Do Ryan Gosling and Keanu Reeves sound Canadian to you?

19 comments

1. Keanu was there for like 10 years.
   His parents weren’t Canadian and he grew up in one of the most culturally diverse cities in Canada.

   I would not expect him to sound Canadian.

2. I think Ryan Reynolds has a Canadian accent.

3. I had no idea they were Canadian tbh. I think Canadians generally sounds the same as Americans. Even the stereotypical heavy Canadian accent just sounds like the stereotypical Minnesotan accent to me

4. Michael J Fox slipped into his Canadian accent in the original Back to the Future.

   In one scene where he says “She felt sorry for him’, he uses the Canadian “Sore – eee” pronunciation

5. Not particularly Keanu Reeves especially when we was playing in Bill and Ted, I never guessed. He still doesn’t sound like it. Ryan Gosling..hmm..not really I guess, at least I couldn’t tell he was until he used to do interviews and get mad at the fact that people would poke fun at Canada. He lives in California right? Lol

6. No. But about the standard Canadian accent in general…

   I moved to the Buffalo-Niagara area about 8 years ago (and have since moved away). I quickly found that I enjoyed what the Canadian side had to offer far more, particularly Toronto, so most of my social life was based there.

   At first, you notice some small differences in pronounciation, but it really isn’t that far removed from the standard US accent. After awhile, you don’t even hear the difference. I ended up marrying a Canadian, and people know it instantly when she talks, but I don’t notice anymore.

   The only English -speaking Canadians whose accent really sounds distinct to me are the newscasters, who have a weirdly affected delivery that doesn’t even sound natural.

   I

7. They sound American to me so yeah they sound Canadian

8. Canadian here – both exhibit a pretty run of the mill standard North American accent. They could just as easily pass as American or Canadian. Ryan Gosling sounded subtly more Canadian when he was in Breaker High as a young man, but both of them always could have passed as either/or.

   The only Canadian I’ve noticed whose accent really changed is Seth Rogan. When you watch his earlier stuff from Undeclared, or Freaks and Geeks – he sounds audibly more Canadian than he does now. But he had a little bit of a thicker accent when he was younger.

   Canadian accents do exist, but they’re mostly pretty subtle from Ontario westwards. They exhibit extreme similarities to midwestern and western US urban accents. You could place a Vancouverite in San Diego, or a SLC resident up in Winnipeg – and only subtle vowel pronunciations will tell them apart. Both could blend very easily.

9. Unless someone has a very thick Canadian accent I cannot tell the difference between Americans and Canadians.

   Like if I hear them say “ah, boat” or “sore-ey” then yeah, but overall the accents are so similar.

10. Ryan Gosling sounds Kenadian.

11. I don’t usually hear it.

    But, every once in a while a word or phrase slips through.

    The only reason I catch it is because I already know that they are Canadien.

12. >Are there ever any Canadians that sound indistinguishable from Americans?

    There are some very slight differences in the accent (mostly with the *ou* and *or* sounds, or the way they pronounce the first *a* in “pasta”) and some vocabulary that’s specific to one region or another, but for the most part, Canadian and American accents are extremely similar.

13. Lots of US TV content, including TV shows and things like Hallmark movies, are made in Canada and particularly in the Vancouver area.

    It’s not difficult, once you’ve trained your ear, to pick out Canadian accents on those shows. But they are most obvious in the minor characters – store clerks, taxi drivers, relatives of the main character with just a little bit of screen time, etc. Those are all locally cast roles where local is the primary factor. They are cheap and conveniently available. And less accomplished actors.

    The main characters tend to be a mix of American and Canadian actors. The Canadians in those roles tend to have much more subtle Canadian accents when they do have them. Sometimes they have virtually none. What I’ve always wondered is whether they (partly) get cast in those roles because they have a nearly American accent or whether they are “acting” in those roles and purposely suppressing some of their Canadian accent during filming. I suppose it probably varies, but in general I’m guessing they mostly have striven as actors to make a neutral accent their regular accent because it broadens their opportunities.

    I have been watching a Canadian-produced series called “You Me Her” that’s supposed to take place in Portland, Oregon, where some of the main characters clearly come through as Canadian at times.

14. A lot of Canadian actors intentionally “Americanize” their accent, especially when performing in American productions. If they did have an accent, I wouldn’t expect to hear it in movies.

    Honestly, unless someone had a very strong and stereotypical Canadian accent I wouldn’t expect most non-North Americans to be able to pick it out. It’s fairly subtle and mostly only comes through on certain words.

15. Sometimes with some people.

16. The only English speaking people in North America that sound Canadian are Minnesotans.

17. No.

18. A lot of Canadian speech is indistinguishable from a rather neutral American accent. The Québécois stand out. And the Maritimes have some accents that could be taken for Maine or other New England accents in the States.

    We tease about a few Canadianisms but an uttered *aboot* and references to poutine are actually quite rare.

19. I think Keanu and Ryan do sound Canadian. I’m from a city with a lot of Canadians and Canadian TV so I hear many different accents. Their accents aren’t thick but it’s there if you listen closely. I think Keanu’s accent is more noticeable than Ryan’s.