Part II of Language Acquisition is about learning Canadian. Both Darryl and I grew up speaking English, but I love to find out the differences in how we say things that come from American or Canadian cultures.
Touque (or toque) – I think this is the most classic. I guess I would call this a knit hat, the thing is there is no direct translation. I’m trying to use the word touque more, because I think its cool.
Holiday – I’m pretty sure it means vacation. Yes, you are on a “holiday” from your job, but to me holidays and vacations are different. Its fun to say you’re on holiday, though.
Kraft dinner – It means macaroni and cheese, any brand, even if it is for lunch. And you put ketchup on it.
Brown bread – Wheat bread. And brown toast is wheat toast. It does perfectly describe wheat bread, but it cracks me up.
Night Hawk - This is a night owl for me. The first time I sayd night owl to Darryl, he thought I was crazy. I thought night hawk was crazy. However, I will admit that all owls are night owls, but not all hawks are night hawks. So the phrase “night owl” is a little redundant.
Running on the spot – We just discovered this one. A Wiggles song on the internet had “running on the spot” in it. I laughed and said, “That must mean running in place in Australia.” Darryl claimed to have never heard the phrase “running in place”, which was hard for me to believe.
Chesterfield – couch/sofa. I wasn’t going to put this one on, because Darryl doesn’t really use it. But I just asked him and he said the reason is I would laugh at him. That’s true.
Skates – It means ice skates. Darryl says skates (for ice skates) and roller skates (for regular skates). I say skates (for regular skates) and ice skates. It makes sense if you live in a place with so much ice.
Homo Milk – This is whole milk.
Canadian Bacon – This doesn’t seem to exist in Canada! I think it is hilarious that we call it “Canadian” bacon, but its just ham (I think) in Canada.
I found this website with “Canadianisms”.