How do you recognise a Vancouver accent?

A parkade is a multi-storey car park. Athletic shoes are runners. “Cot” and “caught” sound the same. Canadian raising in “out” and “about”.

Which famous people have a Vancouver accent?

Ryan Reynolds is a speaker whose recorded speech anchors the Vancouver / Western Canadian English profile used by DialectGuessr.

How do I test whether I have a Vancouver accent?

DialectGuessr's free accent test asks 29 questions about the words you use and how you pronounce them, then scores your answers against the Vancouver / Western Canadian English profile and every other profile in the survey. It takes about two minutes and needs no account.

Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

The Vancouver accent

Vancouver English is Canadian raising and the cot–caught merger with one western giveaway Toronto does not share: the multi-storey car park is a parkade. Athletic shoes are runners, as in the rest of western Canada, not sneakers.

Take the quiz and see how close your accent is →

How to recognise a Vancouver accent

A parkade is a multi-storey car park.
Athletic shoes are runners.
“Cot” and “caught” sound the same.
Canadian raising in “out” and “about”.

Also known as Vancouver accent, West Coast Canadian, British Columbia English, Western Canadian English. Spoken in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, Canada.

The Vancouver pronunciation fingerprint

These are the answers the quiz expects from a Vancouver speaker on its 30 pronunciation questions. Where a feature varies within the region, more than one answer counts as a match.

“bath” takes the short vowel of “cat”
The Trap–Bath Split: Does “Bath” Rhyme With “Cat” or “Father”?
the R at the end of “car” is pronounced
Rhotic vs Non-Rhotic: Do You Pronounce the R in “Car”?
a quick D-like tap in “bottle”
Bottle, Bo'le or Boddle? The T in the Middle of a Word
“cot” and “caught” rhyme
The Cot–Caught Merger: Do “Cot” and “Caught” Sound the Same?
“Mary”, “marry” and “merry” all sound the same
Mary, Marry, Merry: One Sound, Two or Three?
“day” ends on a slight “ee” — day-ee
The Vowel in “Day”: Gliding or Steady?
“go” ends on a slight “oo” — go-oo
The Vowel in “Go”: Gliding or Steady?
“tune” sounds like “toon”, without a Y sound
Tune, Toon or Choon? The Y After a Consonant
no — they sound different
Do “Singer” and “Finger” Rhyme? The Velar Nasal Plus
one — “film”
“Film” or “Fillum”? The Helping Vowel in Highland and Irish English
no — they end in a vowel
The Bristol L: Why “Area” Can Sound Like “Areal”
a th sound
“Dat” for “That”: TH-Stopping in the Function Words
“ship” and “sheep” have different vowel sounds
Ship or Sheep? The Vowel That Divides Native and Learned English
“put” and “putt” have different vowels
The Foot–Strut Split: Do “Put” and “Putt” Rhyme?
“three” starts with a TH sound, with the tongue against the teeth
Three, Free or Tree? What Happens to Your TH
the H in “house” is pronounced
H-Dropping: Do You Say “House” or “'Ouse”?
“fur” and “fair” stay distinct
Fur and Fair: The Merger That Marks Liverpool
“beer” and “bear” stay distinct
Beer and Bear: The Merger That Marks New Zealand
“happy” ends on a long “-ee”
Happy: Does It End in “-ee” or “-ih”?
“wine” and “vine” start with different sounds
Wine or Vine? Where V and W Fall Together
“school” starts straight on the S
“Eschool” for “School”: The Vowel Some Accents Add
“bed” ends with D and “bet” ends with T
Bed or Bet? Final-Obstruent Devoicing
a smooth R, without tapping or rolling the tongue
Rolled, Uvular or Neither? How the R Is Made
“pin” and “pen” stay distinct
Pin or Pen? The Southern US Vowel Merger
the vowel in “ride” glides from one sound to another
Does “Ride” Stay on One Sound? Southern PRICE
“celery” and “salary” stay distinct
Celery or Salary? Melbourne's Quiet Giveaway

Everyday words in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland

Expected everyday vocabulary for a Vancouver speaker.
Question	Usual answer
What do you usually call a sweet carbonated drink?	Pop
What do you call shoes worn for sport or exercise?	Runners
What do you usually call the main evening meal?	Dinner
What do you call a small, round piece of bread for one person?	Roll
What do you call thin strips of potato served hot and fried?	Fries
What is your general word for small sugary treats?	Candy
What do you call the wheeled basket used in a supermarket?	Shopping cart
What do you call restaurant food collected to eat elsewhere?	Takeout
What do you call a public fixture you drink water from?	Water fountain
What do you call a small neighbourhood shop selling everyday items?	Convenience store
How do you usually address a group of people informally?	You guys
What do you call the household container for unwanted rubbish?	Garbage can
What do you call the narrow passageway between or behind houses?	Alley / alleyway
What do you call the insulated box you carry cold drinks in?	Cooler
You are waiting your turn behind other people. What are you doing?	Waiting in line
“Man’s getting emotional.” Who is “man”?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call rubber sandals held on by a strap between the toes?	Flip-flops
What do you call the red-amber-green signal at a junction?	Traffic lights
What do you call a circular junction you drive around?	Roundabout
How do you say “the” in a phrase like “I’m going down the shop”?	A full “the”
“We’ll not be home while seven.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
“I’m after having my dinner.” What does that sentence mean to you?	It does not make sense to me
What do you call a shared minibus used as public transport?	I do not have a word for that
Does “she be working on Fridays” sound like a normal way to say she works Fridays regularly?	No — it does not sound like my English
Does “the car needs washed” sound normal — without “to be”?	No — I would say “needs to be washed”
What do you call a multi-storey building for parking cars?	Parkade
Can “da kine” stand in for a thing you have not named?	No — that is not a word I use

Speakers with a Vancouver accent

Ryan Reynolds
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
A Vancouver English reference profile; Reynolds was born and raised in Vancouver.

Accent profiles are anchored to primary-source regional recordings from the International Dialects of English Archive, not to any individual performance.