In her book, Canadian English: A Linguistic Reader, University of Toronto professor Elaine Gold writes extensively about the common Canadian discourse tag eh? This word can serve as a confirmation marker, much like the discourse tag right? The word...
Prepare for a groaner: If you say all the vowels in the name Celine Dion, you just may be inspired to sing a song yourself. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Sing with Celine” You know, the singer Celine Dion grew up in the French...
What’s an unexpected term for tollbooths? How about … Bill Gates? This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Also Penny Lane?” Here’s another unparalleled misalignment that I really like toll booths and Bill Gates. Oh toll bill booth gates...
Sean from Buffalo, New York, says that whenever someone burped, his mother would say Well, bring it up again and we’ll vote on it. There are many of these so-called wrongs of passage, such as Six more and we’ll have 7-Up! Another good one: Greetings...
Hillary in Woodstock, Vermont, says she’s always pronounced mayonnaise as MY-oh-nayz. Is that pronunciation legit? The original French name of this cold, creamy sauce has never fully transitioned into English, so there are at least 15 different...
Nate in Winterville, North Carolina, remembers an older relative asking Are you going to get outside of that? meaning “Are you going to finish that meal?” To get outside of a meal or to climb outside of a meal suggests that you’re getting the food...
