was visiting relatives in te South and asked my aunt for a "pop." She gave me an odd look. I asked for it again and again she wondered what I was talking about. I then remembered that Southerers call it something else and then asked for a soda. She then know what I was talking about. Also I know some people from Virginia who pronoune words like about just like Canadians, albeit with a Southern accent.

Anyway, good list.

Dennis Sanders
St. Paul, Minnesota

I don't understand why people from the U.S.A. are called "Americans". Both Canada and the U.S. are in America, or, more specifically, North America. I guess "United Statesians" doesn't have a nice ring to it. The U.S.A. needs a real name, not just a descriptive phrase. You could just as easily call Canada U.P.A. (United Provinces of America)

Anyway, here are the most significant word differences that I have noticed:

Canada - U.S.A.

marks - grades
zed - zee
washroom - restroom
pop - soda
green peppers - bell peppers
brown bread - wheat bread
chips - french fries
grocery buggy - grocery cart
serviette - napkin
test - exam
exam - final
couch or chesterfield - sofa
eh? - huh?
merge - yield
grade 9 or first year - freshman
grade 10 or second year - sophomore
grade 11 or third year - junior
grade 12 or fourth year - senior

Jason J.B. Harlow

I am about twelfth generation Canadian and fifth generation British Columbian--that last is pretty rare.

This year I'm living in Virginia where the unabashed flag waving and phrases like "Remember to cut off the lights, y'all" remind me I'm in a foreign country. My Canadian husband works here for a U.S. company and he doesn't change his pronunciation. Neither do the other Canadians or East Indians on his team.

British Columbia has many people from foreign countries, permanently or temporarily, who bring their own accents to the Western Canadian mix. Speech differences are interesting. It takes a lot of effort to drop original pronunciation and idioms, Canadian or otherwise. I say keep them. And dig out your copy of "Canajun, eh?"

Kristen Hughes

Kristen Hughes
Richmond, Virginia (formerly of B.C.)

Project - that's pro-ject, in Canadian, not prawh-ject.
Process - that's pro-cess in Canadian, not prawh-cess.

Jonathan Ho
Vice-President, Canadian Club of Washington, D.C.

Needless to say, I've forwarded this link to all my friends in the area!

Jonathan Ho
Falls Church, VA
(formerly Vancouver, BC)

Ben Sangster
Newmarket, Ontario

On pop and soda: "Pop" may be Canadian but in the States, pop and soda are used, depending on the region. I've also heard tonic.

Running shoes are running shoes, doesn't matter what side of border. I haven't heard tennis shoes in 25 years. The term is pre-Reeboks, I'm sure.

Regarding washroom vs. restroom, in one's home as opposed to a public place, washroom and bathroom are both used in Canada, though I think kids here saying bathroom and more adults say washroom. While in the States, it's just bathroom in the home.

No Girl Scouts, rather Girl Guides.

In the States, I will ask for a check in a restaurant, but in Canada, I often need to ask for a bill. A Bloody Mary will often draw a blank while a Bloody Ceaser won't. In the States, the dentist doesn't "freeze" your tooth, he gives you novacaine.

Charles Silverman

I'd have to disagree with a couple of pronunciations on your list. "Hahrror" (for horror) is, I believe, a New York / New Englandism; the standard American pronunciation of this word is just like the Canadian pronunciation. Similarly for "orange".

Did the maker of the list mix up the pronunciations of "apricot"? As far as I'm aware, the most common American pronunciation is with a long A ("aypricot"). The only pronunciation I ever heard in Ontario, on the other hand, was with a short A (as in "cat"). I wonder whether this might be an east-vs.-west thing in both countries.

The list forgot to mention "civilization" and similar words -- the I before the Z is always unstressed in the American pronunciation (i.e., "SIV-uh-luh-ZAY-sh'n").

"At all" is pronounced in the States like "ad-all" -- never "a-tall".

Other Canadianisms to avoid if one's trying to imitate a Yank would include "oh, yeah" (the common American equivalent is "uh-huh" or "mm-hmm"), as well as the Canadian habit of raising the pitch of the voice on a statement (as if it were a question), or adding "eh" to the end of a sentence.

There are a zillion and one differences like this. But even more noticeable for an actor, I'd think, are the differences in the way individual sounds are pronounced -- especially vowels. I won't try to describe all these here; they have to be heard to be appreciated, and many people are all but incapable of hearing or reproducing them properly anyway. (Consider, for example, how many Americans are absolutely convinced that Canadians say "oot" and "aboot", because the real sound is foreign to them and their brains just can't analyse it right.) Some of these differences are so obscure that I suspect most Canadians aren't even aware of them -- such as the A's in "father" and "farther", which every Canadian I've ever heard pronounces as two very different sounds, though they're one and the same sound in standard American speech.

Changing one's accent (or imitating another accent well enough to fool a native speaker) is extremely difficult. I've heard lots of Canadian actors on American TV, and with few exceptions, I can tell they're from Canada if I listen long enough -- though many of them are probably good enough to "pass" for standard American speakers as far as most American listeners are concerned.

Whether Canadians (actors or others) should want to sound like their neighbours "south of the border" (oh, that's another Canadianism, by the way -- in the States, "south of the border" means Mexico) is obviously an emotional issue. For actors, I'll admit it pretty much boils down to money; as long as the bulk of the acting work is in (or targetted at) the States, a Canadian actor who wants to work probably needs to be able to sound like an American on request.

Rich Wales
San Mateo, California, USA
(used to live in Kitchener, Ontario)

I come from the motherland of the English language, England. I have recently settled into the best country in the world. No, it's not the good ol' NSM (Nited States of Merca) but Canada. Maybe the born and bred Canadian has a few idiosyncrasies when pronouncing certain words, for example Out, but at least they do speak sensible, well structured and comprehensible English.

Try and understand what an American from the Southern States, or the depths of "Noo Yawk," or Georgia is saying.

Why bother learning to say Sarry for sorry! When was the last time you heard an American apologise (Yes it is spelt with an S not a Zed) for anything, especially for being an American. There is far too much Americanisation of the world, think about the Internet, TV, Books, Military oppression. It is generally agreed that to ensure you maintain a superior advantage, and be the best, you should be bigger and always gain the high ground.

Canada is a much larger country than its minor southern neighbour, (with a U) and geographically it will always be on top of its minor neighbour. It is no wonder they feel so oppressed and feel the need to dominate. They have made a total mess of their country, and now want to ruin the very language that was the cornerstone of their existence.

Be proud to be Canadian, and be proud to speak Canadian English. At least you will be understood in the English speaking world.

Ian Harrison Canadian English)

Many of the words you listed are examples of the same rule. Speak quickly and drop the consonant(s) in the middle of the word. This gives the familiar "inneresting", "innernational", "tempature", "Artic", "Anartic", "documennary", "cannidate", "propety".

Of course, language is only part of the cultural difference between Canadians and Americans. Recently I flew on Air Canada to Toronto from San Diego. An American sitting next to me was bemused by the Magazine I was reading, "Toronto Life". He looked at me and remarked, "wow, they have their own magazine, huh?"

Bob Shadwick
San Diego

The other pronunciations in your list are "rat on targit"

Ron Byres
Houston

gaol - jail

aeroplane - airplane

Here are three words that now have become universally corrupted by American speak because the three have now been included for use the United Kingdom and Australia.

I am surprised that aerodynamics and gem were not corrupted by American speak.

Some grammar has been corrupted by American speak, when people speak about "me and my mother," "me and Emily." A well-educated person would mention "my mother and me" or "my mother and I" (depending on the predicate nominative or objective as the case may be). You never put the me in front; always at the end of the comparison.

John Connolly
Burnaby

I have a friend who has taken technical courses in the deep south in the US. He tells me it is hard to separate his mental image of a "Good Old Boy named Bubba" (when he hear a southern accent) from the reality of a qualified instructor. I guess we all have our prejudices to bear..........

Glenn LeClair
Toronto

Park becomes Paaahhhhk
Car becomes Caaahhh

I've also lived in New York City, where many people speak like Edith Bunker from All in the Family.

I would hope that Canadian vocabulary, spelling, and pronunciation remain distinct. Canadians, especially French Canadians, should all raise an eyebrow when Hollywood dicates how the English language should sound!

Anthony E. Zammit
Boston, MA

Most movies made in the States find their way overseas to other English speaking countries and personally as a Canadian I find movies more appealing when they have an international aspect and aren't always purely American. With the growing number of Canadian children watching American movies, this change in language will eventually overspill into Canada when children start talking like their favourite Canadian actors in their favourite movies. This isn't only a problem with pronunciation. With the expansion of the Internet, and with American magazines and T.V. flooding into Canada, much of Canada's heritage is being replaced by American heritage in our children's minds.

This can be as small as spelling the word "colour" without a "u" as "color" or as large as not knowing that Canada played a crucial role in WWII and never fought in Vietnam. Children and adults often refer to the C.I.A or F.B.I. in everyday conversation.

Many people don't even know that the Canadian counterparts of these organizations are C.S.I.S. and the R.C.M.P. Canada doesn't call them S.W.A.T. teams or Navy Seals. This misconception is due to the current bombardment of American culture absorbed by Canadians. When hearing facts and figures regarding different diseases, many times in my former school these results would be from an American census that a fellow student looked up on the Internet.

Canada has these kinds of facts and figures as well and students, especially when very young should be encouraged to use Canadian search engines on the Internet and Canadian information.

The life expectancy of England isn't the same as the life expectancy of Canada so why would one assume that the life expectancy of the United States is the same as Canada? These parts of Canada's identity must not be lost in our constantly globalizing world.

Even in writing this paragraph, I am swamped by warnings of spelling mistakes from my spell checker because its default setting is American English. I am not one to let an American piece of software tell me that because I was born and taught to write in Canada, I am wrong. Something must be done now, whether it be tougher legislation limiting American media from entering Canada or promoting more Canadian media. When will Canadians stand up as a sovereign country and not sit back and become the 51st state?

M. Sirko

I wonder if anyone from the U.S. would even think about investing their time to produce a similiar list to "learn" how to speak Canadian ?

A.Powell

Lorna McGee

For your information, Pop is Pop in Chicago and Soda in New York and something else again in some southern states, but I cannot remember what they call it. There are so many other regional variances that even trying to teach Upper Midwestern American is fraught with great peril. Having grown up in the Chicago area I can tell you words are pronounced differently depending on the part of the city or surrounding area you are in.

It seems to me that if someone from Canada wanted to be an actor in the US, he or she needs to what most aspiring American actors do, wait tables in New York City or LA. That would be the best training of all in "American Speak".

Ron Abramson

You should add these:

American: Kleenex, Tissue
Canadian: Serviette

re: telephone calls:
American: Local
Canadian: Extension

and, of course:
American: Couch
Canadian: Chesterfield

Regards from a Canadian now residing in California (and a former CBC radio guy too!)

Stephen Beard

H.C.L. (Cam) MacDonald
Brentwood Bay, BC

The 'critical words' in asterisks are the most important ones to watch out for. I am Canadian and have lived in the US for 2 years and I once said pasta the Canadian way and the person I was talking to didn't know what I was referring to. Also, I have given up on trying to keep my zeds and I am afraid that I am slowly losing some of my 'Canadian' accent. I no longer say project but say prawject. I guess it is inevitable. But many of the items on the list that you said were American pronunciations were ways that I pronounced things in Canada. For example, I always said toosday.

Maybe alot of the differences between the 2 countries, besides some glaring differences, are mostly regional and depend on socio-economic status.

Darcy Hango

I have an aunt who has lived in New Orleans for many years and thusly speaks 'American' yet we are able to communicate quite easily. Perhaps we should learn the differences in regional dialects within our own country before we worry about having to learn how to speak American. The richness in Canadian dialects from coast to coast to coast is vast and if we can understand each other better, we can perhaps continue to maintain our distinctiveness from the Amurricans. This wasn't originally going to be a rant against Americans but it turned out to be.

Mike McKeever
Kitchener, ON

The one that has been noticed here is that I say anithing instead of anything and evrithing instead of evrything.

Of course, the 'generic' American dialect is a falsehood. We recently had a group of people from all over the East Coast from Georgia to Maine, and the differences in dialects (especially after several beers) was marked.

Mike Timonin

Of course, the most glaring omission in the list is "Eh?" at the end of a sentence, which doesn't exist in U.S. English. The correct pronunciation is to just leave the end of the sentence alone. Canadians who really need to be affirmed by others may want to speak with their therapist before attempting this.

Oh yeah -- and whereas "Hey!" or "Heya!" is a casual greeting in Canada as you pass someone you know on the street, in the US it's a hostile accusation which can lead to hurt feelings, especially after the person you've said it to tries to punch you. (If they run away instead, chances are they were feeling guilty about something.) The correct pronunciation is "Hi there!"

Dan Engelberg
Montreal, Quebec
(3 years in Ann Arbor, Michigan)

People do not 'get in line' as in Canada. They 'get on line'. No joke. I am still looking for the line to get on top of.

Marcus Grundahl
Manhattan (via Saskatoon)

I give presentations all across the US, and every audience I have spoken to picks up my "Canadianishness" from the "ou" words long before they here an other accent.

These are also the hardest to re-learn.

Sean Copeland
Austin, TX

Chrysler, Mazda, and Bausch & Lomb are all pronounced differently south of the border.
Chrysler is pronounced as if it were the Saviour's favourite vehicle.
Mazda gets an "ah" rather than an "az' sound.
B&L becomes "Bowsh & Lahm".

Casey Dickinson, Syracuse

Canadian: ree-zaw-ceez.
American: ree-sources.
I guess in this case American accent is more acceptable to me.

Kenji Rikitake, Toyonaka City, Osaka, JAPAN

After watching the segment and reading the additional web site info, the one thing that was curious to me was the location (Calgary) of the training...Toronto seems a more likely choice.

I've spent some time in most regions of Canada, and I think that western Canada, especially the prairie provinces, speak a Canadian dialect that is almost identical to the American pronuciations that are described. On the other hand, english speaking eastern Canada has a distinct "accent" to my western Canadian ears. The Maritimes...well...anyone who's been there knows that it is a challenge to always understand their unique dialects.

British Columbians have their own way of talking too...I can always pick a west coast person out in a conversation. Thanks for a neat segment.

Granton D. Criddle

Two of the more interesting pronunciation differences I have noted since moving to Calgary are the words "asphalt" and "garage", which I pronounce as "ass-fault" and "guh-raj", and are rendered here as "ash-fault" and "graj". I don't know if this usage is purely local or not.

Another thing I have noticed is something I think of as the "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" pronunciation, typified by Rick Mercer. The example that comes to mind is the word "car". I pronounce it to rhyme with "far", with little or no emphasis on the word. Mr. Mercer pronounces it as "karrr" with a very hard initial "c" and draws out the trailing "r", flattening the "a" and almost making it into a two-syllable word. I understand that is an East Coast accent.

I also noticed that you left out chesterfield/couch and university/college from your list of Canadian/American words, though "college" and "university" are used interchangeably in the US. And my friends here would say that someone is "in hospital", while I would say "in the hospital".

Thanks for a most interesting article.

Dave Worden

I live in Pittsburgh, though, and have discovered through Richardson's Roundup on CBC Radio One that there are some areas of Canada (the Maritimes) that share Pittsburgh's own special dialect....there are those here who say "redd-up" (to clean), worsh (wash, as in laundry or one's hands), slippy (slippery) and other curiously coincedent pronounciations. There are quite a few Scots and Irish here, too. Perhaps that explains it, but I found the similarities a pleasant trivia.

Bob Haberkost

Brown Bread/Wheat Bread
Toque/Ski Hat
Serviette/Napkin
Cutlery/Silverware
Chesterfield/Couch or Sofa
Tea/Hot Water with a Tetley bag on the side
Iced Tea is a drink mixed from powder with a ton of sugar usually for kids/Iced Tea is an adult drink, brewed from real tea and served without sugar.

Jon Janz

Another one I would add to your list - perhaps this is a regional thing - but here (East) instead of saying "you're welcome" as you would expect to hear when someone says thank you, they just say "uh-huh."

Whatever!!! Eh!!

Carmen Ortega

When I am in a social gathering with these kinds of students and other native English speakers it is often the case where the accent of the Japanese speaker immediately becomes the topic of discussion, with the speakers original subject forgotten. It seems to me however that the Canadian "accent" is one that is niether distracting nor misunderstood.

I love the diversity of accents in the world, and I can put on a mean southern redneck twang for a laugh when the occaision calls for it, but I do object to calling the Hollywood American accent "American" as if it were a whole other stand-alone language. It is not, it is just another variation of how the English language is spoken. It is incorrect to call it "American" just as it would be wrong to call a Japanese person's accented English "Japanese", rather than simply "English with a Japanese accent".

I think this article betrays the Canadian lack of security in our own cultural identity and our ignorance of how our language is used around the world. Why are Canadians so quick to throw up their hands and say, "Ah well, I guess if we wanna suhseed we've gahtta start speakin' Ahmerican now..." ?

J. Wilson in Japan.

As a preacher it was very difficult for me to get the Canadian pronunciation but after a while it became natural. However, I was never able to totally shake my American accent and I was recognized as an American by my speech. The funny thing was that when I visited my parents, they thought that I sounded Canadian.

So to your list. Americans in Michigan and other northern states don't drink soda. They drink pop. Soda is a southern word and is usually spoken with a southern accent, often "sodee".

Americans no longer wear tennis shoes or sneakers, they wear Adidas, Reeboks, etc.

Washroom is almost as common as restroom (but not on signs).

However, your pronunciation guide is good.

You could have pointed out that we don't sit on chesterfields (They are smoked). At dinner we wipe our hands on napkins.

Also, I noticed that people in Northwestern Ontario and west do not say "agayn" very offen (sic).

Philip Quardokus

Gregory Johnston

Over the past five years, I have from time to time had to explain to people from all walks of life the political, geographical, linguistic, and everyday-level differences between "America" and "Canada." I've noticed that it's become increasingly difficult in English classes to illustrate let alone persuade students that there are any marked differences. Collecting tidbits of media that can occasionally be found here, I'd tried to find examples of spelling differences. Not too successful, and hardly convincing, since they're usually just British anyway. My old "Kids in the Hall" tapes may come in useful with some of the more advanced students, if carefully edited. Then there's hockey...

One thing I'd assumed would remain a distinguishing feature of a rather elusive (English) "Canadianness," however, was the unique pronunciation of words like "house" and "mice" ("the Canadian raise," my linguistics prof's smiley voice still reminds me from somewhere). A trip back to Regina last summer revealed not only the changing face of the city (Blockbuster's, Shoppers' Drug Mart), but the changing voices of its residents. "'Zed' just sounds weird," my 21 year-old sister informed me. Watching TV with her for a while, my wife (a Japanese) was bound to agree.

In a conversation that weekend, a friend in Weyburn explained that no matter how assimilated things became: "we'll always be right here." Too much later, it occurred to me that the same words had likely been said, in a different language, in the same spot a few hundred years previous.

Back to the lesson plans,

Sean Mahoney
Fukushima City, Japan

Of course, the lines between "Canadian" and "American" English are not quite as clear-cut as your reportage would suggest. A few comments on your word list:

First, the voice actors you interviewed can relax; both "datta" and "dayta" are standard U.S. pronunciations for "data". I commonly find myself switching between the two in the course of a single conversation.

The pronunciation of "sorry" as "sohrry" or "sahrry" is indeed usually a good indicator (though western Canadians do to equivocate a bit on this point). "Borrow" and "tomorrow" follow the same pattern, but saying "hahrror" for "horror" (or "hahrrible" or "fahrest") will instantly mark you as an East Coast speaker.

The merger of the O in "possible" with the A in "father" and the AUGH in "caught" is a characteristic shared by western Americans and western Canadians alike.

Saying "twunny" for "twenty" will make you sound like a New York gangster in an old mob movie. The actual pronunciation varies widely, depending on how carefully the speaker wishes to enunciate.

The "tt" in "letter" and the "dd" in "ladder" are technically pronouced as a flap, like the "r" in the Scots pronunciation of "Edinborough". Many Canadians use this pronunciation as well.

Pronunciation of "project" and "progress" is inconsistent among Canadians, in my experience: some use "prah", others "proh".

"Semi" and "anti" are indeed pronounced "semeye" and "anteye" in isolation, but in compounds, either pronunciation is acceptable U.S. English: "semeye"-conscious, "semee"-conscious, "anteye"-Catholic, "antee"-Catholic are all standard.

Western Canadians, like most Americans, generally drop the y sound out of words like news, tune, and due, whereas many New Englanders leave it in.

Only East Coast speakers distinguish between the vowels in "marry", "merry", and "Mary". In most of the U.S., as in Canada, they are all pronounced with the A sound in "care".

"Route" may be pronounced "rowt" or "root", without regard to meaning. There is some regional variation in the distribution.

I pronounce "all right" and "already" exactly as Canadians do. Only Arkansas hicks, to my knowledge, commonly say "awright" and "awready".

"Pasta" is indeed usually pronounced "pahsta" here, and the same vowel is used in "drama" and "Mazda". However, "plaza" may be pronounced either "plahza" or "plazza".

"Often" is usually "offen", but the t may come out in carefully enunciated speech.

Again, "ahrange" for "orange" is strictly an East Coast pronunciation.

The ending "-ile" may be pronounced long or short in U.S. English, depending on the speaker.

"Tord", "tword", and "toward"; "envelope" and "ahnvelope"; "assosciate" and "assoshiate"; "foyer" and "foy-AY" are all commonly heard in the U.S.

"inSHURance" is the pronunciation used by most U.S. speakers; "INshurance" is commonly associated with Southern or lower-class speakers. The same is true of the pronunciation of "mirror" as "meer".

"Restroom" is the most common term for a public lavatory in the U.S., but "washroom" would be widely understood, as would "running shoes".

Finally, "pop" is the term I grew up with for a carbonated soft drink. "Pop" is at least as common as "soda" on the West Coast, if not more so.

Nicholas Pharris
Olympia, Washington, U.S.

yours = yawlz

John Doyle

Drew Dalire
Seattle WA

Brad Sweet

Jack Bidnik

Mark Woodruff

I have some differences to add, though. We say grocery "cart" rather than "buggy"; "napkin" instead of "serviette"; and "whole wheat" toast rather than "brown" toast. Also, when I was a teenager and spent time with a Canadian family, I had no idea what "HP", "snooker", or a "loonie" was! (Of course, with the recent introduction of the US Sacajawea dollar coin, we will probably need to come up with our own equivalent term -- a "sackie", perhaps?)

Hope others feel free to add their own terms and pronunciations!

Alisa Ostgard-Murray
(from Seattle, where we may not have HP, but we do have "slug butter"!)

For example I do say Pahsta as per your list but my Minnesota raised grandmother does not. Most persons from Michigan say Pop ( I say soda- I drink enough of it to be on a first name basis with it).

I know of no one who uses the words gonna, coulda, etc. These words, I suspect, are for the young . Many of these examples I believe are correct, but one must remember that all language whether in the U.S. or Canada, has its regional "pronounceciations" (pro - nuns- sea ay shions) and for the record- it's not tennis shoes - it's trainers.

Jennifer M. Kepler

The word "got" has crept into Canadian English usage as a replacement for "have/has/had", and it is truly annoying to hear spoken. "Wacha got?" "I gotta go." "You got any more?". It is even more annoying to hear the word "got" used in conjunction with "have", as in "I've got to get one", meaning literally "I have have to get one". I don't know if this is an Americanism in origin, but it surely sounds like one.

Don Preston
Chilliwack

This land is filled with several subcultures of people. If a person travels across the land, many different types of language use will be found.

For instance, in some parts, if a person wants a carbonated beverage it is a soda, in others a pop, in others a cola, and I have heard others say everything is a Coke.

Also, within cities, words get used differently than when in suburban areas. An example would be if someone said the number 4. In urban downtown areas, that number would be fo.... no "r." In any event, I found your dictionary to be funny in its truth as well as in its misrepresentation.

Matt Bauchan
Michigan

Gene DuBois

I think it's amazing how Canadians will go through great lengths to make their accents to our American ears. I'm not sure if they should work that hard, but I guess it does serve its purpose.

For example, I watch CBC news from time to time. When I listen to some of the reporters at first, they sound American.. But when they get to words like "about," and to me it becomes distracting. Same thing when reading Canadian English (colour for color) Rosie O'Donnel and Regis Philbin are distracting too with their New York accents.

I should point out that Marry and Harry are pronounced by most people as "e" [E] rather than the "a" [&] in cat. I think people on the east coast pronounce it as the "a" in cat.

Chris Sundita

Skeletons (skehl'-eh-tons) in the U.S. are skel-eeh'-tons here in Canada.

Canadians have projects (prow-jhechts), versus American prahw-jhechts where the first syllable rhymes with 'bra'.

Chocolate bars aren't always chocolate in Canada, but can be any kind of what Americans would call Candy bars.

And Canadians go "to university", while Americans go "to the university of (Proper Noun) or to the abbreviation of that proper name, i.e. U.S.C., U.C.L.A, etc.

A Serviette is a Napkin.

Canadian students write an exam, whereas Americans take a test, or take an exam.

Rebecca Payne

John Riches
St. Catharines, Ontario

The idea of a list is fine for those who make their living on TV or the stage, or radio. But I think we speak a superior brand of English in Canada, and we shouldn't be too quick to ape the Americans. Got to have an edge, eh?

Neil Barrett

For example in Michigan a garden hose is called a garden hose but in South Carolina it is called a hosepipe or as they say "hosepahp".

Also I don't personally notice a lot of difference in pronunciation between the way English is spoken between the people of Southwestern Ontario and Michigan, but there sure is a big difference between the northern states and the southern states. Even in the south there is a difference between regions e.g. Louisiana as compared to Georgia.

John Duin
St.Thomas, Ontario

"The moon shone very brightly last night".

Every American will say "shone" to rhyme with "bone", and every Canadian will pronounce it like "lawn". And the best part is.......citizens in both countries have never heard of the other pronunciation.

Rod-Paul Martin
Vancouver, B.C.

Des Arsenault
PEI

Other items to add to the list:

Canadian — American
couch — sofa
Chesterfield (Couch) — Chesterfield (sofa)
serviette — napkin

Very well done. I still talk 'merican, though I have learned how to pronounce roof :)

Barbara Urichuk

American - do the dishes

Mark Cowan

at convenience stores:
in Canada ... would you like a bag?
in the US ... wanna sack?

also, the obvious:

in Canada ... eh
in the US ... huh

Bill Moore

Canadian = Grade 5; American = fifth grade.

Vive la différence, I say.

Jim Withers
Montreal

I can’t tell you how many people have commented to me that “you must be from Canada” because of my “accent”. Well, if the “accent” is due to the fact that I don’t slur sounds and actually take the time to properly pronounce words, then long live my Canadian accent.

Now, not to paint with a brush that’s too broad, there is a percentage of the population that could actually pass for Canadian based on word pronunciation. I wonder if they’re ever asked about their country of origin.

All I can say about the idea of teaching people to speak “American” is that language is about the only thing that the US of A hasn’t eliminated from Canada. Slowly the Canadian culture is being eroded by the constant bombardment from the south, as we are inundated by their way of life. I can probably name more US Presidents than I can Prime Ministers simply from American TV as a kid. Let’s not let the very language we speak be replaced by an inferior version, where attention to detail is lost in an effort to just get it out of one’s mouth. One last comment on this item; when was the last time you heard actors in an American TV show/movie actually speak with an American accent. Two examples, “Ally McBeal”, and “The Practice”, both based in Boston. Not one of the actors in either show speaks with a Boston accent. My only thought about why they speak without one is that nobody would understand a word they said if they did. Hence why the need to teach something to Canadians that doesn’t seem to be wanted in the very country in which it’s actually used??

Put a stop to the insanity. As I recently heard in a Molson Canadian beer commercial, “It’s ZED, not Zee.” My name’s John, and I AM CANADIAN!!

John Orminski

Speaking as Canadians in Southern California, you forgot the eternal about. While Canadians do not say aboot as Americans think, they definitely do not say abowt which is how the Americans do. It is actually the way I can best spot Canadians down here.

Andrew & Erica Moir
Laguna Beach CA

Ruth Choboter

What a bloody shame that Canadians have to learn Amspeak in order to act. Why must Canada be so bloody cooperative with the United States in its (Canada's) own self destruction? The same comments go for spelling as well as pronunciation, ie. we should use colour, not color, centre, not center. As far as I am concerned, Noah Webster couldn't spell. Obviously, he couldn't pronounce either. There is no excuse for Canadians to learn US bastard English. The United Mistakes of America would never return the favour.

CBC must share the guilt in the "Americanisation" of our language. Sometimes, I really think I understand why the Québecois are so defensive of their language. Canadian English is under similar threat from the United States.

There is no place for this trashy "English" in Canada and especially on the CBC. I wish CBC's language police would enforce the good ideas and not the bad ideas.

Tell your reporters to "lay" charges, not "file" them; to "make" or "strike" a deal, not "cut" a deal. "Cutting" a deal sounds very trashy, something JR would say (and has said) on Dallas. Also," lieutenant" in English is lefftenant, not lyutenant, even when referring to the United States military. Again, they won't return the favour. I have even heard Canadian reporters referring to the Crown's proxy in a province as a "lyutenant governor"! It is "Grade 3", not "third grade", "marks" on school, not "grades". Trains run on "railways" not "railroads". I could go on.

In contrast, why do you insist on conforming to government doublespeak by telling your reporters to call UI "EI"? Why would anyone want to insure himself against getting employment? Or do we no longer have unemployment in Canada?

In addition, please stop referring to the United States as "America". Who do they think they are, the only ones in the Western Hemisphere? The US wasn't even thought of when Waldseemüller coined the word in 1507. We are all Americans in the true meaning of the word. The US co-opted "America". Canada needn't acquiesce in this misnomer.

Also, I am hearing more and more Imperial measurements on CBC despite the fact CBC has written me repeatedly that it is CBC's policy to use metric measurements exclusive and to vet all news stories, but "occasionally" an Imperial measurement slips through. Sorry, but this is no longer occasional. It occurs hourly both nationally and regionally. I hear it all the time on both CBC Manitoba and CBC Saskatchewan. At this very moment, I am now hearing measurements in feet on Ideas. All measurements on all programs in CBC should be in metric. Just because the US still uses Imperial measurements, we shouldn't follow suit.

I have been told CBC uses "educated English". Yet I hear reporters saying "divvy up" instead of divide up. This is very common in news stories as well as discussions. Such usage does not sound very educated to me. The same applies to puns and clichés. When I was in school, such writing would be marked off, justifiably so.

I hope you're not sorry you asked me about this. As a student of language, I find this topic very interesting.

Ken Peale
Flin Flon, Manitoba

Out - Aww-t in Canada, Oot in American
About - Abought in Canada, Aboot in American
Plural of "Y'all" is "All Y'all".
actually that is one word "yall"

Peter Macaulay

Noel and Liam M.

Anyway, "OUT" is the biggest conversation killer. As soon as you say "about", the American listener no longer has any interest in what you are saying, rather they'll immediately say, "You said 'oot', are you Canadian?"

Dave Berthin
Ottawa, Ontario

I spent the summer touring the States with a Canadian Drum and Bugle corps and on more than one occasion I have been misunderstood.

One specific occasion was at a McDonalds in Scranton PA, when I asked for some serviettes. I received a blank stare for a few minutes, and then the gentleman taking my order informed me that "this McDonalds no longer carries serviettes". Surprisingly enough they had paper towel. As for the pronunciations, wouldn't it just be easier to tell Canadians to just do the opposite of what they learned in grammar school? Seriously, should we be encouraging people to say "didja" instead of "did you?"

-Lindsay Hudson
Kingston Ontario

Stephen Briggs

in canada ... you for a drink
in the us ... you go for a cocktail

in canada ... rye
in the us ... bourbon

Bill Moore

Back to Your Space | Your Thoughts