https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 24 Apr 2026 23:24:41 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1484507 Thu, 30 Apr 2015 23:01:03 +0000 Helena 1484507@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Just chiming in to say, like Kim, I am DELIGHTED to learn that all the while I have been spelling jewellery correctly ... just the Canadian/British way. I KNEW I was right!! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1478512 Wed, 22 Apr 2015 16:05:28 +0000 Aziraphale 1478512@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love language too, Deb -- and as far as regional Canadian accents go, I think we do have them to some degree. I think Cheryle's right about the Newfoundland accent. It's pretty thick, and not representative of the majority of the population. To my ear, those from the prairies and Ontario sound more stereotypically "Canadian" than do those of us on the west coast. What I mean is, I really notice Ontarians pronouncing words like "house" and "about" in some sort of approximation of "hoose" and "aboot". But I think even us westerners do it a little. I got teased for it for the first six months of living in California, before I acclimated.</p> <p>I've also noticed that those from small towns -- any small town -- always seem to sound more "Canadian" than those from large cities.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1478153 Tue, 21 Apr 2015 19:02:37 +0000 unfrumped 1478153@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not Canadian, but chiming in to say it was easy for me to recognize all the different spellings as being British (or other European) alternatives <u>except</u> <i>jewellery</i>. Was very slow to catch on to that, ha, despite the clues being right in front of me. Love to expand reading and writing in any way. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1477594 Mon, 20 Apr 2015 17:49:38 +0000 Freckles 1477594@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Ha ha &nbsp;Runcarla, I had to go to the English dictionary to make sure that 'poutine' wasn't an English word, took me by surprise that it wasn't. &nbsp;I thought it would have been integrated like café. &nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1477438 Mon, 20 Apr 2015 12:32:30 +0000 cheryle (Dianthus) 1477438@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Deb, I don't think it is as obvious in Canada (with the exception of Quebec) but I found it interesting to be in Newfoundland and have trouble understanding some of the phrases that they use. &nbsp;The accent seems to be a bit like an Irish accent but not quite. &nbsp;I also had a co-worker whose family was from France and he had trouble understanding some French Canadians and said the French spoken in our province differed a lot from the French spoken in Quebec. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1477092 Sun, 19 Apr 2015 18:51:37 +0000 deb 1477092@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I love language, it is just so interesting. Here in the U.S., if you go&nbsp;from California to Alabama or South Carolina, it is like you are in another country because the language is so different.&nbsp;Is that true for Canada, also? Form one coast to the other? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1476879 Sun, 19 Apr 2015 14:15:55 +0000 Carla 1476879@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>...was it 'poutine' Freckles? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1476709 Sat, 18 Apr 2015 22:25:13 +0000 Freckles 1476709@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Canadian with the majority being British but the odd french word or sentence in the middle of a conversation being thrown in too.<br />I remember one time when my son was in grade five he had something returned to check spelling on a word. &nbsp;He checked every dictionary but could not find it and came home saying he knew he spelt it correctly. &nbsp;I said, that is because it is a french word. &nbsp;But nobody calls it the other word mom...&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians/page/2#post-1475576 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 20:14:18 +0000 Jules 1475576@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Oddly enough, I say knapsack. I have found recently some people look at my funny and I have to say backpack to get my meaning across. Or maybe that's my husband taking the piss, not sure ("taking the piss" being&nbsp; a bit of a British affectation on my part).<br />I haven't heard "garburetor" in years, but I do know what it means. My inlaws call theirs a garbage disposal. They are either banned or highly discouraged in Toronto so rarely discussed. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1475451 Thu, 16 Apr 2015 15:23:51 +0000 Marlene 1475451@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Yes, Canadians speak Canadian English...a hybrid of British, American and French. &nbsp;I was born and raised in Vancouver, BC and moved to California 23 years ago. &nbsp;I consider myself bilingual since I can switch back and forth between American and Canadian English easily as necessary. &nbsp;Although I find when I am nervous, I slip back into my native Canadian English without thinking. &nbsp;I still need to be mindful about which language I am speaking. &nbsp;My husband says I switch to Canadian English complete with accent within minutes of crossing the border when I go home!</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474969 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 18:12:20 +0000 Kim 1474969@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>One more difference (Canadian English btw.)&nbsp; It took me until just now to realize that I was not misspelling jewellry!&nbsp; I corrected it when spell check said to, but was mystified as to why I would misspell that "easy"word!&nbsp; Who knew?? LOL&nbsp; I knew about the u and the noun "check"but not jewellry!&nbsp; </p> <p>I was recently in the Deep South, U.S.A and had to ask for the ladies room at a store.&nbsp; As a Canadian I asked for the "washroom".&nbsp; I got the deer in the headlights look from the guy, until I corrected myself and said "Bathroom".&nbsp; (In Britain I had to rephrase and ask for the "Toilets".)&nbsp; Language is a funny thing! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474605 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 02:49:14 +0000 Carla 1474605@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>As an avid reader, my vocabulary has been informed by my choice of literature. Just last week a co-worker said to me 'nobody talks like that any more' and accused me of archaism. I guess that's what happens when your favourite author is Anthony Trollope, and you read the classics during your formative years</p> <p>Does anyone (Canadian) remember the CBC 'Royal Canadian Air Farce' character 'The English Major'? I think his horse's name was 'Simile'? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474586 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 02:33:23 +0000 cheryle (Dianthus) 1474586@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It is a shame that the younger generation doesn't seem to have a strong foundation in language. &nbsp;My son said that if I reviewed a paper he wrote and gave him a 70, he was almost guaranteed to get an "A". &nbsp;Another difference is that we wait in line and the British queue up. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474582 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 02:29:48 +0000 Suz 1474582@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am late to this conversation but thank you, Aziriphale! That was a fabulous summary! Canadian English it is.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474546 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:24:27 +0000 Aziraphale 1474546@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Gaylene, you make a great (and funny) point. With the advent of texting, written English is going all for sh*t. Mind you, I'm OK with the idea that languages evolve. I'm not married to the idea that British usage is somehow better than American. I think that's an outdated idea that's tied to snobbery and colonialism. But 'texting language' makes my eye twitch. (Picture Scrat from Ice Age when the glacier is about to crack down the middle. That's me). Arrrrgh. It makes the user look like they've got an IQ of 70.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474545 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:16:13 +0000 Aziraphale 1474545@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Spelling differences aside, it's fun to come up with all the different <i>words</i> that mean the same thing in American, British, and occasionally Canadian English. Belladogga mentioned a few.&nbsp;</p> <p>One time we were sitting around with some 'couple' friends -- the husband is English and the wife is American -- and we were trying to come up with as many vocabulary differences as we could. Canadians seem to prefer British spellings, yet often use the American word, it seems. We eat cookies (not biscuits) and fuel our cars with gas (not petrol); we wear a backpack rather than a rucksack and walk the dog on a leash, not a lead. We vacuum instead of hoover our floors and carry cargo in the trunk (not the boot) of the car. There are hundreds of differences. Only occasionally will we use the British word (we go to university, not college, unless it's a community college), or sometimes even use a completely different one -- for example American&nbsp;<i>trash</i> = British&nbsp;<i>rubbish</i> = Canadian&nbsp;<i>garbage</i>.&nbsp;</p> <p>Our word for what Americans call a 'garbage disposal' ('<i></i>garburetor'<i></i>) was a source of endless amusement to our American friend. I asked her husband what they call it in England. He shrugged and said, 'I have no idea -- I don't know anyone who has one!'.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474539 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 01:01:20 +0000 Gaylene 1474539@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Laughing at Lisa's getting "stroppy" about grammar and spelling. I used to hound my students until I finally capitulated after reading essays that include " Cn u c it?" At that point, it didn't seem worthwhile to fret about the omitted "u" in favour; I had a bigger task ahead of me. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474517 Wed, 15 Apr 2015 00:09:11 +0000 jackiec 1474517@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Great summary, Aziraphale! My response would have been British, but Canadian is a better answer. I still correct back to the "u" in colour and favourite, etc. I always thought I was an extreme stickler that way, but it seems there are just as many sticklers out there. Laughing at Lisa - if there's an error it's someone else' fault - of course!! Exclamation mark </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474408 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 19:07:32 +0000 Anonymous 1474408@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Not on the forum these days, but couldn't help notice this thread while taking a quick sneaky peek ...<br />I work in publishing and always use the traditional British spelling, which is also what I was taught in school. &nbsp;I ALWAYS correct my autocorrect (American iPhone) and am pretty particular about spelling. &nbsp;And, I am one of those people Elizabeth refers to as getting 'stroppy' : (great word, by the way) about spelling and usage...it just goes with the territory. &nbsp;Either you be accurate and consistent, or you devolve into linguistic anarchy - lol. &nbsp;(texting dialogue pun intended) . &nbsp;Disclaimer: if I've misspelled anything here it's someone else's fault :)</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474305 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:48:36 +0000 Angie 1474305@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>EXCELLENT, summary, Elisabeth. Many thanks. I learned something new:<i> Canadian English.&nbsp;</i></p> <p>And it's zed, Celsius, university, secondary school and exclamation mark at the Cox Castle.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474295 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:38:20 +0000 Jules 1474295@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>There's another one actually - I went to university to do a bachelor's degree, not college </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474272 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 15:11:04 +0000 Jules 1474272@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Nice summary Aziraphale. That was my impression as well - we use a mix that is termed "Canadian". And I got burned in university once because only American OR British standards were acceptable for a (mock) journal submission </p> <p>Oh, and how people used to give me crap for saying "zee" - my American Dad and Sesame Street largely taught me the alphabet. People did take that quite personally 35 years ago. Not sure anyone cares quite as much these days.</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474249 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:21:40 +0000 Aziraphale 1474249@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>This from Wikipedia:</p> <p><i>Canadian English contains elements of British English and American English in its vocabulary, as well as many distinctive Canadianisms. In many areas, speech is influenced by French, and there are notable local variations.[4] </i></p> <p><i>As such, Canadian English and American English are sometimes classified together as North American English, emphasizing the fact that the vast majority of outsiders even from English speaking countries (and even some Anglophone Canadians and Americans themselves, except for French Canadians), cannot distinguish Canadian English from American English by sound.</i></p> <p>and&nbsp;</p> <p><i>Canadian English spelling is largely a blend of British and American conventions.</i></p> <p>I have found the above statements to be true. I also think that many Canadians probably don't realize that we speak and write a blend of both American and British English. Canadians like to think of themselves as&nbsp;<i>not</i> American, thankyouverymuch (in the same way that New Zealanders feel slighted if you accidentally identify them as Australian), and because of this I've met lots of Canadians who take pride in the fact that they employ British spelling conventions such as the 'u' in colour and get quite stroppy about how to say the last letter of the alphabet ('it's ZED, not zee!'), but don't realize that they use American spellings for other words, and almost exclusively follow American punctuation conventions.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474242 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 14:05:57 +0000 Aziraphale 1474242@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>We learn Canadian English, which is a blend of the two. For instance, we tend to follow the American for words like 'organization' (rather than the British 'organisation'), but we maintain the extra 'u' in words like 'colour' and 'favour'. My Canadian computer will tell me I'm spelling something wrong if I leave the u out of those words, but it's got the word 'organisation' underlined in red. :-)</p> <p>We also tend to follow the British conventions for some Latin words (<i>amoeba</i> rather than <i>ameba</i>, say) but the American for others (<i>fetus</i> rather than <i>foetus</i>). I have no idea why.</p> <p>We tend to follow the American usage for punctuation. We use double quotation marks for dialogue, for example, instead of single ones ("Hi, my name's Elisabeth" vs 'Hi, my name's Elisabeth'). Having said that, I've been experimenting with the single quotation marks when I write on this forum. </p> <p>However, we <i>call</i> punctuation marks by their English names -- for example, we say 'exclamation mark' and 'quotation mark' like the English, rather than the American 'exclamation point'. The only exception I can think of is the period, which in England is a 'full stop'.&nbsp;</p> <p>My dictionary is an Oxford Illustrated, printed by the Oxford University Press (NY), and it lists the variant spellings, although generally the American spelling first.&nbsp;</p> <p>In fact, now that I think about it, I'm not even sure if there is an official 'Canadian English' or if it's just a journalistic convention. I'm going to go look it up now!</p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474232 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 13:39:10 +0000 Neelie 1474232@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Only British spelling, and my 11 year old is still being taught that way. &nbsp;I add in a few Frenchisms since I grew up in Montreal. &nbsp;I think American spelling looks empty... </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474208 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 12:37:52 +0000 Gail 1474208@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I am from the UK but have lived in the US for almost 30 years. I still have to look twice at words , decide where I am, then what spelling to use !</p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1474182 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 11:45:26 +0000 Glory 1474182@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Interesting. Like Shannon I was schooled in the British spelling. My children use both and media has certainly influenced them.<br />I grew up with measurement of Fahrenheit rather than Celsius, gallons rather than liters and inches rather than centimeters. For my children they look at me with astonishment when I speak in feet and inches. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1473995 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:36:16 +0000 Carla 1473995@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>British spelling (Queen's English?) and cheque not check, etc. but I went to French language schools until university. All my work stations (work and home) have dictionaries! </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1473989 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 01:29:39 +0000 lyn* 1473989@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I use British spelling - but I think I do it just because it looks more posh </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/question-for-the-canadians#post-1473961 Tue, 14 Apr 2015 00:46:36 +0000 Style Fan 1473961@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>British spellings.&nbsp; I wonder if someone who grows up with computers and has American spell checks might be more influenced by the American spelling.&nbsp; I teach at a University and I have noticed over the years the students are using American English more. </p>