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A Typology of Canadianisms

dchp.arts.ubc.ca

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Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#161

Post by af78 »

zahlman wrote: post #123
throwawaymaths wrote: post #117

as someone who learned continental french, when i visited quebec i saw "melon d'eau" and i nearly lost it.

That's the first gloss DeepL gives me for it. I've never before in my life heard "pastèque" and I doubt I'll remember it.

« Melon d'eau » ? For watermelon? I thought it was a joke, but well, Wikipedia mentions it: « La pastèque [...], parfois appelée melon d'eau » (https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past%C3%A8que)

Everyone says « pastèque » in mainland France, where I've lived for over 40 years. I've never seen melon d'eau and I doubt anyone will understand it unless they know the English word.

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#162

Post by 20after4 »

darkwater wrote: post #153
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I strongly suspect most language / communication is clear from inference and context, and the exact words used aren't super important unless they are really out there or a different language entirely. It's the same with learning a foreign language (english in my case), you read books and posts on the internet but once you reach a certain base level, except for the really out there words, you can infer the meaning fro…

> you read books and posts on the internet but once you reach a certain base level, except for the really out there words, you can infer the meaning from context. Yes. Unless you are like me, you think you are good at inferring from context, never lookup a word in the dictionary and think for a few years it means something while it actually means the opposite.

AKA wollah¹ (according to this made up dictionary)

1. https://www.thedictionaryofobscuresorrows.com/word/wollah

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#163

Post by bregma »

kashunstva wrote: post #136

Significant pronunciation differences are related, but not covered in this list. For example, in Ontario (perhaps elsewhere in Canada) the word asphalt is pronounced like “ash fault” (ˈæʃfɑlt) as opposed to U.S. pronunciation like “ass fault.” (ˈæsfɔlt) Also “pasta” is often ˈpæstə as opposed to ˈpɑstə in American English.

It's the same people mispronouncing "asphalt" with a "sh" that also use "nucular" energy to watch filums about athuletes in the artic. Some of them have even visited Warshington in the USA.

I don't think any of that is particularly Canadian though.

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#166

Post by nsavage »

michaelmior wrote: post #69

As a Canadian who married an American and now lived in the US, I was surprised how many things I say are Canadianisms without me having realized. There have been a lot of (minor) miscommunications because I didn't realize I was saying something only Canadians understand. Like when I told her that my parents' hydro had been out all day.

I travel to the UK a lot and am usually pretty careful with my Canadianisms, but during my last trip I accidentally asked a server for both a pop and a serviette at the same time, leading to a blank stare.

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#167

Post by talos_ »

Well, why not include the word "Canadian", which significantly predates the country, as the prime example?

It's derived from Iroquois Nation words and used by French settlers to refer to Indigenous people. The word "Canada" was used by explorer Jacques Cartier to refer to the city now called "Québec". It broadly refered to the territory of a specific Indigenous tribe. (could be derogatory, but seemingly accurate / matter-of-fact)

After the British invasion, the British start using "Canadian" to describe both First Nations and French settlers (derogatory, "non-British)

Over time, "Canadian" generally refers to habitants of Canada.

Related: the hockey team "Les Canadiens" is from Montréal in the province of Québec in Canada. It's the oldest hockey team (1909, pre-NHL). The name is a reappropriation of the word Canadian at a time where it was used derogatively against "French-Canadians" (term that didn't exist at the time). Their chant "go, habs, go" refers to the "habitants", i.e., French settlers.

Related: "province" originates from latin used by Romans to described conquered territory. This is the term founders of Canada in 1867 decided to use instead of "state"

For anyone interested in Canadian history, always check-out the French version of a wikipedia page (and translate it). English pages have a lot of hand-waving and start history with their conquest. Also, ChatGPT makes outrageous historical mistakes all the time, such as suggesting that French-Canadians were a minority group in the 19th century

edit: format, typos

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#169

Post by bregma »

throaway5454 wrote: post #16
bee_rider wrote: post #11

I’m very upset to hear that > While brown bread may have contained some molasses in the early 1900s, post-WWII it was usually made without. So Canadian brown bread is, unlike Boston-style bread, not sweet (see the 1909 quotation) and also distinct from Irish brown bread, though the latter may have inspired it. Brown bread is sweet, and you are supposed to cut it up into little hockey pucks and toast it. It is the per…

Can? Where in Canada is this canned brown bread at?

Check the foreign foods section of your local supermarket. Probably right beside those chocolate sprinkles intended for making sandwiches.

Re: A Typology of Canadianisms

#170

Post by bregma »

allenu wrote: post #61

I always loved the term "keener" growing up and was disappointed that it wasn't a term of use down here in the States. It's essentially the same thing as a "brown-noser" but a little less graphic.

A keener is an ardent enthusiast. A brown-noser (aka a browner) is a sycophant. Not the same thing at all.

Also, a brown-noser should not be confused with a blue-noser.

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