O Canada!
Check out this lovely story about the new revision of the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles.
Words mentioned in the article include timbits, parkade, grow-op, and BlackBerry. (Didn't know the BlackBerry was a Canadian invention? Me either.)
Have a Canadianism of your own to submit? There's an email link in the article.
Just what is a Canadianism?
Walter Avis, editor of the first dictionary, defined it as “a word, expression or meaning which is native to Canada or which is distinctively characteristic of Canadian usage though not necessarily exclusive to Canada.”
Words mentioned in the article include timbits, parkade, grow-op, and BlackBerry. (Didn't know the BlackBerry was a Canadian invention? Me either.)
Have a Canadianism of your own to submit? There's an email link in the article.
Labels: Canada, historical_dictionaries
This entry was posted by Erin, on
Monday, March 19, 2007.
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3:14 PM
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3:14 PM
Molson's "I am Canadian" commercial from a few years back contained a couple of Canadianism: toque (wool winter hat) and chesterfield (couch).
I don't remember parkade, and I had no idea grow-op was a Canadianism (I assumed it was universal).
Things I have said that have confused people:
- power bar (power strip, not an energy bar)
- blue box (blue recycling bin, not a device for hacking phone systems)
- washroom (restroom/bathroom)
10:29 AM
I'm a Canadian who married an American, and we've lived in both countries. Minor linguistic differences have provided an ongoing source of amusement for us and our families. So far my husband's favourite Canadianisms seem to be "double-double" (a coffee with two creams and two sugars - I think this originated with the Tim Hortons coffee and donuts chain, but the usage has spread) and "two-four" (a case of 24 beer). He likes to use both of these as often as possible...
Reading over my shoulder, he's also suggested the use of "hydro" to refer to electricity (I thought that was what everyone everywhere called it), "cottage country" (semi-rural areas where people have recreational properties), and "the 401" (the highway that the more populated part of the province of Ontario is laid out along). The use of "the" is unusual, though used for other 400-series highways.
Some terms that are part of standard English also seem to be used differently, or more frequently, in Canada. I once sent his family into stitches by asking for a "wee" bit of potatoes...
9:56 PM
Hey, if you want an eye-opener, look up pablum. And saloon!
I grew up in Canada near the US border, making fun of Americans with my friends (just as American made fun of Canadian tourists, no doubt). We used to claim being able to speak three languages -- English, French and "'Murrican". This meant that we could "translate" words such as chesterfield, serviette, running shoes and sunglasses into sofa, napkin, sneakers and shades, respectively.
One relatively subtle yet unwavering difference always intrigued me: why Americans say "shone" while Canadians pronounce the same word like the moniker Sean. Any thoughts?