Should I take this as a compliment?

[El Pollo Guerrera]

It's stereotyping, pure and simple. When us Americans think of Canada, we think of "The Great White North" where it snows 27/7/365...

Maybe not every day, but I live in a part of Canada where we have had up to 2" snow in July. We've also had 30 degree C weather in January.

...people finish every sentence with eh?and/or have a French accent...

I have no French accent, but I am guilty of using "eh" on a regular basis. It's just the thing to do, eh?

...wear plaid shirts with suspenders...

Never... but my father does (an ex-mechanic, car dealer and recreational hunter).

...and drink beer all day.

Well, not ALL day... I am at work right now, but I do have a flat of beer in the car.

[Imogene]

And I thought you were so butch!

Uh... she says, "And I thought you were so rugged!"

[Pagan]

wear plaid shirts with suspenders

You mean like Red Green? http://www.wpt.org/blog/uploaded_ima...jpg-758095.jpg
I miss that show.

OT - We have a reporter here who's name is Rod Green, but everytime he's mentioned, I hear Red Green. I think it would be a vastly different report if it was Red.

I've noticed American news broadcasters usually use the soft 'sh' sound when saying 'schedule.'

What American broadcasters are you listening to? (If it's Katie Couric, ignore her, I do!) All the one's I've ever heard pronounce it with a hard 'k'. So does every person I know. Never heard the 'sh'.

[unclejampuff]

I'm originally from Virginia, but currently live in Buffalo NY. It blows my mind that there's a whole other COUNTRY just over that bridge, but ever single Canadian I've met is hardly any different from Americans. Yeah, there's the accent, but it's not that bad. Heck, I've had people confuse my Southern-mixed-with-a-little-Buffalonian accent for Canadian. I do admit I do the Canadian raising and say "eh" at the end of sentences. (How's this for weird: Some Canadians, in particular those from Quebec or Newfoundland, use French reflexive constructions in sentences. I do it, not because of my exposure to Canadian English, but because of my exposure to my Cajun grandmother's French grammar.)
But why someone would say Canadians are hard to understand? Someone's difficulty understanding a dialect depends entirely on what they are familiar with. I cannot for the life of me understand Boston accents. But you can bring on the fast-talking(in my experience) Newfoundlanders, I was raised around French and Gaelic accents.
Either way, it's their right to have that opinion, even if I can't come anywhere near agreeing with it.

For the record, I think Newfoundland accents are the coolest thing I've ever heard. I could listen to Rick Mercer talk for hours on end. Heck, no one in Canada can ever do wrong by me, merely for having the virtue of coming from the same country as Tim Horton's. <3333333333

[Andara Bledin]

I've noticed American news broadcasters usually use the soft 'sh' sound when saying 'schedule.'

I don't know that I've ever heard an American use a soft 'ch' in schedule. Then again, I don't watch much news. Especially since one channel has legally established that since "news is entertainment" it doesn't actually have to be true. Just scary.

I've never heard a Newfoundlander accent. Although a book series I read had a Newfoundlander as a secondary character. I'm after being confused a little by the colloquial phrasing.

I've had some French Canadians be a little difficult to understand, but that was because their English wasn't very good, not due to heavy accents.

I like the "stereotypical" Canadian accent, myself. Then again, I like most accents other than the Hollywood movie/tv accent. (that's the one I use... usually... I unaccountably slip into a southern drawl when I'm tired, and my diction goes to hell) Oh, and I say "eh" a lot, myself, also for no discernable reason.

^-.-^

[Boozy]

I don't know that I've ever heard an American use a soft 'ch' in schedule.

You're the second person who's said that! What the hell kind of weird-ass American TV was I watching?

I haven't watched much American news in the past few years. I used to watch it on satellite TV when I lived with my dad, and I heard "ssshhhedule" all the time. Next time I'm visiting, I'll ask him what region of the US his newcasts came from.

[princess4life]

You should try living in Utah we have our own way of pronouncing words like Tooele, pronounced Two-will-a, or Hurricane, pronounced Her-i-can. And there are things like mountain, pronounced mountin, clinton, pronounced clintin.

Those are just to name a few.

[Pezzle]

Wherein I interject a perfectly fine Canadian thread with Gordon Lightfoot lyrics.

Does anyone know where the love of God goes when the waves turn the minutes to hours?

That is all.

[Imogene]

I don't know that I've ever heard an American use a soft 'ch' in schedule.

I've heard it in TV shows, mostly when the person is a snooty type, or trying to seem it.

I just always thought the other pronunciation of School (as Shool) was Yiddish. I don't know how it got Schedule changed...

[Andara Bledin]

I do know that in German the 'ch' combo can be either hard or soft depending on where you are. I had a German friend that used all soft 'ch's. All of the videos and tapes in my German class, however, had hard 'ch's.

I know that Brits use a soft 'ch' in 'schedule', but I'm pretty sure they use a hard one for 'school'.

^-.-^

[coolcuziknit]

That's what the town I grew up in is like. The women push out babies and the men get drunk, and when the women aren't having babies they're getting drunk too. And they all work in the pig farming business.

[cinema guy]

I know that Brits use a soft 'ch' in 'schedule', but I'm pretty sure they use a hard one for 'school'.

Yep. We're peculiar like that.

[laundryhater]

It's WELL

I think I would've probably replied: "Don't you mean I speak English well?"

Laundryhater

[Lioness Blackfire]

we have our own way of pronouncing words like Tooele, pronounced Two-will-a,

I'm stumped. What's "Tooele"?

BTW, around Cincinnati, we also pronounce mountain "mountin" (actually more like "moun'in") and Clinton "Clintin".

Thinking of fun/interesting accent moments, there was this one day at college where I only had one early morning class and one late afternoon class, so I watched Doctor Who on my computer for three-four hours before going to lunch. I sat at a table I was fairly new to, and started talking to a friend there. This kid starts staring across the table at me, mouth absolutely agape.

Me: What?
Kid: Bwuh-wha, how are, do, can you stop that?
Me:

Apparently watching too much Doctor Who had corrupted the language centers of my brain into temporarily believing I was speaking an American accent while actually slipping fluidly between an American and British accent every third word (as confirmed by my friend).

Ahaha, sorry for the , but I wanted to share. The kid's reaction was too good not to!

[Ree]

We've had to remove a post for political content.

Just another reminder *sigh* that those types of comments belong on fratching.

Thanks to those who reported rather than flaming.