Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[savevp]

Originally Posted by JHikka

I thought 'Tronna' was derived from people like Don Cherry and his ilk - an older generation who did everything in their power to mispronounce city names as much as possible. Chi-car-go, De-troy-it, Tronna.

Good point. Forgot about Grapes but I probably always chalked up that pronunciation to senility...

Of course you could argue Detroit should be 'de-twa' and everyone else has been getting it wrong for centuries Ditto for most of Newfoundland, much of Manitoba, etc.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by esquire

I think every place has its quirky local pronunciations that quickly give away who the locals are and who just came to town.

Kitchener's Weber St is an example of this (WEE-burr).

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Kitchener's Weber St is an example of this (WEE-burr).

I'd pronounce it "VEBB-ur(r)". As in Max.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Acajack

I'd pronounce it "VEBB-ur(r)". As in Max.

And anyone in K-W would quickly "correct" you. There are a number of German family names that have unique K-W pronunciations.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

And anyone in K-W would quickly "correct" you. There are a number of German family names that have unique K-W pronunciations.

Noecker = necker not no-ker lol

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Noecker = necker not no-ker lol

I'd say "nay-ker".

But I wasn't cut out for North America, it seems.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Dengler Avenue

Noecker = necker not no-ker lol

Kroetsch = Kretch
Breithaupt = Bright-up
Weibe = Wee-bee
Roos - Ross with a long "o" (although that one is pretty accurate, and you're probably more likely to hear "Roose").

[rousseau]

Quick, without thinking about it, how would you say that a car is easier on the wallet at the gas pump?

<Timer begins, seconds ticking off clock...>

Okay, time's up. Here are four options I can think of:

- It gets good gas mileage
- It's easy on gas
- It gets good fuel economy
- It's fuel efficient

Having been a kid in the 70s and 80s, the first and second options sound the most conventional to me, while the third and fourth seem more like marketing speak, like something you'd see in an advertisement but would think sounded stilted and formal in casual speech.

However, I've recently encountered two people in their late twenties/early thirties who used the expression "it gets good fuel economy." Is this due to metric impinging semantically on the term "mileage"? Because I think that's the reason that I myself hesitate when the topic of fuel consumption in automobiles comes up. The term "gas mileage" is still instinctual to me, but it doesn't seem appropriate anymore. So I tend to say "easier on gas."

Speaking of which, when did "litres per 100 km" become standard usage on dashboards? Was it right at the beginning, when cars first started having this gauge as an option in the display? Do cars sold in the US show "gallons per 100 miles," or do they show "miles per gallon"?

What interests me, is that it seems that at some point someone in the car industry figured that "kilometres per litre" was too cumbersome as a conversion from Imperial, and went with "L/100 km" instead. Though with this it seems that, once again, you bump up against a particularly Canadian trait: the relative paucity of elision, abbreviation and slang in our speech, and the seeming willingness to wanly pronounce things out in full. Because I've only ever heard people say something like "my car does 9 litres per 100 kilometers" when talking about their gas mile...I mean fuel efficiency.

Is there a slangy short form for "L per 100 km"? If not, instead of Canadian boringness, could a possible explanation for that be the waning interest in cars in younger generations in general, given that they're the ones who tend to come up with speech innovations?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Quick, without thinking about it, how would you say that a car is easier on the wallet at the gas pump?

<Timer begins, seconds ticking off clock...>

Okay, time's up. Here are four options I can think of:

- It gets good gas mileage
- It's easy on gas
- It gets good fuel economy
- It's fuel efficient

Having been a kid in the 70s and 80s, the first and second options sound the most conventional to me, while the third and fourth seem more like marketing speak, like something you'd see in an advertisement but would think sounded stilted and formal in casual speech.

However, I've recently encountered two people in their late twenties/early thirties who used the expression "it gets good fuel economy." Is this due to metric impinging semantically on the term "mileage"? Because I think that's the reason that I myself hesitate when the topic of fuel consumption in automobiles comes up. The term "gas mileage" is still instinctual to me, but it doesn't seem appropriate anymore. So I tend to say "easier on gas."

Speaking of which, when did "litres per 100 km" become standard usage on dashboards? Was it right at the beginning, when cars first started having this gauge as an option in the display? Do cars sold in the US show "gallons per 100 miles," or do they show "miles per gallon"?

What interests me, is that it seems that at some point someone in the car industry figured that "kilometres per litre" was too cumbersome as a conversion from Imperial, and went with "L/100 km" instead. Though with this it seems that, once again, you bump up against a particularly Canadian trait: the relative paucity of elision, abbreviation and slang in our speech, and the seeming willingness to wanly pronounce things out in full. Because I've only ever heard people say something like "my car does 9 litres per 100 kilometers" when talking about their gas mile...I mean fuel efficiency.

Is there a slangy short form for "L per 100 km"? If not, instead of Canadian boringness, could a possible explanation for that be the waning interest in cars in younger generations in general, given that they're the ones who tend to come up with speech innovations?

I would probably use the term "fuel mileage", which is also now archaic. I sometimes think the conversion to metric was useless in some areas of common usage, and I have no trouble relating to speed in km., but the concept of MPG was simpler and easier to remember. There may or may not be a word "kilometerage" as in kilometerage of the car's odometer, kilometers per litre, and it's just too hard to say. However, the dislike of this measurement for me came with the reversal of the concept (quantity per distance, vs. distance per quantity), meaning the lower number is now preferable instead of the higher number. The common abbreviation is L/100km. Blame the Americans for propagating the confusion, they should walk a kilometer on our feet, give 'em a centimeter and they'll take a kilometer.

Now it will get even more confusing with EVs, the new standard is "MPGe", or "the distance a car can travel on 33.7kWh of electricity," simple eh?

[Proof Sheet]

Originally Posted by Architype

However, the dislike of this measurement for me came with the reversal of the concept (quantity per distance, vs. distance per quantity), meaning the lower number is now preferable instead of the higher number. The common abbreviation is L/100km. Blame the Americans for propagating the confusion, they should walk a kilometer on our feet, give 'em a centimeter and they'll take a kilometer.

I can see your point. It would have just been easier to provide km's/litre information with the intent to have as high a number as possible.

Another one that throws me is seeing the wind speed in metres/second. Used in 'continental' european reports particularly ski resorts and the winds at the base and peak of the mountain and in shipping/sailing reports.

[Acajack]

In French Canada we have the words "millage" and "kilométrage" but they always refer to your odometer, not fuel economy.

"Milles au gallon" is an old term that few people use any more.

Here it's L/100 km that is the go-to reference.

The non-numeric terms are "consommation" or "économie d'essence".

Though very colloquially you might hear: " yé dur su'l gaz". (It's hard on gas / eats a lot of gas".

[jamincan]

It's kind of interesting how my use of units has changed over time. The case of mpg and L/100km is one of the few examples where I grew up with the one, and then pretty much made a complete switch to the other to the extent that I'm not even sure what good mileage would be anymore without doing the math.

I used to only know my weight in lbs until I started getting more serious into cycling, and then I started measuring it in kilograms. I still know my weight in both, though.

[jonny24]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Quick, without thinking about it, how would you say that a car is easier on the wallet at the gas pump?

<Timer begins, seconds ticking off clock...>

Okay, time's up. Here are four options I can think of:

- It gets good gas mileage
- It's easy on gas
- It gets good fuel economy
- It's fuel efficient

Having been a kid in the 70s and 80s, the first and second options sound the most conventional to me, while the third and fourth seem more like marketing speak, like something you'd see in an advertisement but would think sounded stilted and formal in casual speech.

However, I've recently encountered two people in their late twenties/early thirties who used the expression "it gets good fuel economy." Is this due to metric impinging semantically on the term "mileage"? Because I think that's the reason that I myself hesitate when the topic of fuel consumption in automobiles comes up. The term "gas mileage" is still instinctual to me, but it doesn't seem appropriate anymore. So I tend to say "easier on gas."

Speaking of which, when did "litres per 100 km" become standard usage on dashboards? Was it right at the beginning, when cars first started having this gauge as an option in the display? Do cars sold in the US show "gallons per 100 miles," or do they show "miles per gallon"?

What interests me, is that it seems that at some point someone in the car industry figured that "kilometres per litre" was too cumbersome as a conversion from Imperial, and went with "L/100 km" instead. Though with this it seems that, once again, you bump up against a particularly Canadian trait: the relative paucity of elision, abbreviation and slang in our speech, and the seeming willingness to wanly pronounce things out in full. Because I've only ever heard people say something like "my car does 9 litres per 100 kilometers" when talking about their gas mile...I mean fuel efficiency.

Is there a slangy short form for "L per 100 km"? If not, instead of Canadian boringness, could a possible explanation for that be the waning interest in cars in younger generations in general, given that they're the ones who tend to come up with speech innovations?

I think I'd say "it's fuel efficient". If the conversation continued I'd probably end up saying "mileage" as well just due to variation, but every time I do say that it bugs me a little because it's not correct.

I can switch between US and metric in my dash settings, and when I switch to US it uses the typical MPG they've always used.

My wife doesn't use a unit at all, she just says "Yeah my car only uses like 6.5, your truck uses 14, we should take my car". Not that it comes up a lot, but I shorten it to "litres per hundred", and I think I've heard others do the same, but now I've overthought it and I'm not sure.

[Nashe]

Around here it's "Is it good on gas?"

[rousseau]

What do you call a packaged, store-bought "ice cream cone"?



In the UK there's no confusion. They call them "Cornetto," an Italian brand of packaged ice cream treat that, after a ton of advertising in the 1990s, has come to stand in for the item itself. And thus you have the famous "Cornetto Trilogy."

My wife, a second language learner of English, recently watched the first of that trilogy and asked me what "Cornetto" meant. Thenceforth followed a conversation where I realized that in North America we call both Cornettos and scooped-in-front-of-you ice cream cones "ice cream cones."

Which is potentially confusing. Shouldn't we have another name like "Cornetto" too?

[kwoldtimer]

I'd call it a "Nutty Buddy", or a "Drumstick". I think both were (are?) trade names.

[rousseau]

When we were kids, let's go get an ice cream cone meant to get one scooped onto a cone in front of you. Still does, from what I can tell.

Seems like context is everything. "I'm going to the store, you want an ice cream cone?" makes the intention clear. Still, it seems like this is a gap in our lexicon.

[kwoldtimer]

I'd agree that an "ice cream cone" is hand-scooped.

What do folks call a sundae of vanilla ice cream topped by chocolate sauce and salted peanuts?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rousseau

What do you call a packaged, store-bought "ice cream cone"?



In the UK there's no confusion. They call them "Cornetto," an Italian brand of packaged ice cream treat that, after a ton of advertising in the 1990s, has come to stand in for the item itself. And thus you have the famous "Cornetto Trilogy."

My wife, a second language learner of English, recently watched the first of that trilogy and asked me what "Cornetto" meant. Thenceforth followed a conversation where I realized that in North America we call both Cornettos and scooped-in-front-of-you ice cream cones "ice cream cones."

Which is potentially confusing. Shouldn't we have another name like "Cornetto" too?

I am torn between Cornetto and Drumstick. But I have Commonwealth life experience.

My kid tells me it is "un drumstick" in Québec as that is the brand name.

[rousseau]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

What do folks call a sundae of vanilla ice cream topped by chocolate sauce and salted peanuts?

A hot fudge sundae?

Originally Posted by Acajack

I am torn between Cornetto and Drumstick. But I have Commonwealth life experience.

My kid tells me it is "un drumstick" in Québec as that is the brand name.

I forgot about "drumstick," but, come to think of it, I'd know what they meant if someone asked me to get them a drumstick in response to me announcing that I was going to the store.