As you may have likely noticed, “English” is hardly a uniform language. While our friends in England may remind us that the Queen’s English is the only “real” English, the fact of the matter is that many different variations and dialects exist across the globe. The girl who speaks fluent American might struggle immensely with figuring out how to talk Australian, for instance. And we Canadians aren’t too shy about our Canadianisms either.
You’ll even find that the lingo spoken on the streets of Hogtown is going to differ from what you might hear in Cowtown. We might all pay for our double-doubles with loonies and toonies, but we don’t all wear toques throughout the winter months. Here in Vancouver, you’re more likely to find someone in runners as they pick up a donair and poutine for lunch. We might even treat ourselves to a freezie after a kerfuffle in the parkade.
It’s not just that Americans and Canadians spell words differently; it’s that we have different terms for a lot of the same things too. We buy our homo milk in the same place as we buy our coffee whitener, all dressed chips, processed cheese, back bacon and icing sugar.
Just a few clicks away, you might find a mountie helping someone who is totally hooped and in need of a Robertson screwdriver on the side of the road. Or maybe he needs it to fix his Garburator. And when that screw is a little too tight, he’s just got to give’r. Maybe a swig from his mickey will help him muster up some extra strength.
Canadians know how to have fun too. Let’s not forget about the girl at the stagette who, after downing her Caesar, decided to shove a pencil crayon up her nose. Thankfully, one of her friends was a real keener and prevented any real damage, even before they asked for the bill.
Because I am Canadian. Eh. Sorry about that.
Donair is a relatively new addition to the BC lexicon. When we moved out there from AB in the early 90s no one knew what they were. Even when I finally moved back, you couldn’t really find a good donair on the coast.