Do I have a Canadian accent?
<<So far, about half of the people guessed Canadian, the other American. Many couldn't tell either way. Btw, this also is of "Comma Gets a Cure". >>
This ability requires an intuitiveness that not everyone is necessarily skilled at or possesses.
It is a gift.
(and I don't mean that in a conceited way)
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This is similar to the way some English dialects, and I'm thinking of Australians (and sometimes New Zealanders) at the moment, always seem to end a sentence with a rising intonation--as if they are asking a question, but are really making a statement. <<
That's also attributed to Valley Girls and Canadians as well though. And it's not everyone, just certain age groups.
Of course I don't sound like a native speaker because I am not.
I was just wondering if I have NCVS or nasal accent just like midwesterners.
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I was just wondering if I have NCVS or nasal accent just like midwesterners. <<
You have a mixed accent. Some people have sort of a mixed accent, if they move around a lot. I know someone who lived in the North, South, and West, and you should hear how they pronounced "bag". In a 15 minute conversation it sounded like:
[b{g]
[bag]
[b{:j@g]
[beg]
Trying to guess where they were from would be pretty darn difficult. Sometimes they sounded Southern, sometimes Northern, and sometimes Western.
I'm Canadian and I don't think people would generally characterize me as "more polite" than most Americans.