"When you ask Canadians what they call the building where they park their cars, you get something from 'parking garage' to 'parkade'. 'Parkade' is Western Canadian, mostly, 'parking garage' is more Ontario and the East. And in Alberta, it came up that 'parking stall' is a very frequent variant."
By Miriam Chapin. AMERICANS, or as some Canadians choose to call them, Usonians, are sometimes surprised when they come to visit or to live in Canada that Canadians are so different from themselves.
CBSA: Canada's Border Service under Scrutiny over ArriveCAN Controversy
How do Canadians say sorry?
In other words, where many US speakers will pronounce "sorry" like "sari", (i.e. in the lot Lexical Set), Canadians make the first syllable like "sore." In fact, when Canadian actors learn that US speakers say "sorry/sari" in the same manner, they often remark "where's the pain in that?" For us, "sorry," the word many ...
A simple handshake, friendly nod, or easy 'hello' is a common way Canadians greet each other amidst the chummy crowd. Overall, Canadian greetings are as warm as a fresh stack of pancakes dripping with maple syrup. Interesting fact? 'Eh', an iconic term, often decorates their lively sentences like a cherry on top.
In Canada, 'South Asian' refers to persons with ancestry throughout South Asia, while 'East Indian' means someone with origins specifically from India. Both terms are used by Statistics Canada, who do not use 'Indo-Canadian' as an official category for people.
North American English uses "chips", though Canadians may also call French fries, especially thick ones, "chips" as well. "Crisps" may be used for thin fried or baked products made from potato paste. An example of this type of snack is Pringles, which are marketed as "potato crisps" even in the United States.
Canadians will alsi call it a “sidewalk" but I sm told that “pavement" will sometimes be used in a private situation. I have heard in Oz on a few rare occasions. Bitumen is more likely to be used when speaking of a roadway and footpath is the general term here for a walkway beside a road.
Give'r. Perhaps one of the most colloquial of Canadian slang words, it means trying very hard in a noble or impressive feat. Example: “I've never snowboarded off a jump before, but I'm just gonna give'r!” Double-Double. It means a coffee with two milks and two sugars, but can only be used at Tim Horton's.
Most Canadians are familiar with “Thank you” and “Merci.” But do you know how to express thanks in languages other than English or French? In the following questions, see if you can match the term for “Thank you” with the language.
The “bunny hug” is a particularly Saskatchewan term for what people elsewhere in Canada might call a “hoodie” – a hooded sweatshirt with a big pocket on the front.
This slang word is common in Canadian lingo, but especially for Canadian hockey players. Beauty is used to say something is good (a beauty), or in place of 'awesome' if used on its own. For example, “What a beauty” or, if you really want to sound Canadian, keep it simple with, “Beauty, eh?”
How do you say “yes” in Canadian? You have a choice between “Yes”, “oui” and however “yes” is said in any of the 70 indigenous languages spoken in Canada. You might run into a bit of a bump when it comes to the Gaelic-speakers of Nova Scotia, as Gaelic, in common with all the Celtic languages, has no word for “yes”.
Shaking with a firm hand and eye contact reflects confidence. Canadians may laugh lightly over handshakes to diffuse the formality. French Canadians may also greet each other by lightly kissing both cheeks once, starting on the left.
Almost all Toronto natives pronounce it “Ter-AH-no”. Most rural Canadians just go with “T'ranna”. But you asked “why” so the answer is that in Canadian English we have a tendency to replace stressed vowels with the unstressed vowel, the schwa.
