Canadian English

'July 1 is Canada Day, eh?'

Each English speaking country has its own specific, unique pronunciation and vocabulary. July 1 is Canada Day; a national holiday in Canada.  Also known as 'Canada's birthday', Canadians celebrate because on this day in 1867 the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and the Province of Canada were united under British rule. Slowly from this day on, British control was handed over to the Canadians.

Here are some examples of words used in spoken Canadian English:

Allophone (noun):  A person whose first language is not French or English.

‘I’m an allophone. I came here from Scandinavia.’

a loonie (noun): a one dollar coin used in Canada.

‘Can you lend me a loonie? I want to buy a drink.’

Runners (noun): a pair of ‘sneakers’ in American English, or ‘trainers’ in British English; running shoes.

‘Nice runners! Are they new?’

Fire-hall (noun): Fire station

‘It can be noisy on my street because I live next to the fire-hall.’

The use of 'eh?'

The most famous and stereotypical Canadian phrase is the use of ‘eh’, which is only used in spoken Canadian. It is pronounced as ‘ey’. Of course, many Canadians don’t use this word and dislike the stereotype. For others, it’s a part of their cultural identity.

‘Eh’ can be used in a number of ways:

To make a question:

‘That was a good film, wasn’t it?’ → ‘That was a good film, eh?’

‘It’s hot today, do you agree?’ → ‘It’s hot today, eh?’

To ask someone to repeat something:

‘What did you say?’ → ‘Eh?’

To show agreement or understanding:

‘I know’ → ‘I know, eh?’

MAP OF CANADIAN PROVINCES