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CathinCoffeland
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| Posted: Sept 06 2007 at 3:04pm | IP Logged
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I know British/Austrailian English words can be different than here in the states.
Are there words used in Canada that are very different than American English words...being so close I was inclined to think not but I though Id doublecheck-
Oh and dd would specifically like a ruling on Mom Vs. Mum...
thanks Maggie
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MaryMary
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Canada is such a huge country geographically speaking, that there are bound to be provincial differences in expression. I can only speak as an Ontarian, who lives relatively close to the U.S. border. We are very "Americanized" Canadians. I still ask for a half pound of deli meats and measure my height in feet and inches  ! Unlike many of our American friends and relatives, though, we do not say "pocketbook" we say purse. We hardly ever say "soda" we ask for pop. We sometimes get confused looks when we're in the U.S. and stop to ask for the "washroom". We refer to our dollar coin as a "loonie" because of the picture of the loon on it, and our two dollar coin, by default, is dubbed the "toonie".
We say, "Ahh-men" not "Ayy-men" like most Americans.
A dear former co-worker from Nebraska nearly fell off her chair laughing when I asked her for "elastics". Apparently in Nebraska they are called "rubber bands". And my children all call me, "mama", "mommy" and "mom" though not at the same time!
It would be intersting to hear from Canadians from the east and west coast to get more opinions.
Hope that helps!
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Mary
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Kristie 4
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Hi. We have been both west coast (as west as it gets) and East coast (Ontarians).
A couple words that you would find spellingwise...
-colour not color
-cheque not check
(my spellchecker thinks American- it underlined both of the last words 
A few other words...
-gumboots (rubber boots out west)
-the university/college thing. Here a college is more of a community college or trades school and a university is more of what our folks to the south call 'college'
All I can think of for now.......
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Kelly
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 5:38pm | IP Logged
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Well, we lived in Canada for while (Toronto) and first of the dc was born there :-) A word we heard a LOT there, and never, here, was the word "wee". In fact, we often heard people refer to something as "wee little _____" to mean very small. You just don't hear the word "wee" very much down here South of the Border!
Kelly in wee little Florida
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folklaur
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 6:03pm | IP Logged
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MaryMary wrote:
Unlike many of our American friends and relatives, though, we do not say "pocketbook" we say purse. We hardly ever say "soda" we ask for pop.
A dear former co-worker from Nebraska nearly fell off her chair laughing when I asked her for "elastics". Apparently in Nebraska they are called "rubber bands". |
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I love linguistics, and accents too! I love hearing the variations.
I am from the US East Coast (NJ). I say pocketbook, soda, and elastic band. My dh is from out here in the western states, and here in AZ, it is purse, pop, and rubber band.
When I first moved here, the first time someone offered me a "pop" I thought they meant an popsicle.
And they say "sack" for bag here in AZ too. Like at the grocery store, "Do you need a sack?" We always said bag.
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Essy
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 6:42pm | IP Logged
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Don't forget 'Zed' for the last letter of the alphabet and 'Ayyy?' when questioning something as in 'huh?'
I'm not from Canada but have lots of family there.
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~Rachel~
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I guess that would explain why people sometimes think I am Canadian... we share many of the same words... only I always thought my very ENGLISH accent was obvious!
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 7:59pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
MaryMary wrote:
Unlike many of our American friends and relatives, though, we do not say "pocketbook" we say purse. We hardly ever say "soda" we ask for pop.
A dear former co-worker from Nebraska nearly fell off her chair laughing when I asked her for "elastics". Apparently in Nebraska they are called "rubber bands". |
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I love linguistics, and accents too! I love hearing the variations.
I am from the US East Coast (NJ). I say pocketbook, soda, and elastic band. My dh is from out here in the western states, and here in AZ, it is purse, pop, and rubber band.
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I'm from NYC...I use purse and pocketbook pretty much interchangeably, drink soda and use rubber bands!
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Noreen
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Kelly
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 8:07pm | IP Logged
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cactus mouse wrote:
MaryMary wrote:
Unlike many of our American friends and relatives, though, we do not say "pocketbook" we say purse. We hardly ever say "soda" we ask for pop.
A dear former co-worker from Nebraska nearly fell off her chair laughing when I asked her for "elastics". Apparently in Nebraska they are called "rubber bands". |
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I love linguistics, and accents too! I love hearing the variations.
I am from the US East Coast (NJ). I say pocketbook, soda, and elastic band. My dh is from out here in the western states, and here in AZ, it is purse, pop, and rubber band.
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Well, I'm from the South and we say pocketbook, soft drink, and rubber band! We also use unusual verbs like "figure" ('I figured that was true...") and "fix" ("I'm fixing to leave...") Oh, and the word "gal" instead of "girl", and "lady" which means MUCH more than a mere woman!
I love these regional (and national) linguistic nuances, too 
Kelly in (North-but very Southern...) Florida
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4Real Forums : Across Time and Place
Topic: Canadian English...
