Canadians Talk Funny. We Translate
When I first moved to the Big Apple from Syracuse, a co-worker at my new job asked me, confused, “Wait, What’s your name again? Where are you from? Is it, Kerri, Carrie, or Carey?”
My response was, “It’s spelled C-a-r-e-y and where I’m from ALL three spellings of my name are pronounced exactly the same, KEER-RIE.”
That’s when I first realized I didn’t sound like everyone else in the rest of country — or even my own state. I had an accent! And not the British kind that makes people wanna curl up next to you requesting you to say something else. I had a talking-through-my-nose-sounding, sorta-Fargo, sorta-Midwestern, sorta-Canadian accent, also known as a “Great Lakes” accent.
Do Canadians talk funny or is it you? (Illustration by Erik Mace for Yahoo Travel)
I recently headed up to Toronto, Canada to celebrate a special birthday weekend with my daughter, Ava. I thought my Central New York accent would allow me to fit right in. But I was wrong. Very wrong.
Apparently, the Canadian cadence is very discernible from my accent. Some of the Canadian accents are known for lengthening their A’s, dragging their R’s, and using the famous phrase, “Eh?”
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And I wanted to know: when is the appropriate time to use this iconic phrase?According to the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, it is used to “confirm the attention of the listener and to invite a supportive noise such as “Mm” or “Oh” or “Okay.”
For example, “These nachos are delish, eh?”
The author and her daughter, Ava, practice their Canadian accents. (Photo: Carey Reilly)
Author and relationship expert Andrea Syrtash was born and raised in Toronto. She’s been living in New York City for a little over a decade. Referring to herself as a “Canuck” (which she tells me is slang for a “true Canadian”), she knows all too well about the differences between the American and Canadian accents. Syrtash defends some of the words she pronounces as common sense. “Americans think Canadians pronounce things incorrectly,” she explains. “But I’m sorry, it’s ‘foyer’ with a silent R. You don’t pronounce the R just like you don’t pronounce the T in ‘buffet.’”
Related: Lost in Translation: Brits v. Americans — Whose Language Is It, Anyway?
There are two words Syrtash says that no matter how much she’s assimilated to being a New Yorker, allow people to detect that she’s Canadian: tomorrow (”to-more-row”) and sorry (“SOAR-ee”).
Andrea Syrtash explains how to talk Canadian. (Photo: Carey Reilly)
I noticed Canadians to be very polite when communicating. Syrtash agrees: “They have a slightly apologetic tone. They never want to appear too demanding or aggressive.”
Never wanting to seem “too demanding or aggressive?” Ha! I’d like to see New Yorkers try that attitude on for size. I’m not sure an “apologetic tone” would get you even so much as a cup of “cawffee” in the Big Apple. Eh?
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