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But just as our accents are hard for you to discern, those accents are difficult for North Americans to tell apart. I can easily tell a northern accent from a southern one in England, but that's about it. Welsh, Irish and Scottish accents are all easily discernable too.

   

I'm "neutral" apparently, but got all kinds of flack from people from out of the Maritimes on how I pronouce "car" "talk" and "tour".

Gee golly, we've got our own Henry Higgins on the forum.

   

Cool they were right, except the American part.

   

We speak the way we do all the time so we never think of our own accent.
You can often pick up on the sound and rythym of languages and identify them even if we don't know what they words are.
I wonder what we sound like to someone from overseas who doesn't speak english?

   

ME TOO!!!

I didn't even know "Canadian" would be a possible result since the quiz seemed to be an American region thing. I thought I may have been catagorized under "western USA".

When I was travelling in Oregon years ago there was a clerk in a store I was in that right away said "You're from Vancouver Canada aren't you?" I said "Yes, how did you know?" She said she's met people from all over and that I had a typical Vancouver accent. So even "Canadian" is a non-specific accent since depending where in Canada we're from we talk differently.

   

Probably picked it up from all the American media I've watched, read and listened to.

   

When I first left the rock I was in a store in Toronto and I was talking with the sales girl. She thought I was from England. I told her I wasn't. She proceeded to guess Ireland, Australia and New Zealand before I told her. I couldn't believe someone from Toronto wouldn't recognize a Newfie accent.

   

I pretty much sound like "Sam Kinison meets Grandpa Simpson". What accent is that? Actually, I've heard people describe the "Canadian accent" (Peter Mansbridge, newscaster-like) as really the ABSENCE of accent.

   

Western born and bred.

   

I'm from the Western States?
How come I notice their accent when I go down to Warshington?

   

I catch myself talking like that once in a while. Cant help it though I guess my dads side of the family came from the Manitoba area then moved to Minnesota. Its funny though, there isn't too much of a difference between a Wisconsin and and Minnesota accent.

I really got called out though when I was in California. I was in the single riders line (only a 5 min wait over 1.5 hours) and I was talking to this one chick. She asked where I was from I told her Wisconsin. She then said I sound like I'm from Minnesota.

Also people from Michigan say Wisconsin weird. They pronounce is Wes--KAHN-Son

   

I met this dude at the Timmy's a couple of months ago. He was a trucker from Georgia. He struck up a chat with me. I asked him where he was headed and he said "Some place called Jewellup". I said "Jewellup? Where the hell is that?" He pulled out his mapquest printout: Guelph. I said "GWELFF, it's pronounced GWELFF".

   

And I just remebered, I was constantly told last time I was in Germany that I speak German like a Berliner, Though I can't for the life of me pick out the different German accents.

   

My kids speak Mandarin fluently(as reflected by their ages), but when my eldest son talks to other Mandarin speakers(usually at a Chinese food restaurant ) back in Canada, they automatically recognize the Taiwanese accent. They're always amazed that the white kid can speak a Chinese language. My mother-in law's cousin is married to a fellow from Hong Kong who speaks Cantonese(mother tongue) and Mandarin. He thinks it's great to have someone to talk to, as his kids only speak English.

   

   

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