Lynn, I agree with you there are so many different accents within Canada and within the States. It is and impossible to lump them all together in terms of a Canadian verses an American sound. You wrote that you were from the Great Lakes region and that you've been mistaken for a Canadian.
Supermarket from Minnesota wrote that they say "roof" like "tool" instead of like "book" which I'd thought was the typical American pronunciation. You are both pretty close to Canada though. Is it generally true that the American accents close to the Canadian border are close to those just over the other side?
Also, Lynn, I'm curious. What were your teacher's clever ways of helping you form sounds for words?
Typo: "... the States. It is and impossible ..." should read "... the States that it is impossible ..."
I work for an American company in New Brunswick, so I talk to Americans all day. 90% of the time they can tell that I am not American from my speech. When queried as to how they can tell this, I envariably get the same answers, 1)use of larger words 2)polite 3)no slang 4)slight scottist lilt
I, personnally, have no problems with the Americans aside from the obvious arrogance and belief in thier own importance,but hey,whatever! But I am becoming a bit ticked at the way the American media is bashing this country and her people over comments made recently by our PM,s aide, a person I might add, that most Canadians didn't even know existed until the incident in Prague. The comments of one person do not reflect the opinion of a nation!
that's too bad. bush really is a moron.
ezme, get a life mate! all americans don't think that canadians sound different because they use bigger words are polite and a slight scottish accent! this is not true, and you know that. no, i am not american, but i have family that live in america, and i like visiting there.
Hi Jim :)
I also say "roof" with the "oo" sound like tool. I have heard it said both ways here, like tool, or like book. I wonder if the accents do have more similarities near the borders, I suspect they are not, but can't be sure. Eastward from the Mississippi River to the coast, the Lakes really form a natural barrier. I know in my own state, we share boundary waters, but no actual land with Canada, so I think regular contact with the people on the other side is naturally limited.
How did my teacher help us pronunciate? It is hard to remember everything since I'm 34 now and 1st grade was a longggg time ago, but, I do remember her taking the time to sit with each of us kids individually when necessary. She would form the sounds in an exaggerated drawn out manner, and have us mimic her. She would watch out little faces and mouths closely and correct us when we weren't getting it. She'd help us by explaining how the sound should feel in our throat, or on our lips as we spoke. I vividly remember her having us form a point with our thumb and fingers, and trying to wedge as much of our hand as we could to our mouths so we could judge if our mouths were open enough to execute the proper beginning of the long O sound. Wish I could remember all her tricks and whatnot, but we always had fun learning.
Ezme - You mention that we shouldn't judge a nation by the comments of one person. I couldn't agree more. That is why I get so disappointed when a rude American is the only American some people ever experience. We are not all rude, uncultured and self-centered. As for Bush, I did not vote for him, nor would I ever vote for him. Don't worry about the aides remark, the press looks for things to stir up, and they will find something new shortly I'm sure. Besides, the press are probably enjoying how the incident tweaks Bush's nose. I laughed like mad when I heard about it. So, don't worry too much.
-Lynn
Ack! Many typos in that last post. Very sorry! I should have re-read it before I hit send.
I'd been forgetting how big those lakes were. How about on the other side of the the Mississippi? For example, are the (southern) British Columbian and the (northern) Washington State accents similar?
I guess I was generalising when I said Americans say "roof" with a short vowel but I've heard Canadians point this out as a difference between their pronunciation and that of people in the States.
What happened in Prague?
Lynn,
Thanks for your reply. Thanks for the tip on ways to teach pronunciation.
Excuse me, Robo Canuck, our living standards are not as high as other countries? Then why do endless number of Canadians come to the US to find employment......because the greener pasture is in the USA and not Cannotda. Unless you don't know we have the strongest economy in the world and our GDP per capita is second only to Luxembourg. Sure our biggest problem is even distribution of wealth, but don't say that we don't have high living standards.
And about the world hating America because of our foreign policy,well Mr. Canuck, if it weren't for our foreign policy Canada would not enjoy the freedom and the economic soundness that it has today. So don't be playing innocent with me, you all take part of so called foreign policy and reap all its benefits yet make us look like the bad guys.
Who said that the Americans don't have a high standard of living? Wow! They most certainly do.
I don't know about the US being responsible for our so called freedom, but I do know that our economy SUCKS! Our dollar is, after all, only worth about .60 against the American dollar. That is not a stable economy.
Our government is very imaginative when it comes to thinking up new ways to screw us.(I only wish my boyfriend was that imaginative)
By the way "Jim", the incident I refer to in Prague was the Canadian aide to the PM was to have been heard calling Bush a Moron.
I don't think there's a huge difference between the American and the Canadian accents. Both of them sound alike. But the British sound different from Americans and Canadians. I met a guy from Glasgow and he was travelling all over US. This guy had a very strong accent. People thought he was speaking a foreign language.
i remember united winnin the cup. da da da da da da. By the way Bush is a moron. so why does every1 argue. we can all be friends. and you should live in Britain. I mean endless poverty, fumes, traffic jams. lots to moan about. you people would love it. you could find somethin to pick holes in every day. and come on here to complain. ha ha. the joys of communism. shoot all that defy the law or complain. what was every 1 moanuin about. it worked.
Liam has a point, why are we arguing anyway? Canada, US, Britain, Ireland, Australia and many other countries are quite nice places to be. None are perfect, but we're free to move about as we choose and permitted to say stupid things without be locked away for years. I guess I'm happy enough working on perfecting my mildly imperfect part of the world, especially when I see what the dreary alternative could be.