Quote:
Originally Posted by scoundrel
To the British ear, American and Canadian accents can be difficult to tell apart. The same is true of Australian and New Zealand (Kiwi) accents. I am fairly certain that an Australian would have no difficulty recognising a New Zealander's accent, and an American would probably know a Canadian if he/she heard one. I imagine the deciding factor is familiarity.
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Also depends on which part of the country the person is from. East coast Canadians, (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, PEI and New Brunswick) have distinctive accents from western Canadians. As do Americans from the New England states compared to Texas, California or the southern states. Canadians from Ontario sound the most like Americans from the mid-west (Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, etc.) Listening for certain words, phrases or lilts helps me. For example most Canadians will pronounce Toronto as "Trawna" slurring the syllables and making it more nasal. Most Americans will pronounce it more like "Tore on toe". Check out a sports cast and you'll see what I mean.
To my ear, Aussies speak in a higher pitch while Scots speak in a lower one. I find the Irish tend to speak more quickly almost rushing through their sentences. But the easiest way, for me, is to listen for key words like 'Sheila' or 'Lass'.
Of course if you took a person from Scotland, Newfoundland and Texas and left them to chat they would all be speaking English but they might actually need an interpreter.
