Do Americans really believe that Canadians pronounce "About" as "Aboot"? (1 Viewer)

[JamieD]

-Personal opinion against common sentiment post removed-

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Who really gives a damn. If people were half as concerned about noting the concerns and problems of others as they are their accents or habits, we'd be much better off.

Hey, calm down. It's just some harmless chit chat (so far anyway).

Aaron

 

[Jefferson]

..And not all southerners say "ya'll".....
I'm no Henry Higgins, but even the diction and dialect tapes I've used in acting courses reflect these sounds that some people here seem to be in denial about. (pronounce that word however you like, and I always hear it as "a-BOAT", not "aboot", but I digress).

I think I understand the point of the first post here, which is that not ALL Canadians (or southerners, or new yorkers, or wherever) prounounce words in the stereotypical fashion........I do not have a southern accent, myself.
But belieeeeeeeeeve me, they do exist.

 

[KeithH]

I have heard Canadians say "aboot". However, I have also met people from Wisconsin that say "aboot".
My other favorite from Canadian hockey players and announcers is "organyzation". Listen to Barry Melrose on ESPN or ESPN2 sometime. Actually, do Canadians spell the word 'organization' or 'organisation', the latter being the British way?

 

[Hugh Jackes]

My parents were Canadian and I used to visit my aunts and uncles in Ontario and Quebec. Yes, "aboot", "aboat", and "eh?" are absolutely in their lexicon. My mother called this the "cultured Canadian" accent.

 

[PatrickM]

What I want to know is why certain geographies in the US add r's to words where r's are not there. Like for example Washington they'll say Wershington.

Patrick

 

[Dennis Reno]

Don't get me started with "ZED". What the hell is "ZED"??? The letter is "Z", pronounced just like it is spelled!
BTW, I live just across the river from Canada. I need only turn on CBC (Channel 9) to hear all the "aboot" and "zed" you can stand!

 

[Eve T]

Yes, many Canadians do pronounce it "aboat" or "aboot"
I lived in Lake Placid New York for quite some time during my teenage years and we had many Canadian tourist, not to mention we played you guys in many a hockey game. My high school had a girls hockey team (in which I was a part of..left wing ) so we made lots of trips to Canada for away games and many of you say "aboot or Aboat" but hey many of us pronounce our words differently. Been in the south before? How bout Long Island or Maine?
I personally say "roof" not ruff.
I think it depends on what region/area you are in.
In the end it doesn't really matter as long as we can still understand each other.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Cold shivers go down my spine when I hear Toronto pronounced trana. Other than that, I have no problems or concerns with any of the local pronounciation of any of the words.

 

[Philip_G]

I've lived in Canada for 23 years now and this is the first I have heard of aboot. Mind you, I am based in Toronto so this is not represntative of the rest of the Country.

That's another thing i notice, canadians say "mind you" a lot more frequently than americans

Also, for the record, MB'ers CAN NOT DRIVE.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Let's pick on the British now
Have you noticed that no brit can just say a?
Recent example, ST:TNG
"Mr. Dater, come to my ready room"

Oh, "ma-toor" and "ruff" and "rout" instead of "root" is a mostly midwestern thing.

 

[Richard Kim]

My other favorite from Canadian hockey players and announcers is "organyzation". Listen to Barry Melrose on ESPN or ESPN2 sometime.

Or how about when hockey players or commentators pronounce offense (or is that offence?) as "OH-fense."

 

[Patrick Sun]

The giveaway for me on whether someone is Canadian or not is how they pronounce "process". More often than not, a Canadian will pronounce it "pro-cess" while Americans will pronounce it "prah-cess".

 

[MikeAlletto]

Roof: They say "ruff"

I found in ohio its pronounced that way. Every place else is roof. Ohio people also say woof for wolf and warsh for wash. That drives me crazy.

 

[Malcolm R]

The about-aboot, house-hoose, out-oot Canadian pronounciation is very real. My company just hired a new engineer from Ontario and his Canadian "accent" is very obvious.

 

[JamieD]

-Sorry, shouldn't have bothered-

 

[Jefferson]

grow up in the south like I did, and be proud of talkin' funny, ya'll.
Po-tay-to....po-tah-to......English is a confusing language to speak, read or right....er...write.

 

[Dave Gorman]

This type of stuff irritates me.

Yeah, you've made that clear enough... Meanwhile, the rest of us are just having a little fun
When I was in school, the 4 guys in my dorm from Saskatchewan most definitely pronounced it a-boat, and there were "eh"s all over the place.
And then there's my Aunt from Minneapolis who refuses to believe any Minnesotans sound like the movie Fargo, meanwhile sounding almost exactly like Marge Gunderson

 

[JohnAD]

My wife's Canadian, and she definitely says aboot, eh, etc. She's from Toronto, too. Her accent has mostly gone away, since she's been down here, though.

Only in Eastern Washington do people say 'Washington' as 'Warshington' or 'Wershington'.

John.

 

[Philip_G]

And then there's my Aunt from Minneapolis who refuses to believe any Minnesotans sound like the movie Fargo, meanwhile sounding almost exactly like Marge Gunderson

DUDE! people up here HATE that movie and refuse to believe they sound EXACLY LIKE THAT!