# It's Canada, not Canadia! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 2, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954 "2006-07-02T18:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/21 "2006-07-02T19:27:31Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > Seeing as how the letter “i” is not adjacent to, or, really, anywhere near any of the other letters needed to spell “Canada” on a qwerty keyboard (which I believe is the most common layout) it’s one hell of a typo! “Canadsa” or “Canana” or things like that, I could accept as a “typo” but I’ve just seen this often enough in threads that it annoyed me enough to start a thread about it. However, if one is composing, on-line, and is thinking about Canad **i** ans or has not determined, beforehand, whether to make the point using the name of the country or the name of the inhabitants and the word “Canadian” lodges in the head, typing “Canadia” is not a stretch of any sort. As **Ponder Stibbons** noted, not a physical error, but a mental one. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/22 "2006-07-02T19:29:17Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > (However, given the disproportionate strength of your ire, I’m slightly inclined to type “Canadia” more often, just for shits and giggles.) Pssst…alliance-forming time? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/23 "2006-07-02T19:29:46Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > In the last year, the poster has made 22 references to Canada… I’d say this is an obsession bordering on mana. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/24 "2006-07-02T19:31:22Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > It just irks me. I don’t go into threads and post a factual reply about something in the States and call it something else. I don’t use alternate names that are clearly intended to be derogatory to refer to people from other countries. Why is it ok to do this with Canada? It just seems that people like to take that dig at Canada, and if they have the opportunity to use it, they do. I find that rude. I’ve read three of the links and I didn’t find any of them to be “clearly intending to be derogatory.” Most looked like innocuous typos to me. Seems you are suffering from some persecution complex. Either that or you’re extra grumpy from swatting away all those damn deer flies and mosquitoes. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/25 "2006-07-02T19:31:42Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Or “America’s Hat”. Better that than “America’s foreskin.” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/26 "2006-07-02T19:33:57Z")
You gosh darn Amerikcans. **mnemo** , chill. It’s a one-time misspelling. We’ve got far, far larger things to worry about than ‘Canadia’. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/27 "2006-07-02T19:36:01Z")
> [@Chez Guevara](#): > > I’d say this is an obsession bordering on mana. Like mana from heaven. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/28 "2006-07-02T19:36:32Z")
Am I missing something, but would be the point in using Canadia? I also don’t understand the OP’s reference to America and American. Is Canadian not right? I am just confused as to how canadia is an insult and/or why someone would use it? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/29 "2006-07-02T19:53:57Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > To all of you arrogant, self-centered assholes who think it’s perfectly alright to go around deliberately misspelling my country’s name- fuck you. In the above thread, there was NO REASON to do so, other than to show yourself as a self-centered jerk who thinks everything has to be done just like it’s done in the fucking USA. I don’t care that “american” follows from “america” - that doesn’t mean everything else in the fucking universe has to follow in the same way. > > The same goes for Canuckistan, whenever the topic goes to anything regarding social policy - it’s both insulting to me, and, I expect, to the peoples of countries that DO have “istan” in their names, as it implies that these are clearly inferior countries and policies than those of the good old USA. Man, that is a hell of a lot of meaning to read into one little letter “i”. What, exactly, is derogatory about it? What’s so insulting about that extra letter? And what does that bit about “everything has to be done just like it’s done in the fucking USA” even mean? What other names of countries do Americans, and _only_ Americans, spell with an -ia ending? We don’t even spell out own country that way: we don’t live in Americia. And, while we’re on the subject, how do you feel about Germany, Italy, Spain, or any of the other dozens of countries who have Anglicized names in English that bear little or no resemblence to how the inhabitants of that nation refer to themselves? If Canadia for Canada is such a huge insult, shouldn’t there be some sort of diplomatic uproar every time some arrogant, self-centered American refers to the island nation of Nippon as “Japan”? > [@](#): > > Now, I can take a joke. Occasionally, such as in MPSIMS, it might be funny, or at least it wouldn’t bother me. But in GD, or GQ, this deliberate misspelling offends me. Why is it okay in the one forum, but not in the other two? Is there no room for levity or lightheartedness in GD? How do you know it’s a joke in MPSIMS, but a calculated insult in GQ? > [@](#): > > Aren’t we supposed to be better than that? Aren’t we supposed to be answering questions, discussing issues, and generally trying to rise above the idiocy that surrounds us on a daily basis? I don’t see how the addition of one extraneous “i” prevents any of that. Perhaps you could explain it to me? > [@](#): > > And then people wander in and toss in this “joke”, because Canada is an easy target? No, I suspect it’s because they know most Canadians have a better sense of humor than you do, and can recognize when someone is being deliberatly insulting, and when someone is just being goofy. > [@](#): > > Have some fucking respect. Get some fucking perspective. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/30 "2006-07-02T19:55:22Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Better that than “America’s foreskin.” No, that would be in Florida. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/31 "2006-07-02T20:03:37Z")
> [@Lissa](#): > > Am I missing something, but would be the point in using Canadia? I also don’t understand the OP’s reference to America and American. Is Canadian not right? > > I am just confused as to how canadia is an insult and/or why someone would use it? There is no point in using “Canadia”. It’s an attempt at being funny, which I find irritating. The America/American thing is because idiots insist it should be “Canadia” so that it “matches” “America” when talking about the countries’ residents. Not everything has to be the same! You all keep saying it’s probably a “mental typo” or a correction from typing “canadian”. I just don’t buy it. People here are a lot more intelligent than that, aren’t they? Besides, it takes a whole lot of reworking for most of those examples to have originally had the work “canadian” in it. If you re-write the whole sentence, surely you can remember how to spell the name of the country? If I came up with different names for the USA, for Japan, for Germany, for Ethiopia, and if I started to use them in GD and GQ threads, I’d be called on it. It wouldn’t be acceptable. So why is it ok for Canada? I understand sarcasm. I understand tongue-in-cheek. I understand jokes. This isn’t the biggest issue of our times, or even of my day today. But I do find it insulting, because of the deliberateness of it, and I find it hard to believe that things like “Canuckistan” were NOT intended to have some insult behind it. Using “Canadia” in a thread about oil changes, safe deposit boxes or Québec sovereignty is just uncalled for. It comes across as arrogant to me. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/32 "2006-07-02T20:06:18Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > You all keep saying it’s probably a “mental typo” or a correction from typing “canadian”. I just don’t buy it. People here are a lot more intelligent than that, aren’t they? Not if your posts in this thread are any indication. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/33 "2006-07-02T20:21:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > No, that would be in Florida. I thought that was America’s Wang? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/34 "2006-07-02T20:26:21Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I thought that was America’s Wang? Well, where else would you expect to find America’s Foreskin, but on America’s Wang? Looking at [this map,](http://www.ired.com/usa/fl/) it strikes me as ironic that so many Jews have retired to Palm Beach. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/35 "2006-07-02T20:27:11Z")
Perhaps poutine is closer to poitín than one might think… ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/36 "2006-07-02T20:29:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, where else would you expect to find America’s Foreskin, but on America’s Wang? All of which makes the Keys a big spunky splooge in the direction of Cuba. See, even the geography’s trying to fuck Castro! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/37 "2006-07-02T20:36:06Z")
I’ve always thought Soviet Canuckistan had a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/38 "2006-07-02T20:58:05Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > I find it hard to believe that things like “Canuckistan” were NOT intended to have some insult behind it. Well, you’re fucking wrong. Get over it. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/39 "2006-07-02T20:58:47Z")
Did the Molsen factory burn down or something? What’s with all the pissed off Canadians this weekend? ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954/40 "2006-07-02T20:59:10Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > There is no point in using “Canadia”. It’s an attempt at being funny, which I find irritating. The America/American thing is because idiots insist it should be “Canadia” so that it “matches” “America” when talking about the countries’ residents. Not everything has to be the same! Cite? Have you heard someone discussing this somewhere? Read it? Anything that would make me understand how someone could even think it relates in the first place, let alone in a derogatory way. Because I’m not seeing what you are, certainly not that they “match” or are equal in terminology. > [@](#): > > You all keep saying it’s probably a “mental typo” or a correction from typing “canadian”. I just don’t buy it. People here are a lot more intelligent than that, aren’t they? Besides, it takes a whole lot of reworking for most of those examples to have originally had the work “canadian” in it. If you re-write the whole sentence, surely you can remember how to spell the name of the country? But as someone else pointed out above, it may be a mental typo that doesn’t transcend well to understanding how it happened. At least, not outside of the head of the person who did it. Or it could be as simple as “womex” example. You know, strange things stick in our subconscious and they can play out without us realizing it. Perhaps there isn’t even an _illogical_ reason occasionally. Things sometimes just _are_. > [@](#): > > If I came up with different names for the USA, for Japan, for Germany, for Ethiopia, and if I started to use them in GD and GQ threads, I’d be called on it. It wouldn’t be acceptable. So why is it ok for Canada? Unless it didn’t make absolutely any sense. Kind of like when a really little kid tries to insult their big brother with a non-joke, they get blown off because, well, it isn’t insulting. And no matter how much said child insists it is, if it isn’t and has no basis in reality, than the poor kid is just (really) amusing him/herself and everyone else either plays along or simply ignores it. > [@](#): > > I understand sarcasm. I understand tongue-in-cheek. I understand jokes. This isn’t the biggest issue of our times, or even of my day today. But I do find it insulting, because of the deliberateness of it, and I find it hard to believe that things like “Canuckistan” were NOT intended to have some insult behind it. I can understand your belief on this one, although every time I’ve seen someone attempt to rag on Canadians, it typically falls flat. Why? Because usually you guys have a wonderful sense of humor and, as far as put downs go, calling Canada “Canuckistan” seems incredibly weak. Similar to baiting on a member’s name by changing it up to something silly. However… > [@](#): > > Using “Canadia” in a thread about oil changes, safe deposit boxes or Québec sovereignty is just uncalled for. It comes across as arrogant to me. _Uncalled for_?? I’m not seeing it. At all. The only thing that’s coming across to me is that you’ve taken offense (at best) to about a 6 year old level retort. If that. And arrogant? If your analysis doesn’t make any sense to anyone, how on earth could that be? As I’ve already said, I just don’t get it. Color me another one who is beyond baffled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/its-canada-not-canadia/362954.md?page=3)