Canadian/U.S words & pronounciations

[thermophile 0]

Kraft Dinner/Mac-n-cheese. the hubby could basically live on KD. He said that it was originally marketed in both Canada and the US as KD but it didn't sell that well in the US so they remarketed it as Mac-n-Cheese. I believe him because if anyone would know (other than then KD king) it's the hubby.

I lived across the street from a Kraft plant during undergrad and when the weather conditions were just right all we would smell for a few days is that fake cheese. it took me years to be able to eat the stuff after that.

Annie's mac and cheese is the bomb though. no day glo orange fake cheese just dehydrated real cheese. sooo much better than KD

[Izoom 0]

What about certain multi-syllable words or the like...

a-lum-inium us

allu-mini-um brit

cen-tri-fugal us

centri-fu-gal brit

erbs us (silent h)

herbs brit

lieutenant us

lefttenant canada

[EmilyandJason 0]

US -------------- Can

root (rhymes with soot) vs root (rhymes with boot)

roof (rhymes with woof) vs roof (rhymes with ... uh .. oh poof!)

trash vs garbage

restroom vs washroom, bathroom etc.

bum vs street person

One US saying that I find odd is "She's hungrier (or whatever) than all get out!"

I had a good giggle at the garburetor (sp) thing, I've been laughed at for that one too.

[Izoom 0]

Yeah my fiancee didn't know what the switch next to my sink did...so I flipped it and it turned on the in-sink disposal which is fairly common nowadays. She had no clue

[Carlawarla 1]

US -------------- Can

root (rhymes with soot) vs root (rhymes with boot)

roof (rhymes with woof) vs roof (rhymes with ... uh .. oh poof!)

trash vs garbage

restroom vs washroom, bathroom etc.

bum vs street person

One US saying that I find odd is "She's hungrier (or whatever) than all get out!"

I had a good giggle at the garburetor (sp) thing, I've been laughed at for that one too.

The root and roof words are hilarious!! Gene definitely says them the US way, or the midwestern way.

[Reba 2]

Yes, Sea-Doo is a brand name of jet-ski made by Bombardier (I have never heard a Canadian say "wave runner"). Same as Ski-Doo, which is what we Canucks call pretty much any snowmobile even if its not made by Bombardier. I bet all the other manufacturers just looooooove that.

Y'all have some unusual love for the letter U. Lindsay and I always joke about adding a U to words.

Actually, its the other way around, and an American dis-like for the letter U. Everywhere else in the English speaking world uses the U whereas the US does not. Blame Benjamin Franklin and his printing press. He figured it would save space, and therefore money, because the words are pronounced the same with our without the letter U.

Canada long ago decided to stay with the proper English spellings of things, rather than the revised American spellings. Americans also switched Z for S in a lot of words like "organise" and such. And S for C in other words, like "defence". Which of course confuses the heck out of them when they want to ask for ADVICE and they spell it ADVISE, which is pronounced completely differently and is a different word.

I have even over the years discovered that some words in American English are almost completely opposite of what the definition is in other English speaking countries and this has sparked any number of internet flame wars until I got out my trusty dictionaries (I have one of each, Canadian, American and British) to settle the disagreements.

[Krikit 1,165]

Americans also switched Z for S in a lot of words like "organise" and such. And S for C in other words, like "defence". Which of course confuses the heck out of them when they want to ask for ADVICE and they spell it ADVISE, which is pronounced completely differently and is a different word.

I have always wondered why that was so rampant here. I just thought Americans couldn't spell. It really is a speed bump for me when I'm reading something and have to reread it to make sure I'm understanding the question.

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Canada long ago decided to stay with the proper English spellings of things, rather than the revised American spellings. Americans also switched Z for S in a lot of words like "organise" and such. And S for C in other words, like "defence". Which of course confuses the heck out of them when they want to ask for ADVICE and they spell it ADVISE, which is pronounced completely differently and is a different word.

Advise is a verb...advice is a noun. They are two different words and I have never, as an american, seen advise used as a noun. I advise people on ways to make buildings more energy efficient. In doing so, I provide advice.

I have also never seen "organise," as the spelling that we use is "organize."

I think you are probably accepting what some people with poor grammar use as the "american" way of using the word.

Edited February 27, 2008 by AnewKINDofFEELIN

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

US -------------- Can

root (rhymes with soot) vs root (rhymes with boot)

roof (rhymes with woof) vs roof (rhymes with ... uh .. oh poof!)

trash vs garbage

restroom vs washroom, bathroom etc.

bum vs street person

One US saying that I find odd is "She's hungrier (or whatever) than all get out!"

I had a good giggle at the garburetor (sp) thing, I've been laughed at for that one too.

I think root and roof are more regionalisms as I definitely say it the "canadian" way.

Trash and garbage are not truly equivalent words.

Lindsay says bum, too. She also uses bum for butt.

[DeadPoolX 9]

I have even over the years discovered that some words in American English are almost completely opposite of what the definition is in other English speaking countries and this has sparked any number of internet flame wars until I got out my trusty dictionaries (I have one of each, Canadian, American and British) to settle the disagreements.

You're absolutely right about that.

I remember hearing that some words, such as "momentarily" are used differently in the U.S. and the UK.

For instance, in the UK, someone might say "the light came on momentarily" because in British English, momentarily means "for a short time." In the U.S., someone might say "the train will arrive momentarily" because in American English, momentarily means "in a short time."

Another example would be the phrase "on the table" or "table the motion." In American English, this means the discussion is getting postponed until a later date (it has been "tabled") and therefore, not currently up for debate. In British English, however, the phrases of "table the motion" or "on the table" would mean a topic that is currently being discussed or one in which you wish to bring up for debate.

These very small -- but noticeable -- differences can lead to some interesting scenarios. Why these same words and phrases are used differently is beyond me, but they are and unless you realize this ahead of time, you may end up misunderstanding someone.

[Reba 2]

Advise is a verb...advice is a noun. They are two different words and I have never, as an american, seen advise used as a noun. I advise people on ways to make buildings more energy efficient. In doing so, I provide advice.

I have also never seen "organise," as the spelling that we use is "organize."

I think you are probably accepting what some people with poor grammar use as the "american" way of using the word.

Well no actually, I think you misunderstood my post.

What I said was that Americans seem to confuse the spelling of the word advice fairly often by spelling it advise (look around this site, it happens on a daily basis), not that they confuse the use of the word.

And in the Canadian and British spelling of words such as "organise" we use an S not a Z(ed).

[T.O_2_FL 0]

just heard this one the other day:

PROCESS

U.S pronounciation = prah-cess

CAN pronounciation = pro - cess

[AnewKINDofFEELIN 0]

Advise is a verb...advice is a noun. They are two different words and I have never, as an american, seen advise used as a noun. I advise people on ways to make buildings more energy efficient. In doing so, I provide advice.

I have also never seen "organise," as the spelling that we use is "organize."

I think you are probably accepting what some people with poor grammar use as the "american" way of using the word.

Well no actually, I think you misunderstood my post.

What I said was that Americans seem to confuse the spelling of the word advice fairly often by spelling it advise (look around this site, it happens on a daily basis), not that they confuse the use of the word.

And in the Canadian and British spelling of words such as "organise" we use an S not a Z(ed).

Gotcha. I really won't disagree with that. Most people, not just in the US, have the spelling ability of a middle schooler.

[T.O_2_FL 0]

can't remember which one is which....

ROUTE

My fiance says I say it weird....he's got me so confused as to which one I say!

R - out

or

Root

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Good lord folks:

The title of this entire post is spelled incorrectly...I've resisted for a week or 2 saying anything

PRONOUNCIATION

PRONUNCIATION

“Pronounce” is the verb, but the O is omitted for the noun: “pronunciation.” This mistake ranks right up there in incongruity with “writting.”

Sorry - but this is one of the most common errors around...nothing to do with your nationality

PS yes, i'm a former English major, but no I'm not being picky

Edited March 4, 2008 by Udella&Wiz