You'll definitely have to become fluent in Canadian. Be sure to say 'oot and aboot' a lot and do all your swearing in French.

eta - I forgot the most important thing, eh?

Pootine?

Non, non, il faut dire 'poutine, eh?'

The 'eh' is critical. If you forget it you'll blow your cover.

Eta poutine is disgusting. You have to order it but at a propitious moment you can surreptitiously dispose of it in the nearest potted plant. There are unfortunately no handy spittoons in Canadian bars.

Ahh poutine. Looked great up until the curd cheese which I mistakenly correctly read as crud cheese.

I think the oot and aboot sound is an approximation of a more glottal pronunciation of the ow sound. When I say out my throat is relaxed and the sound comes from the front of my mouth. When I imitate that girl I have to make the sound from the back of my throat, almost glottal. If I try to make that sound in the front of my mouth it sounds like oot.

I'm sure a speech therapist has got proper terms for all that, eh?

You're getting it! And the 'oot' thing is exactly as you say. A shorter, glottal-stop vowel combination that truly doesn't sound like 'oo'.

I never said 'eh' (never!) but after living here awhile, I realized that all my relatives do! And my bff from Ottawa! And they all have accents! :eek:

Of course they interrupt my snickering by laughing at my Pennsylvania accent.