blame_the_gods

Achtung!

Questions of this sensitive nature fall into the arena of Canadian National Security Ministies and Various Concerned Shadow Groups... Please don't attract their attention!

Say Yay to da U.P. - Eh!

Straight Hate

I've never heard 'aboot', but I myself say a very sharp 'abowt' that could be construed as 'aboot' by people who typically drawl the word. Drawwl-lll.

One thing I have noticed though, atlantic Canadians have a very annoying way of saying 'ar'. For example, 'car' ('kahr') becomes 'kyar' or 'kaer' - Rick Mercer of 'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' is really bad for that.

sodium

Canadians don't say "oo", we pronounce a vowel that is part way between "ow" and "oo". Most Canadians don't detect the difference between our "out" and the American "out", because we are so used to hearing it. Canadians will quickly pick up on the difference if someone actually says "oot" though, despite the fact that this is what many Americans think we're saying.

I suspect that Atlantic Canadians don't say "oot" either, just a vowel slightly closer to "oo" than other Canadians do.

Other major differences are in the "i" in words like "nice" and "light", and in the "o" in words like sorry.

http://www.yorku.ca/twainweb/troberts/raising.html
http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/Canadian/canphon3.html

Also, I can't think of a time I've ever been able to pick out someone as certainly American by their clothing. But then, I'm not a fashion expert.

Kilted Canuck

Don't call a roof a 'ruf', that is one of our favourite american slang terms. A foyer is pronounced 'foy-a'. If you are coming to the west here, we are pretty much...normal. We aren't at any cultural extremes, but there are alot of farmers, Ukrainians, and old people here.

ieyeasu

Yeah, I've got the same question. Only, I'm going to France (and barely speak French)...I'm figuring that will be a little more obvious.

lunachick

Drink Moose and sing "I'm a Lumberjack" everywhere you go.

cricket

In France?

While others learn how to dress in other countries, I need to know how to dress in my own. Going to Manhattan this month; I am from Colorado and MO and dress badly even by those states standards. Please tell me what to do. Surely we don't do the lumberjack look there too.

Or maybe that would be good, since maybe I could manage it.

godfry n. glad

And don't make any sudden moves. And remember, high-sticking will get you two minutes in the penalty box.

godfry

Enlighten Me

Re: how to dress in France.....I heard someone say recently that Americans are easily identified in France by their white
athletic shoes, which what prompted my original inquiry about how to dress in Canada. Another tip for travel in France: greet shopkeepers in French when you enter stores, and say "au revoir" when you leave.

Godless Dave

Unless you are the home team playing in Vancouver, then you can high-stick all you want, as well as slashing the stick out of another player's hands and hitting players across the back.