Nbjuic

"This is such a colonial view
of the world !
How do you feel about people from Ghana or Pakistan?"

As an Australian, I have had conversations with Pakistani taxi drivers in NYC about cricket. I feel fine about people from Ghana - your point is????

My, some people have very thin skins - it looks like there is some flag envy happening here.

My point was that people from Pakistan and Ghana are ALSO part of the Commonwealth not just Canadians, Australians, NZ, English....as the poster suggested ( she/he also included Ireland LOL)
You , as an Australian should know that!
As for "flag envy"....
no need - my flag is Canadian!

Sorry Nbjuic

I thought you were referring to the Commonwealth as being Colonial. It is a bit of an anachronism, but has value in keeping up relationships between some very different cultures.

I think we all feel so close to Ireland as the Irish played such a part in building our countries. I just ignored that part of the post.

All I can say is no one has ever been rude to me because I am from the US,and I have been to 30 or so countries. The two places where they were by far the friendliest when they found out where I was from were Syria the USSR. (Saying the USSR gives a hint of age) The hospitality and friendliness in those two countries was off the chart.

I suppose my post was a little mischievous. Of course I'm aware that Canada has a more liberal political position than the US - or perhaps that should be "parts of the US". I remember a joke map being sent around which showed the "blue" states merged with Canada to produce the United States of Canada, and perhaps that did reflect some reality.

And yes, Canada and Australia (and NZ) have a great deal in common, including our political institutions and inclinations. And along with the English we're also (flags on backpacks aside) uncomfortable with the more strident patriotic displays that most Americans find congenial.

New Zealanders, always feeling overshadowed by Australia, are sensitive about their distinct identity, and I guess in micro this reflects the USA-Canada relationship. Perhaps it's the reason that the Kiwi "fush and chups" vowel shift has become so pronounced over the last 20 years.

BTW, I've never understood why Americans think that Canadians say "oot and aboot". To my ear it's clearly "oat and aboat".

As for Scots displaying similar tendencies vis a vis England - I believe that Canada and New Zealand have stronger Scots roots than, say, the US and Australia. Maybe we can just blame Scottish bloody-mindedness for the whole problem.

Um, guys? I don't mean to highjack your post, but could I get the answers to the "Canadian quiz" questions?
I wouldn't ask but we are planning a Canadian party for my retiring boss (he's Canadian, we're American), and these would make a great ice breaker game.

Thanks!

Sorry Skedaddle we just plain old forgot to answer the questions. What a bunch of Canadian flag wearing, Canadian flag waving, Canadian patch loving crazy Canuks we are.

How do Canadians pronounce the letter "Z"?
It's Zed not Zee.

What is a bush party?
Not sure about that one, that might be a Prarie answer.

A toonie? A two dollar coin, the Loonie is the one dollar coin.

A riding?
Where your member of Parliment hails from, his jurisdiction or the area the people he represents are from (tho he may not be from there himself originally).

Pogey? Employment Insurance checks(some call it Unemployment Insurance) or Social Security in the USA.

How about allophone? Not Anglo, nor Franco speakers, not sure if they speak either English or French. Someone else may have to answer that one - anyone from Quebec on the board.

Back bacon? That lovely smokey circle of hamy bacon that graces an eggs benedict.

Click, as in a measure of speed or distance? We say clipping along on the east coast, slightly over the speed limit without getting caught by the Constabulary.

Can you use the word dépanneur in a sentence? Quebecers where are you.

What do we mean when we refer to someone as "pure laine"? Hmmm. Does it relate to the question about a bush party, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, where are you guys?

And the toughest one of all, what great Canadian event happened on September 28, 1972?
Paul Henderson scores the winning goal to beat the Russians. It was great.

If you get that one right, what Canadian band wrote about it in one of their songs?
Lighthouse, BTO, Guess Who, Paul Anka, I just don't know, nor the name of the song.

Sorry this is the best I can do - maybe one of our Commonwealth friends can help out. Some know more about Canada than we do.

pure laine is 'pure wool' literally -- that is, unmixed. I believe it refers to Quebeckers or French Canadians with no mixed English ancestry

please correct me if I'm wrong.

Hmmm, well, I posed some of the quiz, so I should respond, eh?

How do Canadians pronounce the letter "Z"?

Zed

What is a bush party?

It’s a tailgate party held in the bush rather than the parking lot of a sports stadium. If you live in Bathurst, New Brunswick, you’ve been to one at some point in your life.

A toonie?

A two-dollar coin

A riding?

An electoral district

Pogey?

Unemployment insurance

How about allophone?

Someone whose mother tongue is neither English nor French; it's a word you will see in Quebec or in reports about Quebec.

Click, as in a measure of speed or distance?

A kilometre, but we also use it a measure of speed: “I was driving at about 110 clicks.”

Can you use the word dépanneur in a sentence?

A dépanneur is a corner store.

What do we mean when we refer to someone as "pure laine"?

A true-blue Quebecer (that is, not an allophone); only French ancestry.

And the toughest one of all, what great Canadian event happened on September 28, 1972? If you get that one right, what Canadian band wrote about it in one of their songs?

That was the day Paul Henderson scored the winning goal in the Canada-Soviet Union hockey tournament. The entire nation was delirious with joy. The band that wrote about it was The Tragically Hip.

And now on to laverendrye’s questions:

What's a double-double?

This is how you order a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee with two creams and two sugars. (Tim Horton was a hockey player, by the way.)

What's a two-four blue?

This is what you take to a bush party: a 24-bottle case of Labatt’s Blue.

Can you competently use all eight categories of the interrogative "Eh?"

I hope laverendrye steps in here. I do recollect watching a TV program years ago that carefully categorized all the subtleties of the Canadian “eh”, and for a while I could actually remember them. It’s not as simple as where they are used; inflection is critical.

Can you distinguish a loonie from a toonie? Without looking?

A loonie (a one-dollar coin) is brass; a toonie (a two-dollar coin) is silver with a brass centre. The former has 11 sides; the latter is perfectly round. Handy to know when you have both in your pocket.

Who is Stompin' Tom and what is his connection with hockey?

Stompin’ Tom Connors is a Canadian folk singer, well known for such insightful songs as Bud the Spud and Sudbury Saturday Night. Canadian hockey fans (that would be about 90 per cent of the population) know him as the author of The Hockey Song.

Who has more hair--Lloyd Robertson or Peter Mansbridge? For a bonus, name two of Peter's wives.

Lloyd has hair. Peter doesn’t. And, thanks to laverenrye, two of his three wives were Wendy Mesley and Cynthia Dale.

Anselm

Anselm
my ookpik and I bow to your fabulous knowledge of Canuckology!

I've never had any problems in my European travels. I do recall an odd occurrence on a trip to Lausanne near the time of the last presidential election. We were touring the cathedral and in walks a woman with a large John Kerry button displayed prominently on her handbag. I think it's much better to just be polite and attempt to blend into the woodwork. Seems rather self-important to assume anyone is going to give a darn where you're from or what your political leanings are.

The eight categories of "Eh" were classified in a famous paper by the distinguished Canadian lexicographer Dr. Walter Avis entitled "So 'eh' is Canadian, eh?". I can't put my hands on that paper at the moment, so rather than my listing them here, those who are interested can look at one of these academic studies. It appears that there are now considered to be 10 diferent categories.

http://tinyurl.com/22f5ao

http://tinyurl.com/2dgtak

I decided that flags from Ireland, Norway, Finland, and Scotland were what I should use.
That way, people can take their choice.
Usually they think I am American with 4 flags pasted on his backpack.

In France, people start speaking English to my wife before she opens her mouth other than to say Bon jour.

Intersting article on this topic:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070709/...polite_paris_1

I saw that article, marrsbar. Sometimes acknowledging you have a problem is the first step to solving it. But in this case I wonder if this effort to fix things isn't just perpetuating the stereotype by giving even more attention to the issue. It's been years since I've been to Paris, but I had no problems there and from these forums it seems most come away with a positive experience (or at least one that is better than the stereotypes lead you to expect).

Didn't New York attempt a similar program with their cabbies a while back? What were the results of that?

Thanks so much for the answers to all the Canadian questions! One more thing - really, what is an ookpik?

Ookpik is Inuit for snowy owl. It's famous in Canada because it was chosen as the mascot for Expo '67.

I also have a memory of Dennis Lee (of Aligator Pie fame) writing something about it.

Anselm

"An Ookpik is nothing but hair,
If you shave him, he isn't there"

- Dennis Lee

Did anyone ever think that Canadians were flags on their backpacks, because they want other Canadian backpackers to recognize them? Many backpackers stay in hostels, so it is a way to communicate with other backpackers, where you are from.

I am a proud Canadian and I do wear pin to show it.

Oops! "Canadians were flags" in my previous post, should read, "Canadiana wear flags"

Wow, I never realized that we Canadians could raise such levels of passion! Personally I love seeing patches on people's bags - it's a great way to start a conversation. But then again, I like talking to people from other places and getting to know about them.

Anyway, to answer the original thread topic from way back when, I have met numerous American's posing as Canadians while in Europe. I always thought it was kind of silly.

This is completely ridiculous and, I'm sorry to say it this harshly, stupid. If you're afraid and embarassed, stay home. Not meant as an insult to our friends to the North. Just stupid. Actually so stupid, if you really consider this I encourage you to do it because you embarass real American so much by doing it.

Let the panty waisted critics chime in now.

I travel a lot. I am Canadian. I have seen many Canadian flags and stickers on backpacks and luggage and usually have little difficulty in recognizing an American neighbour trying to travel incognito. To a Canadian, the ruse is obvious and I suspect it may be so to Europeans as well.

I don't know about acanadian flag, or any other, but a month or so before the last US election, I was in Paris and happened to have a John Kerry button pinned to my shoulder bag; it earned me a lot of smiles, cheers, and interesting conversations.
Jess

"I don't know about acanadian flag, or any other, but a month or so before the last US election, I was in Paris and happened to have a John Kerry button pinned to my shoulder bag; it earned me a lot of smiles, cheers, and interesting conversations.
Jess"

Did they later, like Kerry, change their tune colmpletely!

The last time I was in Europe (2005), people kept asking if I was Canadian. I found out it was because Canadians were getting angry when people asked if they were American. Thanks, neighbors.

I don't wear any flags when I travel, and I'm happy to tell people that I'm American when they ask. Yes, I usually add that I'm a Democrat, and then they smile and say, "yes, we don't like your president," and then we're all good friends.

I think as long as you're polite and not named George Bush, it doesn't really matter to Europeans if you're American.

"I found out it was because Canadians were getting angry when people asked if they were American. Thanks, neighbors."

How did you find that out ? Some kind of
European survey on what Canadians say when mistaken for Americans?
We have been asked if we were from the States from Croatia to New Zealand - so what.

I found that silly as well, danon. That exactly typifies what I've been talking about on this forum -- that if you're not actually American, you must be at one extreme or the other. You either secretly want to be American or you get angry if you're mistaken for American.

Could it be that when this people were asked if they were American, they said no, I'm Canadian? Or did they actually fly into a rage and beat the inquirer senseless with their ookpik?

If Canadians don't put the Canadian flag on their backpacks because people will then assume they are Americans pretending to be Canadian, what do they put on their packs to show people that they are Canadian?

P.S.


"what do they put on their packs..."

as if the most of us carry backpacks anyway.

slangevar wrote: "I think as long as you're polite and not named George Bush, it doesn't really matter to Europeans if you're American."

Not so. I can think of a few other names that it is better not to have.

danon & hdm - It was certainly nothing that violent. :-) After my sister and I were asked if we were Canadian 3 times (which we'd never been asked on previous trips), we started asking people why they picked Canadian first.

Everyone we asked told us it was because Canadians seemed insulted to be mistaken for Americans, whereas Americans seemed pleased by the mistake.

I grew up near Canada, so I'm a big fan of the country. In fact, many an American has mistaken my home state for a province in Canada. So we certainly were not insulted... just curious about the question.

Padraig - "Dick Cheney" perhaps? ;-)

We've been asked a million times if we're American -- as soon as they hear us speak English without an English accent. We say no, we're Canadian. I can't imagine why anyone would get angry or upset about the question. That is, unless they felt there was something dodgy about being a Yank! And in that case, we'll shove over and make room for them up here! ;;)

Looks like I shouldn't bring my Canadian bag with me to Ireland. I bought it in Nelson, B. C., because it's sturdy and fairly dark, being scarlet--so that it doesn't soil easily--and it has a big white maple leaf on one side.

If I did bring it, I assure everyone that I wouldn't be trying to pass as any other nationality but my own.

By the way, I do have a good ear for Canadian accents. It's not just oot and aboot and eh. There are other vowels that are giveaways.

To my (Australian) ear it's "oat", not "oot".

At one stage I thought about stitching a New Zealand flag to my luggage. I decided against it because (a) nobody else knows we have troops in Iraq, and (b) only an Australian or New Zealander (and not all of them) can tell the difference between the two flags anyway.

hdm - depending on what happens in our upcoming election, I may take you up on that offer! ;-)

There some irony to this thread as Canadians are not typically known as "flag wavers". We have a reputation for being reserved in our enthusiasm for our country.
Anyway - a real Canadian would be wearing a Leafs jersey.
Peg - sounds like a Roots bag?

"The last time I was in Europe (2005), people kept asking if I was Canadian. I found out it was because Canadians were getting angry when people asked if they were American. Thanks, neighbors. "

Really - as someone else asked - did you do a scientific survey?
I have been mistaken for an American many times - I just laugh and correct people. The last time (near London in a pub) an American couple sitting next to us actually corrected the server when he assumed we were American. (The American couple recognized out accents as Canadian immediately and the five of us had a good laugh.)

Nothing scientific semiramis... see my answer to the other person's question above.

I guess maybe that's the difference... if I was mistaken for Canadian and someone American nearby thought I had an American accent, I doubt they would ever correct the person asking. More likely they would wait to hear my answer and then quietly say they were American, too.

Can't we just be "North American?"