How to Speak Canadian

I love being a Canadian and even more than that, I love speaking Canadian, but there is only one problem with me saying that. It is not something that a Canadian would say. We are more likely to say "I love speaking like a Canadian," or "I speak Canadian English."

The English language is my primary language, as it is for the majority of Canadians. We live in a bilingual country, where English and French are both used. Other languages and dialects are spoken here, as well.

French is used in Quebec and on the east coast, to a fairly large extent, but French speaking Canadians can and will, speak fluent English. The eastern seaboard in Canada tends to have its own unique dialects.

The French that I learned in high school was mostly Parisian French, originating in France, while the French people in Canada, known as the Francophones, speak a French Canadian dialect. There are definitely different variations of the French language.

During my extensive contact with Americans by telephone, over the past eight years, I learned that there were two words that labeled me immediately, as a Canadian.

The first was the use of the word, "Eh!"

No, this is not referring to the spoken interjection, where the word "Eh!" means "Huh?", "What?" or "Hey!" Nor is this referring to "Eh!" that is interchangeable with "Repeat that please!" or "That which I just said, is it not true."

By the way, all of those uses of the word, "Eh!" are included in Canadian English, as well as in Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese. (1)

And yes, there is Canadian English, as opposed to British English, or American English.

What I am referring to here is how the word "Eh?" is used as a question tag that elicits an answer. "You are happy, eh?"

That use of the word "Eh?" in this context, labels us as distinctly Canadian, whereas the others do not. In this context, that word becomes a Canadian identifier.

The second word that I have had a lot of fun is the word, "About". How I said it identified me as Canadian too.

It did not take very long for me to realize that if I had learned American English, my pronunciation would be "A-boot." It was definitely not American to say "A-bout."

Time and time again as I spoke, using the word "About," the only way that I knew how to say it, I was told, "You are a Canadian!" I could only tell the truth. I don't think that I have ever really learned to say it, the American English way. It is not as if I did not try.

Every time I asked an American what word gave me away, it was almost always that one word, "About!" This was almost a daily occurrence.

Actually, having spent a lot of time in the Toronto, Ontario area, my Canadian English was often suspect, as being a north-eastern, American English way of speaking. My pronunciation seemed to be a bit more prim and proper, than what Americans acknowledged as originating from other areas of Canada.

There was only a small percentage of Americans, who realized that I was a Canadian and not an American. Those who did, were originally from Canada, had friends, family or other contacts in Canada or had lived in Canada themselves, at some time.

It is not that long ago that I was told "You had better brush up on your British English."

That shocked me. British English is common in Canada, particularly on the west coast, but not in the area in which I live. It just so happens that the person that I was speaking to at the time, has spent many years on the west coast of Canada, so I should not have been all that surprised.

As a young child of about six or seven years of age, I remember being confronted by a boy at school, with the statement, "You are a Newfie!"

I soon realized that this had to do with my grandparents, who were born in Finland, rather than in Canada.

"Newfie refers to Newfoundland not Finland!"

I was advised later and I can recall being relieved to hear that. It did not take me long to dispute that Newfie label either.

Language is fun! Some of it is rational, irrational or non-rational. It does not always make sense either to children or to adults!

I have enjoyed spending many hours speaking with Americans, from the east coast to the west coast, from the north to the south, from Alaska to Hawaii, each one, communicating in his or her own unique and truly wonderful language or dialect. That also included other Americanized languages, like Spanish and Chinese, Italian and Portuguese, to name but a few.

No one from the United States ever told me, "You had better Americanize your English!"

So, I have decided that if I can speak Canadian, I can speak to anyone, even if it is just with a smile! So, I continue to speak English and just smile a lot.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eh