# American to Canadian translations **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2006, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237 "2006-10-04T14:12:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/21 "2006-10-04T17:10:33Z")
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**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/22 "2006-10-04T17:25:40Z")
I’ve always thought that the qunitessential American to Canadian translation was “soda” to “pop”. I still can’t get used to people saying, "I was putting on weight, so I switched to diet soda. BTW, is “broadloom” used in the US.? In the states, I keep hearing people refer to “wall to wall”. But iin Canada, it’s only broadloom. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/23 "2006-10-04T17:44:13Z")
[QUOTE=KarlGauss] I’ve always thought that the qunitessential American to Canadian translation was “soda” to “pop”. [/quote] “pop” is used in many parts of the US. Googling “soda pop cola coke dialect survey” should turn up a survey from a few years back that has some neat maps. > [@KarlGauss](#): > > BTW, is “broadloom” used in the US.? This is in reference to carpeting? I’ve never heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/24 "2006-10-04T17:54:08Z")
[The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy](http://www.popvssoda.com/) Not entirely scientific, since it relies on voluntary self-reporting, but it appears to be a good overview. Note that it includes a number of reports from Canada. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/25 "2006-10-04T18:10:34Z")
[QUOTE=awldune] (Broadloom?) This is in reference to carpeting? I’ve never heard of it. [/QUOTE] Yes, indeed, as in, “My new house came complete with broadloom in every room. We’re going to go with the extra deep pile type”. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/26 "2006-10-04T18:12:55Z")
[QUOTE=tomndebb] [The Great Pop vs. Soda Controversy](http://www.popvssoda.com/) Not entirely scientific, since it relies on voluntary self-reporting, but it appears to be a good overview. Note that it includes a number of reports from Canada. [/QUOTE] Neat link! Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/27 "2006-10-04T18:51:02Z")
As a Michigander, I never got the whole “wall to wall” thing, either. I’d heard it on TV only, and couldn’t understand what the hell they meant – why “wall to wall”? It’s just carpeting. It’s automatically assumed that it’s “broadloom” or “wall to wall.” If you don’t mean carpeting, you just say “rug.” ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/28 "2006-10-04T18:53:08Z")
[QUOTE=Astroboy14] A Canadian buddy of mine always call Mac & Cheese “Kraft Dinner”… that may be a regional thing as well; he’s from PEI. [/QUOTE] Naw, that’s an all-over thing, since the box actually says “Kraft Dinner”. (Like everyone else said. We eat it while we listen to Duran Duran :D) [QUOTE=Balthisar] How about “cutlerly”? Back home we call it “silverware” (yeah, even not made made from silver) or “flatware” if you want to distinguish the non-silverness. Of course, the word “cutlerly” exists in American English too, but it’s rather formal, and you never would hear a waitress say, “I’ll be right back with your cutlery.” [/QUOTE] Cutlery, with no second l. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/29 "2006-10-04T18:56:15Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] As a Michigander, I never got the whole “wall to wall” thing, either. I’d heard it on TV only, and couldn’t understand what the hell they meant – why “wall to wall”? It’s just carpeting. It’s automatically assumed that it’s “broadloom” or “wall to wall.” If you don’t mean carpeting, you just say “rug.” [/QUOTE] Ah, but here you can have a carpet that does not extend from wall to wall. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/30 "2006-10-04T19:35:50Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Naw, that’s an all-over thing, since the box actually says “Kraft Dinner”. [/QUOTE] It’s gotta be KD! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/31 "2006-10-04T21:42:36Z")
[QUOTE=GingerOfTheNorth] Cutlery, with no second l. [/QUOTE] Oops… typo. Really. Honest. Despite the fact that I typed it incorrectly not only once, but _twice_. :smack: Ah… the third use attests to my cutlery-writing skill! ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/32 "2006-10-04T21:45:21Z")
I like the word ‘cutlery’. It avoids the bizarrity of describing plastic knives as ‘silverware’. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/33 "2006-10-04T22:17:41Z")
If you want a strange look, try throwing out “where’s the washroom?” in certain parts of the States. Oddly enough, the other euphemism “bathroom” seems to work all the time. Which doesn’t make sense, because public facilities don’t have baths (but you can certainly “wash” in them). As a prairie-dwelling, Western Canadian it bugs me to hear national newscasts talking about “Hydro” outages. We never call it that. ---
**Author:** ![Schlep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Schlep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schlep)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/34 "2006-10-04T22:34:01Z")
In Canada - Would you like that in a **bag**? In US - Do you want a that in a **sack**? Canada - French Fries (and we like “gravy on the fries” or “on the side” and sometimes **Ketchup** and it is most always Heinz and it sits on the table) US - Chips (in Whitefish, Montana they have gravy on the menu…15 minutes down the road in Kalispell it is unheard of to put anything but **Catsup** and vinegar on your chips) That’s my contribution. I’m sure I will think of more but I will most likely be sleeping. \*I was raised in Ontario but now live “out West” and have remained for over 20 years. When I first came here I experienced a dramatic linguistic culture shock. I still don’t understand why anyone would say “Must be gonna…” and I never adopted " that big sucker" although I don’t hear it much anymore. I have a faint echo of the “missing vowel theory” with certain words like “about” and “coke”. For some reason it drives my husband nuts. He always thinks _he_ is correcting _me_. Little does he know it’s the other way around! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/35 "2006-10-04T22:43:40Z")
[QUOTE=K364] If you want a strange look, try throwing out “where’s the washroom?” in certain parts of the States. Oddly enough, the other euphemism “bathroom” seems to work all the time. Which doesn’t make sense, because public facilities don’t have baths (but you can certainly “wash” in them). As a prairie-dwelling, Western Canadian it bugs me to hear national newscasts talking about “Hydro” outages. We never call it that. [/QUOTE] As a BC-dwelling Western Canadian, I can most assuredly tell you that we call it hydro. Hydro bill. BC Hydro. The only person I know who uses the word ‘chesterfield’ is my grandmother. I don’t know anyone who says ‘serviette’. Why is it that I can drive a few hours south and suddenly no one serves iced tea? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/36 "2006-10-04T22:44:54Z")
In America, we have a substance called “beer”. In Canada, the same substance is known as “Cat Pee”. Canadian beer is known as “Nectar of the Lesser\* Gods” stateside. \*Germany still makes the best beer in the known universe. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/37 "2006-10-04T22:47:47Z")
[QUOTE=Foldup Rabbit] Why is it that I can drive a few hours south and suddenly no one serves iced tea? [/QUOTE] You aren’t driving far enough. Once you get to the Southern US, just order “Sweet Tea”. ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/38 "2006-10-04T22:50:11Z")
Chips? Who in the US calls fries chips? And I think bag and sack are exactly interchangable. Pro-duce is fine, but Pro-ject and CapILLary throws me off. Sore-ey aboot that. Sore-ey! Lots of strange things in the university system-- what I’d call and adjunct is a sessional lecturer, and you invigilate and exam rather than proctoring it. I just learned “keener”-- is this current anywhere in the US right now? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/39 "2006-10-04T22:53:11Z")
[QUOTE=Oakminster] You aren’t driving far enough. Once you get to the Southern US, just order “Sweet Tea”. [/QUOTE] But it wont be iced tea. It will be tea that’s cold and you have to add sugar to. In Canada if you order iced tea, you get Lipton (or something) presweetened, powdered (sometimes syruped) “tea.” Back when I used to work in a restaraunt I can’t tell you the number of times a visitor from the southern US would be in town for Stampede and send their ice tea back because it was swill. FWIW - I agree with them - actual chilled tea is pretty good. The stuff you get here is vomitous. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237/40 "2006-10-04T22:59:04Z")
[QUOTE=Foldup Rabbit] As a BC-dwelling Western Canadian, I can most assuredly tell you that we call it hydro. Hydro bill. BC Hydro. [/QUOTE] I’m aware that BC does it too. That’s why I said “As a _prairie-dwelling_, Western Canadian…” Anyway, how would you feel if the news reporter said “The Coal lines have been knocked out by the storm and there are Coal outages in most of the province”.? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-to-canadian-translations/375237.md?page=3)