Canadian Vocab Lesson - Part 2

Time for another language lesson! (click here to revisit part 1)

Canadian English is a bit of a compromise between US and UK English. For example, the letter 'z' is pronounced 'zed' in Canada, unlike the US pronunciation 'zee', and spellings often follow the UK English rules (e.g. 'harbour' instead of 'harbor'). This makes Canadian English fairly forgiving to an Aussie, however there are still enough differences to cause misunderstandings.

While Australians are regularly exposed to American words and phrases through television and movies, North Americans are largely unfamiliar with UK English terminologies. This means that I rarely have a problem understanding Canadians, but I receive quizzical expressions when I accidentally say 'chemist' instead of 'drug store' or 'take away' instead of 'take out'. Differences in pronunciation can also result in confusion, so I have become well versed at ordering a 'mocha for Claire' in Canadian.

Words

Canadian	Australian translation
drug store	chemist
tylenol	panadol
grocery store	supermarket
biscuit	a savoury scone
cookie	biscuit
french fries	hot chips
potato chips	chips
ketchup	tomato sauce
lemonade	lemon squash
sprite	lemonade
jello	jelly
jelly	jam without fruit pulp
jam	jam with fruit pulp
take out	take away
trash	rubbish
bin	office filing tray
white trash	bogan
keener	do gooder
faucet	tap
gas station	servo
gas	petrol
hood	bonnet
trunk	boot
truck	ute
parking lot	car park
side walk	foot path
elevator	lift
sweater	jumper
cell phone	mobile
pissed	pissed off
drunk	pissed
play hooky	chuck a sickie
where's waldo	where's wally

Expressions

* "Brutal" - this adjective is used liberally in conversation to describe difficult, annoying or somewhat inconvenient situations (e.g. The traffic was brutal this morning, eh?).

* "Pot luck" - equivalent to Australia's "bring a plate".

Australian expressions that mean absolutely nothing to Canadians (and will result in blank stares):

* File that in the 'too hard basket'
* Arvo (short for afternoon)

Pronunciation

Word	Canadian	Australian
lychee	LIT-CHI	LY-CHI
liquor	LIH-KHOR	LIK-A
thorough	THUH-ROWH	THUR-A
Claire	CLAYR	CLEH
mocha	MOHW-KA	MOK-A

The Darling Buds Of May

Spring seems to make a lot more sense in the northern hemisphere. The recent changes in the weather, temperature, flora and fauna provide a sharp contrast to the bitter winter of just a few months ago. The springtime themes of new life, renewal and awakening are so much more tangible as the trees regain their foliage, the colourful spring blooms appear and the air is filled with the sound of birds sweetly chirping. You can probably guess by now that I'm glad winter is finally over! I've been making the most of spring by spending time outside enjoying the sunshine and practising my photography skills.

Around this time of year, Toronto's High Park is packed with people enjoying the beautiful yet fleeting display of cherry tree blossoms. In 1959, Tokyo donated 2000 cherry trees to Toronto in gratitude for accepting the Japanese people that relocated here after WWII. I found it incredibly peaceful to stroll through the park, watching the delicate cherry blossom petals fall and drift away with each gentle breeze.

I visited Ottawa this week for the annual tulip festival. Continuing the theme of floral displays of appreciation, this festival began with a gift of 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Dutch royal family. The flowers were presented to Canada in gratitude for providing safe harbour to the Dutch Princess and her children during the German occupation of the Netherlands in WWII. The tulip festival continues to celebrate this friendship between nations with a display of over 300,000 tulips in more than 60 different varieties. A very beautiful way to say thank you!

Casa Loma gardens, Toronto

 Casa Loma gardens, Toronto

 High Park, Toronto

 High Park, Toronto

High Park, Toronto

 The Rideau Canal, Ottawa
(hard to believe we were ice skating along here in February!)

Tulip festival, Ottawa

 

Tulip festival, Ottawa

Tulip festival, Ottawa

 Tulip festival, Ottawa

 Tulip festival, Ottawa

 Tulip festival, Ottawa

 Tulip festival, Ottawa

 Tulip festival, Ottawa

Everything Sounds Better In French

One of the cool things about living in Canada is being regularly exposed to French language. Government regulations require French translations to be included on all public signage and consumer goods packaging.

I've found this to be very interesting and at times highly entertaining. I first realised that I'd subconsciously absorbed some French when I was able to translate 'Lune de Miel' without actually thinking about it (honeymoon).

I've come to the conclusion that nearly everything sounds better in French. It has a certain way of making common household products sound so much fancier and more exotic. Here are some of my favourites:

Care for some veritable (real) whipped cream?

Or how about some alluring tea? It's fantastique!

Could you please pass me a trombone? Oh, actually I meant... never mind.

Glad wrap - adhesion without misery!

Even no-name brands sound fancy.

This minced beef looks a bit gros though...

Ok, so nearly everything sounds better in French.

A Spring In My Step

Spring officially began on March 20th, so I can proudly say that I've made it through my first Canadian winter!

All things considered, we've had it pretty easy. Neither of us has had to commute to work by public transport, which has frequent delays during poor weather. Without a car, we haven't had to drive in dangerous snow and ice conditions, or buy snow tires, or chip ice off the windshield every morning. Plus we live in an apartment building, so we didn't have to shovel our driveway after each snowfall (although we did shovel a friend's driveway once for fun).

It was a bit of a hassle to dress for winter weather though, as my helpful diagram below illustrates. This rather stunning photo of me catching falling snowflakes shows the necessary amount of clothing required on our trip to Ottawa in February (-18 degrees celsius). Hence I've really been looking forward to the first day that I can walk outside in just a t-shirt and jeans. I thought it would be a little bit warmer by now, but I guess my Australian concept of 'spring' (20 degrees on a cold day) doesn't really apply here. I recently completed the Yonge st 10km run on a chilly morning at 0 degrees celsius. I managed to finish in a PB of 56:48, so I guess the cold improves my speed!

Now that it's finally warming up you can definitely notice a change in people's mood. I'd heard about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) before, but I didn't realise how common it was in Canada. My boss referred to it as the 'February Blahs', which is fairly accurate. Towards the end of winter many people go on vacation to Jamaica, Costa Rica or Cuba to escape the cold and return with a jealousy-inducing tan. So you can imagine the strange looks I got when I told people we were taking a trip to freezing cold Whitehorse in the dead of winter.

Fortunately, this week is shaping up to be quite lovely and sunny with a high of 19 degrees today. It's almost warm enough for terrasse (outdoor patio dining) season to begin!

Shoveling my first (and hopefully last) driveway

My winter wardrobe

Yonge street 10km run

Spring blooms in snow