Yeah, I think a lot of that is perception though. Like most Americans think Canadians sound like Sarah Palin, or the actors in the movie "Fargo", but we don't. There are similarities but it isn't the same.

If you look up a video of Paul Maurice (coach of the Florida Panthers) that's a really good example. Or how Paul Bissonnette sounds like from Spittin Chiclets. That's how Canadians sound. It's very similar to northern US people and midwesterners in particular, but it's a little different. I can see how Minnesotans get confused for Canadians by Americans, but I really can hear that difference. You guys pronounce certain vowels differently and have a slightly different cadence.

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ElectionProper8172@reddit

There are some things that would give away a Canadian. Like saying grade 10 or BBQ instead or grill. (I learned that watching trailer park boys lol).

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TheLastRulerofMerv@reddit

Yeah our slang is kind of funny and almost immature sounding. I never realized that until I spent lots of time down in the states. Other ones I noticed (American to Canadian):

Colored Pencils = Pencil Crayons

Ding Dong Ditch = Nicky Nicky Nine Door

Freshman = Frosh OR First Year

Sophomore = Second Year

Prom = Grad

Pint = Mickey (when referring to a 375ml (12.6oz) bottle of booze).

There's a few more but they're pretty funny to learn about it. I don't know how the hell we diverged with this nomenclature because I've asked Brits about this and they don't use our nomenclature either for any of this.

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ElectionProper8172@reddit

That is actually very interesting

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malibuklw@reddit

From Buffalo (the Midwest of NY) and we say “you know” relatively frequently

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PartyCat78@reddit

My cousin was raised in Michigan and the way she say Mom sounds like…. Mahm? and it’s nasally. It gets more nasal and AHHH when she’s talking fast.

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msomnipotent@reddit

I'm from Chicago. I said, "Mom, you got any pop?" in front of one of her friends and the friend said she only heard goat sounds.

We also say "fronchroom" instead of front room.

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neoslith@reddit

I'm from Illinois and it's very much a common phrase here too. I've tried to stop saying it because it doesn't make a lot of sense when trying to explain something.

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Irak00@reddit

Maybe in northern Illinois but not central. People use that phrase but only when it’s appropriate..except my friend when she’s irritated & had too much to drink lol

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Irak00@reddit

I’m in the southern Midwest & yes people ask, “Ya know?”, but I wouldn’t say it’s a frequent thing. My first thought was you’re from the northern Midwest?

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DOMSdeluise@reddit

I don't think "you know" is region specific

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Oenonaut@reddit

Know'msayin?

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appleparkfive@reddit

I think we picked it up from the Brits during the British Invasion in the 60s. Because people like the Beatles would say it every other sentence. I don't think Americans always said it, but ever since then we have.

I could be totally off, but that's what I recall hearing anyway!

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DOMSdeluise@reddit

apparently "you know" as a filler word is attested as far back as the 1700s so I doubt the Beatles are to blame lol

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jcstan05@reddit

We say that sort of thing a lot, y'know?

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Echterspieler@reddit

I'm from New York and I say it a lot you know?

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bryku@reddit

I grew up in the Midwest, but when I moved away I noticed I did the same thing. I tried to fix it, but every so often I still say it, you know?

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Welpe@reddit

It’s identical to “eh?” from Canadian English and Hispanic American English.

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BankManager69420@reddit

We say it in the Northwest too

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goblin_hipster@reddit

I guess it's just something we say, y'know?

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shelwood46@reddit

At least we've mostly stopped saying ja der hey

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Low-Cat4360@reddit

I'm not Midwestern, but is that "the other day"? In the South sometimes we say it like "duder daye" or "thuder daye"

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Different-Produce870@reddit

You betchya

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Building_a_life@reddit

You're aware that's a polite way to soften an assertion into a question, right? ...into a question, okay? ...into a question, correct? I say right and okay, almost never ya know.

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Cincoro@reddit

It is wicked common...which should give away the region I am from. 🤣

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rattlehead44@reddit

Haha I wish I could actually hear someone use wicked naturally in a sentence. It would make my day.

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rattlehead44@reddit

I know a little of people that say “you know?” In the middle of, and after every sentence out here in the Bay Area too.

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thereslcjg2000@reddit

I always assumed “you know” was just a universal part of the English language.

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gogonzogo1005@reddit

I'm from the far east Midwest state and I say it way too much. My from CA husband will often tell me.. either politely "You keep saying you know again" or bluntly "no I don't know".

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wooper346@reddit

No yeah

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forwardobserver90@reddit

Yeah no

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CupBeEmpty@reddit

It’s common here in New England too, you know.

I work with a lot of folks that speak publicly and it is common in the Midwest and New England as just kind of a placeholder.

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dweaver987@reddit

Ya’ Know was a common pause while speaking when I was a teen/20s in the north east in the 70s and 80s. I moved to California in 1985 and it was much less common out here.

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Vexonte@reddit

Bag

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theflamingskull@reddit

Is that where you keep cream of something soups?

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Vexonte@reddit

No, when I worked in California, my coworkers would laugh their asses off when I said it.

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baalroo@reddit

Very common out here in the Great plains part of the Midwest.

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HarveyMushman72@reddit

People around here say: where is Joe at? Instead of where is Joe? You know, is also used

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QualityPrunes@reddit

You know is a bad habit. Such as saying “like” or “I mean”.

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First_Joke_5617@reddit

Fargo?

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Ok-Turnip-2816@reddit

Yeah no yeah.

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OhThrowed@reddit

oh yeah sure, y'know.

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Judgy-Introvert@reddit

I live in Washington and end almost every sentence with, “yea?” “I thought it sounded like a great idea, yea?” “I’m almost positive that’s what they said, yea?” For the record, it’s not a Washington thing and I have no idea why I do it.

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BulimicMosquitos@reddit

I say it all the time, and I’m from one of the southern Midwest states.

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Ua97@reddit

I say "ya know" a lot and a bunch of people do here as well. I don't think it's that limited to the upper midwest

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Red_Beard_Rising@reddit

My favorite response to this is "No I don't. Please explain." People get really weird when you do that.

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RioTheLeoo@reddit

I hear it a lot here too in SoCal. You know what I mean?

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TCFNationalBank@reddit

"don't cha know?" is a Canadian stereotype so maybe. Especially true if you have the northern vowel shift

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theSPYDERDUDE@reddit

Whenever I get on certain game comms and say certain words I get immediately asked if I’m Canadian so I think it’s just a “being midwestern” thing. I know in Minnesota some people say it a lot because I’ve been up there frequently for hockey tournaments, but I don’t know if that’s the norm or not because I myself do the same thing.