Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Going to the show I am pretty sure is antiquated (North) American English. I'd guess people used to say that across much of this continent.

Also, in low-brow Franco-Ontarian some people will say "on va aller au show" when talking about going to the movies.

Yeah, I can't say I've heard it in recent years, but "going to the show" is pretty standard stuff.

"Mucking out" may be used in mining, but it originates as a farming term, from Britain and in common NAmerican use.

[vid]

And here all this time, I though packsack was only because we're a collective of dumbfucks who don't know the names of things.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Does anybody on here call it a packsack?

Backpack in English, packsack in French (or sac-à-dos depending on my interlocutor).

[vid]

I have also heard packpack a few times, is that a thing out in Timmins?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by vid

I have also heard packpack a few times, is that a thing out in Timmins?

Isn't that like three-wheeled taxi in Manila?

Plan B - your #2322!

[vid]

I have no idea what you just said.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Isn't that like three-wheeled taxi in Manila?

Tuk-tuk?

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

Tuk-tuk?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by vid

I have also heard packpack a few times, is that a thing out in Timmins?

Never heard that. Sounds like something a small child would say.

[Loco101]

Originally Posted by vid

I have also heard packpack a few times, is that a thing out in Timmins?

Yes, it was a term used for a French Canadian male with a strong accent.

When I was younger you'd hear a lot of kids and some older people make fun of the accent and pretend to be a character named Jean-Guy Pack-Pack.

There used to be a song that people around here would sing.... "My name is Jean-Guy.....I live in da wood...

and it had more things that included Pepsi, Jos-Louis and other stereotypes.

It wasn't just Anglophones doing it but also Francophones.

[Loco101]

Another common saying you'll hear in Timmins by both francophones and anglophones:

bye-bye là!


It's used in humourous situations, sort of like saying "get outta here"!

And a lot of people here end their sentences with "there." My friend there. He's works hard there.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Loco101

Yes, it was a term used for a French Canadian male with a strong accent.

When I was younger you'd hear a lot of kids and some older people make fun of the accent and pretend to be a character named Jean-Guy Pack-Pack.

There used to be a song that people around here would sing.... "My name is Jean-Guy.....I live in da wood...

and it had more things that included Pepsi, Jos-Louis and other stereotypes.

It wasn't just Anglophones doing it but also Francophones.

Never heard packpack for French Canadians. And I thought I had heard it all.

Francophones outside Quebec are often self deprecating in the way minorities often do. It's kind of a survival strategy. Or at least it was initially. Quebecois will almost never do this and react with horror when they witness their cousins doing it.

[vid]

Packpack referring to a packsack or backpack or backsack, not a Francophone.

There was no culture of mocking Francophones here because there were are few of them, but we do have a village called Frenchman's Head which apparently originated from a story about decapitation.

[SignalHillHiker]

Washy Dune Witty?

You can now ask "What's she doing with him?" like a Grand Banker.

*****

A woman called into Back Talk today in support of the Premier and it struck me how obvious it was she's from his neck of the woods. It's strange how much you can tell by an accent.

She said "en" instead of "him". IE: Witten = With Him. She dropped every H at the beginning of a word and added it to every word beginning with a vowel.

He's making an effort = E's makin a heffort.

It was probably his mother.

[softee]

• Video Link

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by softee

• Video Link

Linguists could have a field day.

"You cheese me" is surprising - it has been around for decades as "to cheese off".

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by softee

• Video Link

I'm thinking there has to be a generational gulf at work here, because this is all completely unintelligible to me. I can't imagine anyone in their forties or older understanding any of this.

[flipv]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm thinking there has to be a generational gulf at work here, because this is all completely unintelligible to me. I can't imagine anyone in their forties or older understanding any of this.

Generational? Try social. I'm 26 and I didn't understand the vast majority of those terms.

I think those into Hip Hop culture would know these. I myself don't listen to noise.

[rousseau]

"18 English words that mean very different things in Britain and America"
http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article...hings-in-britain-and-america--b1tcKsqybb

Obviously Canada doesn't exist as an object of interest in the UK, and obviously Americans have no interest in multinational differences in English speech, so it's always up to the British to do these kinds of lists, and they only ever focus on the US. But as a Canadian, I think the discrepancies in Canada are fascinating.

1. A jumper
UK: A woollen pullover worn in the winter
US: Someone who commits suicide by leaping from a building or bridge
Canada: Do many Canadians know that a jumper is a sweater in the UK? Probably not, but is it only in Canada that a jumper is a sort of woman's dress (I think without sleeves), and not in the US? If someone said "there's a jumper there" while walking down the street, would you think of someone about to commit suicide, or a woman's dress? Me, I'd think "woman's dress."

2. A rubber
UK: An eraser for a pencil
US: A condom
Canada: In my lifetime this has changed from eraser to condom due to the influence of American movies, so it's now firmly the US meaning.

3. Nappy
UK: Something a baby wears (noun)
US: Frizzy or hairy (adjective)
Canada: If Canadians are aware of the term, it's the American meaning of frizzy African hair.

4. The first floor
UK: The floor above the ground floor
US: The ground floor of a building
Canada: US meaning.

5. Blinkers
UK: Flaps attached to a race horse's face to restrict its vision
US: Indicators on a car
Canada: Whoa, this is fascinating. "You've got blinkers on" means you're narrow-minded, but I'm not so sure Canadians are aware of the provenance of the term. But Canadians would also understand it if you mentioned the blinkers on a car.

6. A casket
UK: Another word for jewellery box
US: Another word for coffin
Canada: US meaning.

7. Fancy dress
UK: Informal party wear, dressing up as a well-known character
US: Formal party wear, including ball gowns and black tie
Canada: US meaning.

8. A flapjack
UK: A flat oatmeal snack
US: A type of pancake
Canada: Never the UK meaning, but I'm not sure the US meaning is much understood or used here.

9. A geezer
UK: A gang member, tough guy
US: An old man
Canada: US meaning.

10. Homely
UK: Used to describe a comfortable, cosy house
US: Used to describe someone who is plain or ugly
Canada: US meaning.

11. A hoo-ha
UK: An argument or disagreement
US: Female genitalia
Canada: Weird US slang, I think. But never the UK meaning.

12. A moot point
UK: Something that is up for debate
US: Something that is irrelevant
Canada: US meaning.

13. Nervy
UK: Nervous or prone to fidget
US: Bold or confident
Canada: US meaning.

14. Peckish
UK: Slightly hungry
US: Irritable or angry
Canada: UK meaning. I've never heard the US meaning before.

15. A run-in
UK: The end of a race
US: An argument or dispute
Canada: Both the UK and the US meanings, understood in context. Somehow I suspect this must be the same in the US, too.

16. Shattered
UK: Exhausted
US: Emotionally devastated
Canada: US meaning.

17. Solicitor
UK: A legal representative
US: A door-to-door salesman
Canada: I've never heard the US meaning used before. In my lifetime this has gone from the UK meaning to essentially no longer being used before, as lawyers now do the work of both barristers and solicitors. But back in the day, lawyer's offices used to have one or both of these words on their signs. Not really anymore, though.

18. Through
(As in, "The shop is open through lunch")
UK: During (lunch hours)
US: Up until (lunch hours)
Canada: I think I've seen a US-style meaning here, like "we're open through December 5" or something like that, but the UK meaning seems to make more sense to me, i.e. if someone said "we're open through lunch" I would understand that to mean that they weren't closed at lunch-time. So both the US and the UK meanings, depending on the context.

[Nashe]

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'm thinking there has to be a generational gulf at work here, because this is all completely unintelligible to me. I can't imagine anyone in their forties or older understanding any of this.

I am both surprised and slightly ashamed that I knew what a few of those meant. Some don't really seem Toronto-specific, though... I've heard them before. Also: I'm over 40.