Could English speakers define from which country their interlocutor?

Could English speakers define from which English-speaking country their interlocutor (USA, England, Australia, Canada)?


for most British English speakers:

  • USA - recognisable. Canada - probably not distinguished from USA.

  • Australia - recognisable. New Zealand - probably not distinguished from Australia.

  • South Africa - recognisable, although might be confused with Australia.

  • India, Pakistan, and similar - recognisable, but might not be distinguished


From having spoken, almost every day, with foreigners from all over the world for 40 years, it is possible to pick out cadences, grammatical structures, vowel sounds, and idiosyncrasies and have a good guess as to which country, and often which area, the speaker comes from. However, the vast majority of English people do not have both this exposure and the knowledge of where a speaker comes from: both are needed to allow them to develop the skill. -- I hope you realise that you are speaking to a forum composed of people with a deep interest in language, and that we are unrepresentative and likely to have a skill that is at least similar to yourself.