Well, well.. what do I say?

[Xx_Folklore_xX]

Well, as I'm a fanatic for languages, mainly the english one... I hate studying grammar and etc.. Up today I do not know " Passive voice ".. but, what I really enjoy studying is the differences between english... like one once did, about the Kiwi and Aussie English...

I wanted to discuss all the sorts of english... well, my favourite is British, I love the accent, the way they spell " wotevah, nevah, for evah, betta ", it's so beautiful....

And I wanted you, mainly the canadians, tell me how could I recognise the canadian english, because i can't see any difference between Canadian, American and Irish... though the irish one is very strong, the accent.. But I'd like to know from you...

So, tell me.....

[Joey (Webmaster)]

Why thank you Although there is a big difference between Canadian/American and Irish. Maybe you should study the different accents within England, every 10miles there is a different accent, be it London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpoo, Newcastle etc.. All so different. That will keep you busy for a while.

[karaokequeen3]

Canadian english is by in large pretty darn similar to American english if you ever go to Toronto. There are some subtle differences, and it's noticeable in the way they spell 'centre' - exactly the same way as we Brits do! To extend on what Joey said, you can find some big differences in the accents of Londoners! Myself, mine is quite neutral, it's vaguely London-like, but I can quite easily slip into a Mancunian (Manchester) accent. That's what 4 years in the city does to you!

[Xx_Folklore_xX]

I've heard once that Singers, mainly Kiwis and Aussies, they turn their weird accent into the american one, and the reason is.. the fame, they want to be known around the world, so if they sing with their true accent, no one would understand them...

E.G, Natalie Imbruglia, no one says that she's Australian, she sings like a British...
Cold play, I've never seen a Brit accent in their songs

I want to know if Nelly Furtado and Alanis Morissette, they have the true Canadian accent...

Because like you said, they spell centre, but there's a Alanis song is

" be the center of universe " not centre

And I'd like to know more.. please, give the differences...

[karaokequeen3]

Man, you ask too much of me at this time! I'll get back on you to that. That sounds like an excuse to listen to Jagged Little Pill before I go to bed!

[Ian]

I'm Canadian @_@

yeah our English is quite similiar to that of America, but there are some differences, like karaokequeen3 pointed out, in canada it is centre, while in America it is center, and in Canada, we spell Colour, not color(like America), or honour instead of honor.
The pronounciation is simlilar to America but different from Brittain.
However the province of Newfoundland(where i live) has a different dialect of English (Newfoundland English), while the maritime provinces speak more of a Scottish accent, then you have a french accent near Quebec, etc..
haha
theres a whole lot

check this site:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_English

[Joey (Webmaster)]

You might find this of some use when it comes to more regional English accents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_English

Wikipedia is a good site to get information.

[Nellysman]

Originally Posted by Xx_Folklore_xX

E.G, Natalie Imbruglia, no one says that she's Australian, she sings like a British...
Cold play, I've never seen a Brit accent in their songs

I want to know if Nelly Furtado and Alanis Morissette, they have the true Canadian accent...

...

Nelly and Michale J Fox have the American style of the way they talk, Avril Lavigne has the true Canadian accent. When Nelly speaks she is missing the weird Canadian pronunciation of words like out and about, Canadians speak just like Americans except for those words out and about when you hear em you know you've found a Canadian Oddly Nelly doesn't say out and about weird she says it like an American would.

I could tell instantly Coldplay was Brittish when I heard them

[karaokequeen3]

Originally Posted by Nellysman

I could tell instantly Coldplay was Brittish when I heard them

No shit! I'd have thought it was blatantly obvious. Unlike Ash. Thought American, later realised they were (mostly) from Ulster. Except of course the lovely Charlotte...

[peewee]

Originally Posted by Xx_Folklore_xX

I've heard once that Singers, mainly Kiwis and Aussies, they turn their weird accent into the american one, and the reason is.. the fame, they want to be known around the world, so if they sing with their true accent, no one would understand them...

E.G, Natalie Imbruglia, no one says that she's Australian, she sings like a British...
Cold play, I've never seen a Brit accent in their songs

I can probably help out with a bit of this. I disagree with a bit of it.

The main profession in which people change their accent is acting. Because the US is still by far the top in film making in the Western world, Aussies and Kiwis usually move to the US and try to get work and learn to speak as best they can with an American accent.

Singers, however, I don't think change their accents much. Pronounciations are often American due to influences from American artists and the sound in certain styles usually result in words like "can't" said like "caaaaaant" like the "an" in "man", rather than the proper pronounciation of "carnt", while the rest will still remain Aussie or whatever.

Here's the big thing about singing though. It's veeery hard to pick from one's singing voice what nationality they are. Singing seems to find a neutral sort of sound that escapes obvious distinctions through accents. I've never heard anyone not say Natalie Imbruglia was Australian I guess everyone knew her a long time ago here. She lives in the UK and has British influence on her accent but she still talks Aussie and I don't think her voice is non-Aussie or anything, countries stemming from the British Commonwealth just seem to find this neutral ground in singing. And Coldplay, while I must admit I sometimes forget they are British, I wonder to myself how I could have cos he has a strrooooong accent that doesn't escape his singing voice.

And the spelling of words like centre/center you have to understand isn't a big deal in some countries. Different parts of Canada would accept it to different extents since they're on the border of USA. Here in Australia, American English is widely accepted due to USA's strong influence on our culture. There's still a strong lean toward Traditional English, but American spelling is by no means considered incorrect spelling. It would seem very strange to see "center" or "color" in a newspaper headline, for example, but in common language it's accepted.

So Canada is another country that has many influences from both the UK and the USA. It should also be noted that the US market is often they key target and so spelling may be appropriated for their audience.