Canadian English 101

So I have noticed a few differences between the U.S. and Canada (some of which I have already noted), but I think the one that is most interesting is the slight differences in language/accents. There are not many differences, but there are a few that I have noticed that distinguish Canadian English from American.

Lesson 1: "About"
So the stereotype is that Canadians pronounce "about" as "aboot". They don't really pronounce it aboot, but stress the "u" sound. So I guess it would be more like "abouoot" - however the word doesn't sound any longer than saying it in an American accent. It's subtle but noticeable. This is generally true for words that have the "ou" vowel combination.

Lesson 2: "Again"
Canadians pronounce again like "a-gain" - creating the long a sound. I have heard this same pronunciation in the U.S. but never anywhere near as frequent.

Lesson 3: The letter "Z"
So this one is not really a pronunciation thing but I guess a different naming convention. For the most part, when referring to the letter "z" Canadians will say "zed" instead of "zee". I have heard this in the States when used to clarify between letters (e.g. between "c" and "z") but here it seemed to me that that is what it's called all the time. I asked a few of my Canadian friends if that was the case, and they told me that yes, "z" is almost always referred to as zed in Canada. One of my friends calls the program ZBrush ZedBrush because its more natural to say zed. At first I thought it was an industry thing to say Zed because my instructors were also saying it. But then I asked my friends about it and told me it was a Canadian thing. I found it very interesting.

Lesson 4: "Project"
The word project here is pronounced as pro-ject. It has the same first syllable as the word "professional" or "professor". It's a small difference that caught my ear.

Final Lesson: "Eh?"
This one was the most interesting of words to figure out what it actually means and its proper usage. Unlike the stereotype this word is not said after every sentence. It comes up occasionally in conversation. I have deduced that it generally means one of two things. First, it is used as a way to reinforce something or prompt for affirmation. I take it that generally means the same thing as "am I right?". For example, "It's cold outside, eh?". Second, it could also be used in the same sense as the phrase "huh?". This is to show confusion or ask for something to be repeated. The most interesting part of the usage of this word is that it automatically makes the sentence a question - even if the base sentence isn't (i.e. It's cold outside).

So these are a few of the things that I have noted during my time here in Canada. I am not saying that everyone speaks this way but it is mostly what I have noticed. Also, I am basing my observations on what I have heard in Vancouver. I am not sure if accents are different in other parts of Canada. I assume there are different accents and word usages in other provinces in the same way there are different accents in different states. Well I hope you have enjoyed my observations on the language of our cousins to the north.