Canadian vs US English?

There's a lot about UK & US meanings of the same word (And NO, Canadians do not pronounce it "aboot") but what about on this continent? Many times I have travelled south o' the border and got looks of bewilderment when I asked for a "Bank Machine". I guess you guys call them ATMs. I've also stumped people by using "huck"(to throw) and "winter beater"(a cheap,crappy car that is usually bought for winter driving so you don't care what damage is inflicted on it). Are these words not used in the US or did I just encounter one person who had never heard of them?
I also get weird looks when I take my shoes off at the door in American's friends houses.

i seriously doubt you'll find people wearing "touks" here in the states...

(From a man who learned Canadian from the MacKenzie Brothers)

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shiner bock

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not, hmmm?" -- Yoda

Miss Gretchen,
I'm from Upstate NY, just a few hours from the Canadian boarder, and I personally have never heard the term "huck" (to throw). I have used "heave" in the same context. (I heaved it right out the window!). However, we certainly do drive "winter beaters". With all our snow, we need to!


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"Were you out on the lake today kissing your brain?"- The Man with Two Brains

Michigan reporting here!

We definately have winter beaters and bank machines. ATM is the usual term but I'd know what you were talking about with "bank machine".

Hey Shiner, take off, eh? "Strange Brew", gotta love it.

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...it has never been my way to bother much about things which you can't cure.
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court-Mark Twain

My dad was raised in Canada and uses some peculiar expressions sometimes. He calls the end of a loaf of bread 'the knobby', an unfortunate habbit that has passed on to me, causing some embarrassing moments when i ask people if they want it (the knobby, of course)

We visited some of his friends a couple of years ago and one of them was saying she had had to complain to her kids school a couple of times. She said that although they use the same spelling as we do in Britian (colour, honour, organise etc.) her daughter's work had been 'corrected' by her teacher to the American spelling - something that she wasn't too happy about.

Once I was visiting a company in New Hampshire (one of our vendors) and chatting with their sales rep. She was telling me about how she got her job and said something like, "After I graduated from university, I worked at another company for a year before coming here." I said, "So, what part of Canada are you from?" She was amazed. "How did you know I was from Canada?" I explained that nobody from the U.S. would say, "I graduated from university". You might say "I graduated from the University of Toronto", or you might say "I graduated from college". But you would never use the word "university" without an article attached.

I've also noticed British people use the word "hospital" with no article attached, as in, "He was admitted to hospital." Is that a Canadian thing, too?

BTW, Canadians may not exactly say "oot" and "aboot", but there is definitely a distinct difference in the way the "ou"/"ow" sound is pronounced. Strangely enough, people from Baltimore pronounce those sounds in a way very similar to the Canadian pronounciation. Anyone else notice this?


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"For what a man had rather were true, he more readily believes" - Francis Bacon

I grew up in the UP of Michigan, and the Canadian influence there is big. The MacKenzie brothers were like demigods when I was growing up.

We wore chooks (I think that's what shiner bock meant when he said "touks"), ride snow machines (snowmobiles), and drink jumbos (40 oz bottles of cheap beer.) And, of course, I spent my first few years in Colorado trying to remember NOT to say 'eh' at the end of every sentence.

There's a few regional words that I haven't heard anyplace else but up there. There's the food - pasties and cudighi. And, when you rent an apartment, you pay "surety", not a security deposit. Hmmm... what else? I can think of lots of things, but they sort of get lost in the typing. Much more funny to say them out loud!

I think I remember using the word "huck" to mean throw growing up in Illinios. Also, I don't think "Bank Machine" would cause any strange looks, even though I usually use "ATM" or "Cash Machine"

Speaking of the MacKenzie Brothers, I recently saw Dave Thomas at a Rob Zombie/Korn concert. Not exactly the first person I expected to run into at an event like that!

I grew up in Upstate New York in the 70s, and the word "Canucks" was verboten -- it was a fighting word. Now it's a hockey team! Go figure.

-Melin

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I'm a woman phenomenally
Phenomenal woman
That's me
(Maya Angelou)

i seriously doubt you'll find people wearing "touks" here in the states...
(From a man who learned Canadian from the MacKenzie Brothers)

->the actual word is toque, isn't it?
(i'm a diehard Canadian...)

Well here in Chi-town, we use chuck and heave, but not huck. I suppose it isn't that far off as to cause a odd look though. Bank machine is odd, but not confusing at all. ATM and Cash machine is standard, but one that really got me confused once was a person from one of the coasts (not sure which) asked for a "time" machine. I said..."You mean a clock?...Or did you watch too much Sci-Fi channel?". She gave me a dirty look and explained what she wanted was one of those machines you put you bank card in a nd get money out of. I later in my travels realized that there is a chain of banks/teller machines with the brand name "Tyme". And she gets pissed at me, when all I was doing was flirting, and trying to be helpful. As for winter beaters... nope. Wife beaters, and grocery getters, but no winter beaters.

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The facts expressed here belong to everybody, the opinions to me. The distinction is
yours to draw...

Omniscient; BAG

Touk, chook, touque..I'm not sure how it is spelled, but that is how it was listed on a receipt for 2 stocking caps that my uncle (who is now my aunt, incidentally) bought my brother and I when we were young...

...and is it canadian law that any statement of fact must be phrased in the form of a question -- kind of like Jeopardy???

Ex. -- 2 + 2 = 4, eh?

BunnyGirl -- What's that noise?
Hosehead's rollin' up the roof, eh?


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shiner bock

"When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not, hmmm?" -- Yoda

There are some things that are "Canadian English" and some that are "American English", but as well, I think there's a sort of grey area in the middle where it blends somewhat together. I'm thinking of, say, northern Michigan or Minnesota where it's sort of a mixture of US and Canadian english (and for that matter, culture).

Also there are some words (AFAIK) unique to that region. Like pasties - supposedly some sort of wrapped meat food(?), but this term isn't used in that context in most of the rest of the US (I'm not sure about Canada). There's another similar word here, but it's unrelated :-)

And what's the deal with curling? You hear about it every 4 years in the olympics, but it just seems to be a regional thing unique to northern Minnesota and southern Manitoba. Where else is curling done? You never hear of the Southern California Curling Association, for instance :-), and AFAIK, it's also not done much further west or east in Canada either (But I admittedly haven't really looked into it closely).

k0myers

BTW, Happy Canada Day, eh?

Can someone enlighten me on why 1 July is CAnada Day (and no, because the 4th was already taken doesn't count)

Like pasties - supposedly some sort of
wrapped meat food(?),

Haven't you heard of Cornish Pasties? And lots of other types that I can't think of right now.

Also :

And what's the deal with curling?

Isn't it big in Ireland too? Mind you, so is shinty, so it doesn't say a lot for their national pastimes

Happy, happy Canada Day. It's Canada's 132nd anniversary of confederation or something or other. I think what happened is that all the then-existing provinces entered into Confederation on this day in 1867, hence July 1 = Canada Day. I think. Given that Canada Day always happened after the school year ended, the details of the significance of the date have eluded me. Whatever. It's a yay Canada, let's go drink beer and watch fireworks day. Unfortunately, because my company has pretty much exclusively American customers, we're all here today. But come 5 o'clock, we're hitting the brew pub fer sure...

Oh, and the difference between Canadian English and US English is that we spell things correctly. I will never submit to your evil vowel-dropping!! NEVER!!!!

Curling was started in Scotland many many years ago. The actual beginnings of the game are lost in the mists of time.

The game is popular through most of the northern climates. Canada, Sweden, Norway, and of course Scotland among others.

I don't know if any other border towns do this, but every year Detroit and Windsor throw a combination Canada Day/Fourth of July Fireworks display that is pretty awesome. They fire them off right over the Detroit River, which separates Michigan from Canada. The average attendance for this fireworks show is usually in the 1 million plus range, and that's only on the Detroit side. I have no idea how many Windsor citizens attend, but I hear it's probably close to that same number. They also show them on t.v., so if you don't feel like braving the crowds, you can still see them. They usually hold them on the weekend closest to the two holidays, so this year it will be Friday (Saturday if it rains on Friday). I read recently that the only fireworks displays in the U.S. last year with a larger attendance was the Washington D.C. fireworks and New York City's show (much large population in N.Y.)

Shadowfox

Pasties: ground sirloin, potatoes, rutabagas, and various spices mixed together and baked in a crust. See www.pasty.com.

The only pasty shops I've ever seen are in the UP of Michigan, and they're ubiquitous up there. The elementary school I attended had a weekly pasty bake, and server them for lunch on that day. I get cravings for the damn things now that I live 1400 miles from the UP. Ah, sweet pasties, cudighi, and Hartley's. Food of the Gods.

PS - they are originally from Cornwall, but the Cornish Pasties I've had are very different from the ones made in the UP.

We have pasties where I'm from, too (S.E. US), but you'll likely get arrested if you try to bite one....

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The overwhelming majority of people have more than the average (mean) number of legs. -- E. Grebenik

As long as we're on the topic of Canadian english, happy Canada Day, from your friends to the south :-)

---
peas on earth

Well, I understood most of what's being talked about here, but what the bloody hell is shinty?!

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Cave Diem! Carpe Canem!

Re: pronoucing "ow" as "oo"

I live in Scotland, and I think I can safely say that this is from scottish influence. There is a strong scottish community in parts of Canada (most notably Nova Scotia, among others) -- some people here joke that they're more scottish than the scots themselves. Anyway, commonly heard examples around here are "hoose" ("house"), "coo" ("cow"), and the aforementioned "oot and aboot" ("out and about"). I should point out that this is only found in certain scottish accents, though, not all.

Just something I just thought of...I bet the most isolated people in the 48 contiguous states are the Yoopers. Looking at my National Geographic map, people in the UP of Michigan must be at least 8 hours away from Minneapolis or Milwaukee or Detroit. Any Yoopers want to correct me if I'm wrong? By the way, you guys are so close to Canada....do you feel more kinship with the Canadians than with, say, the Texans?

By the way, I taught English as a second language during two years at the University of Kansas at Lawrence. Official policy was to count British, Canadian, etc. spelling as incorrect.

Many years ago I worked for a large Canadian telephone company which shall remain nameless. At a reception (cocktail party) in Mississauga before a 3-day meeting, I was accosted by a local who had apparently been enjoying the "refreshments" for quite a while. He lectured me about how "USAnians" (his term) such as I wrongly referred to ourselves as "Americans" as though the USA was the only nation on the North American Continent. After all, Canadians are just as "American" in the continental sense. Poor guy. I hope he eventually grew up.

Lawrence, you're right about the UP being isolated. From my hometown in the middle of the UP, it's 8 hours to Minneapolis or Chicago, 10 to Detroit, and 5-6 to Milwaukee.

Funny you should pick Texas in your example. In my experience, Texas is like UP South. Lots of the same types of personalities, etc. My current boyfriend grew up in Texas, and we get along great! I also know a lot of UP expatriates who live in Texas. So we get along fine with people from the states, except people from Lower Michigan. They're the true enemy of all Yoopers.

As far as Canada goes, no, I never felt a lot of kinship with Canadians per se. Sure, if they're from around Lake Superior or something there's a connection, but that's more geography than nationality. One thing I remember is you get a lot of Canadian money, and most places will take it at a slightly lower value than US money. And, of course, the US vending machines eat Canadian quarters. Very annoying.

I also get weird looks when I take my shoes off at the door in American's friends houses.

well this is not uncommon in my area (about the Monterey Bay area of California). Here there are many Koreans, Filipinos, Japanese. In those cultures it's not uncommon to take your shoes off before you enter the house (Some of the cleanest carpets are in Korean, Japanese, and Filipino houses ). In Filipino houses usually there are some house slippers by the door for guests and residents to walk around the house in. I've actually had a dilemma of "to take shoes off or not" in some of my Filipino friends houses because in my household we do not do that (We are Filipino) .

Oh, and the difference between Canadian English and US English is that we spell things correctly. I will never submit to your evil vowel-dropping!! NEVER!!!!

Well that vowel dropping just shows Americans (Well at least those who standardized American English) know that those extra vowels are unneccesary and very antiquated (fossilized) .

Which might have made some sense if Noah had dropped the vowel that was not pronounced. I know no one who says har' bOre or co' lOre; most folks say something that sounds closer to har' bUr and co' lUr. For most U.S. pronunciations of these two words, we would have been better off substituting e or i (or dropping the vowels before the r completely).

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Tom~

oooh I gotta get in on this one..I double dare you Americans to correct our pronunciation - Hello EBONICS! :-)!!! and I also think that the closer to the border you are, the more you sound like the neighboring country.
I do not end sentences with EH, and does any one remember the like, you know valley girls? cause they like you know really like sound dumb?
and we dont really talk like the MacKenzie Bros.
yes we curl, but remember hockey..you americans will all eventually want to play, and california will have a curling team too..maybe you guys can steal our best curlers too, maybe for the team from L.A..:-) actually I think curling would be more fun if they fought more.HA!
IN canada, the different regions are very pronounced due to the different concentrations of ethnicity (good word eh?)
can ANYONE in the u.s. explain the wy they talk in Maine? (I love Mainers -they rock!)
its like the Newfoundland of the US.

kisses to my american neighbours.
oh by the way, thank you for your television and movies
I would be lost without your programming!!

ACK!!
how do americans differientate between a 12 pack and a 24 pack if they dont say its a 2-4 ?
do americans have donairs?

Shiner, "Sorry I puked on your dress, eh"
I really need to watch that movie again! I used to be able to quote that whole script almost by heart; haven't seen it in about 7 years!!

Athena, if you're in the LP, there a pasty shop in Mason (near Lansing) and one in Grand Ledge (again, near Lansing). Not that they're a great UP pasty, but any port in a storm, eh?

I got in a discussion with my World Lit teacher because I spelled "color", "colour" on a report I did and he marked it wrong. I debated with him and showed him the Jane Austen book I was reading, and truth triumphed!

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...it has never been my way to bother much about things which you can't cure.
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court-Mark Twain

i feel mildly qualified to put my oar in, having grown up in northern vermont (where tuques most definitely exist), and living with a roomie who hails from toronto. for one thing, "eh" is infectious. first i did it to make fun of him, but now it has slipped into my normal lexicon. the "aboot" phenomenon definitely exists as well. another one that no one else seems to have mentioned (maybe because you're not all at university) is two-four vs. case of beer. my roomie can pull some strange looks from other guys when he refers to a 2-4.

ellis

What about duotang? Apparently this is another word that baffles many Yanks.

Story time...

About two weeks ago, I was in St. Louis, at the Hi-Pointe. As I was sitting there, nursing my coffee (I was the designated walker, mind you) and listening to Photo By Husband (they sing like Devo and play like every other alt. band) with my earplugs in, I heard these two people talking behind me... talking smack about Canadians, about their supposed superiority complex and their nationalized health-care system. Help me, but if I wasn't there with family that I'd have to help walk home, I would have stood up, turned around and said...

"So, you got a thing against Canadians, eh?"

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"If A=B, B=C, and C=D, do not get a job proofreading" --Quid's Theorem

Bunnygirl, I claim no knowledge of Pasty shops in the LP, since I avoid it at all costs. <<shudder>> I'm sorry you can't do the same! :-)

Miss Gretchen:

What about duotang?

The brand name for a cardboard folder with clips that holds 8 1/2 x 11 looseleaf paper? Do Canadians have a special use for that word? Or are you hanging out at a college that favors a different brand of binder?

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Tom~

*aghast* Americans don't have duotangs??? I'd die without my duotangs!

The Oxford Canadian Dictionary, the definitive guide to Canadian English (along with the Globe and Mail Style Guide) gives the spelling for tuque as tuque.

You might say "I graduated from the University of Toronto", or you might say "I graduated from college". But you would never use the word "university" without an article attached.

This is complicated by the fact that in Quebec we have both colleges and universities. High School ends at grade 11, followed by 2 years of college (CEGEP, college d'enseignement general et professionel) and then university.

[[(And NO, Canadians do not pronounce it "aboot")]]

Maybe not, but they do say "gou-lie" instread of "goal-ie."


[[I grew up in Upstate New York in the 70s, and the word "Canucks" was verboten -- it was a fighting word. Now it's a hockey team! ]]

My great-grandmother found that a very offensive term, althiough it never bothered many others in the family, it seems (perhaps simply being American of F-C ancestry).

Hey, I come from New England, which speaks a variety of English quite distinct from the rest of the U.S. Hey, I just got an idea for a thread... Be on teh lookout for a new thread in MPSIMS...

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Jason R Remy

"And it could be safely said that at that moment, in the whole of India, no one, absolutely no one, was f^(king a goat."
-- John Irving A Son of the Circus (1994)

[dougie_monty]

In one of Jan Harold Bruvand's Urban Legend books--The Vanishing Hitchhiker-- was an alleged Canadianism involving Americans in Saksatchewan or Alberta. The man stepped out of the RV and his wife drove away without him; the Canadian newspaper said the Mounties managed to reunite the couple after "overhauling" the RV in their squad car. One person from Canada told me "overhauling" is not a Canadianism for "overtaking" or "catching up with." Can any Canadians answer this one for me, please?

[Ike Witt]

I have to admit that I've never seen the word "overhauling" used in that manner before. While I was at the University of Minnesota I had a professor return a paper and comment that my spell checker must be broken because my spelling was awful. I flipped through the paper and words like "centre" and "cheque" and "favourite" were circled. After I pointed these out to him and told him that I was Canadian he apologized and raised my grade.

[dougie_monty]

[Misanthrope]

Most of my knowledge of Canadian life comes from reading the "For Better or For Worse" comic strip in the newspaper. Does anyone know where they are supposed to live in Canada?

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D'oh

[Northern Piper]

I think "For Better and For Worse" is set in southern Ontario - no particular city.

Ellie comes from Vancouver, which is where her Dad still lives. John comes from a farm in Manitoba, now run by his brother. Anytime they visit either set of in-laws, they go by plane.

Michael went to the University of Western ONtario in London, Ontario, and drives there and back with Weed, or takes the bus. Liz just went to the University of Nippissing in northern Ontario, by train, referring to it as a six-hour trip. In one early strip, Mike went by bus to Ottawa. They're clearly not in Quebec, so I'd say somewhere around Toronto/Hamilton.

[DW3]

Canadians not only say 'aboot' they say 'soarry' (sorry) also

They also use metric. When I first drove through the Yukon I got a warning from a Mounty (sp?) for going 90mph instead of going 90kph. And Diet Coke tastes horrible. I think they use a different sweetner than aspertame.