English teachers Rachel and Bob join me today for this vocabulary and accent comparison video: US vs UK vs Canadian English words! 📝 *GET THE FREE LESSON PDF* _here_ 👉🏼 bit.ly/VocabPDF WATCH PART 2 (pronunciation) HERE: bit.ly/UkUsCanACCENTS 📊 *FIND OUT YOUR ENGLISH LEVEL!* _Take my level test here_ 👉🏼 bit.ly/EnglishLevelTest12 👩🏼🏫 *JOIN MY ONLINE ENGLISH COURSES:* englishwithlucy.teachable.com/courses - _We have launched our B1 and B2 Complete English Programmes!_
Hello Lucy. I am a 55 year old Indian male. I would like to say that the English educated Indians of my generation generally speak like the British as there was a British influence on our education system. However the millennials speak more like the Americans do. I have only recently come across your CZcams channel and I must admit that I enjoy it. There is so much to learn from you. Thank you.
English accent, Me learned from Dr. Strange MARVEL .. Dr.Strange Accent real UK.. Yours not . also, Captain America girl Peggy Carter her accent More UK than yours.
American here, originally from Long Island, New York. I did some research into why we pronounce the letter Z as "zee," rather than "zed" and where the pronunciation originated. Believe it or not, we actually inherited it from England. At one point in history, "zee" was used as an alternative pronunciation for the letter Z in England. When the English first colonized what is now the United States, the alternative pronunciation made its way over to the colonies, so for a long time, both "zed" and "zee" were used in the U.S., depending on what area a person was from, or if the person inherited the pronunciation from their parents. "Zed" began to fall out of use in the U.S. when Noah Webster, an American lexicographer, wrote "An American Dictionary of the English Language." In it, he listed the correct pronunciation for the letter Z as "zee." In addition, American music publisher Charles Bradlee, who wrote the A.B.C. (alphabet) song, chose the pronunciation of "zee" because it rhymed with the rest of the song. Q-R-S T-U "VEE" W-X Y and "ZEE" These things helped to popularize "zee" to the point that it just became the proper way to pronounce the letter Z in the U.S. and what was taught in every school. There's your history lesson for the day. Now the question remains, why did "zee" fall out of use in British English?
@Aldo Zilli I never said the historical Celts spoke English. Do you misinterpret things often? I said American Media has a major influence on the world and that the British Isles have been a historical melting pot for various peoples, do you need everything to be spelled out?
@drewnashty All of that evolution happened before America existed! The Celts (and most of the rest) didn't even speak English! What's your point as it makes no sense regards language evolution? The main evolution change is the US colonies homogenising different English accents into the US variant.
The falling out of Zed is more than likely attritubed to American media/entertainment and influence over the world plus Britain has been a historical melting pot of cultures and languages. From the first peoples to the Brittonic and Gaelic Celts; the Romans; the Angles, Jutes, Saxons and Danes; the Vikings; and then modern immigration, I think British Isles has had one of the most interesting evolution of languages and dialects
I'm also Canadian(from Newfoundland), we use most of the same terms as Bob. I think it's more a generational thing though. My mother would use serviette, but I just call them napkins. Hydro can be used but for more common to hear power or electricity. Never ever heard of brown bread though.
I believe it's also refered to as molasses bread. As for Hydro I think it depends on what province you live in or grew up in. BC's power company is BC Hydro so it just gets shortened to hydro. Where as in Nova Scotia it's Nova Scotia Power so it would be weird to call it "Hydro".
It’s also quite strange how right next to Newfoundland, in Côte-Nord, we never call electricity “hydro”. We use that word to talk about Hydro-Québec , which owns the hydroelectric dams (mostly when you’re mad about the power running out, coupled with a bunch of semi-religious slurs). We’d be more inclined to use “courant”, which would translate to power or flow.
Native Québécois here, we use serviette as a french word (it probably is, I don’t think it sounds very English) and where I live, “brown bread” is commonly used in french, but we also have whole wheat bread as an alternative. It’s funny how both languages interchange in different places.
I'm surprised the American didn't mention "davenport" as a possibility for a sofa. Also, she should know that in many parts of the southeast people refer to any soda as a "coke".
Being a western Canadian I can tell that Bob is somewhere from eastern Canada. In the west we tend to have more American speech influence and less French influence. For example, I rarely ever hear the word serviette. It is always a napkin. I also know from experience that Canadians on the east coast have a large number of variations on their speech that differ from anywhere else in Canada. East coast dialect is where a number of Canadian stereotypes originate from.
@Arctix A place like Alberta only gets 3% of it's electricity from hydroelectricity. (That's less than half of what Ontario gets from Wind for example.) There's 5 provinces get over 90% of their power from hydroelectricity and others like Ontario make a lot, but it's less than half of what comes from nuclear.
(canadian) in saying kilometers, i've never heard "click" or "klick". apparently google says its more common in the military, as it refers to clicking a distance counter of some sort
At 15:00 I wanted to say "Electricity Pylon" but then the conversation quickly turned the actual utility & not the overhead device that transports the power, as shown in the photo.
This was my first “Lucy” video. I was very disappointed by the obvious prejudice against the American accent. Lucy was fawning over the Canadian gentlemen and working very hard to point out the commonality between the Canadian and the British accent. However, when the UK and US had more in common this was conveniently not emphasized in the same manner as it was with the Canadian. As someone who lived 11 years in the UK I was disappointed with her bias.
Actually, in Canada, though distance is officially measured in kilometers, we more often give distances in time (Montreal is five hours from Toronto, rather than Montreal is 540 kilometers from Toronto).
@Indian Train SR were assuming you drive the speed limit and it’s usually said something like “oh x place is 4-5 hours north of here depending on traffic”
I've started asking people how many hours it takes to get somewhere so they don't reply with the distance. 🤣 I've been surprised that sometimes they say they don't know. They only know the distance! I'm like, how do you arrive on time, then? 😅
In western Canada we say a lot more Us Canadian mix than Eastern Canada. I never say hydro for electricity. Didn't even know hydro was a thing until I traveled to New Brunswick. Alberta is way different in words and even delivery of power and gas.
I'm from Western Canada, and call it "power" or "energy" (never hydro). Milk was offered in bags here once upon a time, but not for many years now. Never use "serviette" - it's always a napkin (we have less french influence). Western and Eastern Canada have quite different terms for things. I'm in my 50's and when I was younger, there used to be more of a distinction in speech (we never said "eh" for instance). However, like a lot of places, extensive global exposure has influenced our common language.
@Jameson 123 BC, Ont. and Que.use the word Hydro in place of power, Ontario's primary power company is called Hydro 1. and in Que is called Hydro Quebec
As someone from Canada, and presumably close to where Bob is from as he used Niagara Falls in his example, I can honestly say I’ve never heard someone call the last thing a serviette. It’s always been a napkin.
@Plinko McPoyle Agreed with the "eh" bit and the serviette part! I grew up calling it a serviette. I think I mostly call it a napkin now. Most people do, eh? 😉
I am Canadian and some of them I say differently then what Bob said. for example I don't say Hydro lines, i call it power lines. I guess it depends on what province you're from. Im from Alberta
If you live in Ontario we say Hydro for electricity bill and anything to do with electricity. Even in Quebec they say Hydro I know friends from Montreal and parts of Quebec they say Hydro too .
I'm from Manitoba (where we use hydro) and we call electricity in general hydro, but not the lines themselves. I'd probably say powerlines. Just a few weeks ago I went to m cottage, and the hydro was out, so I had to call hydro and get them to fix it. It was a problem with the powerline, either a tree or squirrel.
Regarding the soft drink word options, Rachel missed one. Oftentimes in southern states, people will refer to it as a Coke, no matter what type of drink it is. I grew up in the Midwest and then moved South. Most Midwesterners do say pop, but when you head South, you'll find that people will either say soda or Coke.
As a Minnesotan I loved this. A very common stereotype/joke we make around here is that we're the Canadians of America. I like calling our state "Canadia." We definitely lean more American with the words themselves, however, I felt like how the Canadian and our dialect have more in common than the American. Which is funny. Also, it's a pretty even split between bagged and galloned milk
Just want to say I live in Western Canada and I swear I never use 'eh?' or very very rarely. The Canadian vocabulary is very different depending on area and what socio economic level you grow up in.
That was quite interesting! I know it's been out for a while, but still I liked it! I obviously liked to learn the difference in all countries, but as a French Canadian, I really liked to see from which country the French version of those words comes from!
Being from Quebec, Canada, and having french as my first language, I realise we use a mix of the terms from all three countries in english. For example we would use either the term toilet or bathroom,. For us a serviette would be made of fabric and be reusable. If it is disposable we would use napkin. I honestly thought Hydro was particular to Quebec. A popcicle would be on a stick. Beer would come in a six pack or cases if there is 12 or 24. We use Zed but only because it is the same in french. And yes we do get our milk in bags (commonly three bags of 1 liter) or in a carton (1 or 2 liters).
I'm French Canadian and we call the «serviette» which is French for napkin, napkin most of the time. Seeing that the english canadians say the french word instead of the english word for napkin and we do the opposite is really funny
There might be a class distinction there, or a generational thing. I usually call it serviette, but I have had people look at me weird when I do that. I'm English Canadian by the way.
I’m a Jamaican now living in Canada. I grew up saying ZED but now say Zee. I remember when Jamaica switched to the metric system in the 80s. So even though we use metric here in Canada, I understand measurements better in imperial so I’m always converting to get a better image in my mind.
I always enjoy these, but I have to say there is so much regional and/or generational difference in the US that frankly you could do an entire series just on those.
Canada is also similar to US in the sense most of the provinces in Canada have different terms they use for specific things, some provinces also have different accents. It's quite amazing and informative.
@KING KRIMSON How different is Alberta English from Ontario English? My mother was from Alberta and my Grandmother moved to Ontario in 1974 from Alberta and they both sounded identical to me frankly. I'm from Ontario. My father pronounced some words differently,. I suppose. My father was from northern New Brunswick. He called "poplars"" populers", for example. A ferry was "a furry".
That was a fun video! I am an American. My girlfriend is Canadian. We had some "fun" with words and pronunciation during my first stay in Canada many years ago. We both swear that it is the other one who has the accent.
I’m loving this as I’m Canadian, but “me mam” is British, so I’ve felt I walk a weird line in my language choices. I think Hydro is a very Ontario thing, because their electricity is largely generated from water, so abbreviated from hydro-electricity. Where I am in Western Canada I think it would commonly be referred to as just electricity, but I’m wondering if this is some of my mother’s influence because I’ve often referred to it as the “power bill,” “power lines,” or “power failure/power’s out”… also, there may be a tendency to refer to the bills by the names of the service provider, which can get confusing since there’s some variety between electricity providers and natural gas providers, etc. and, some companies provide both, thus offering joint billing for what I would call “power and gas”.
In central Appalachian English I was surprised to have so many similarities with the British English than with either the mainstream American or Canadian. The central Appalachian region was settled by Northern English and Scottish populations for several hundred years, so I wonder how much that affects the modern situation since the American representative here said that she had only lived in other parts of the country. Very interesting video. I subscribed.
@talantedwiccan I did a student teaching assignment in Harlow Essex England and the gym shoes were called "espadrilles", I believe. It's a French word pronounced as if it were English. ESPADRILLS. That was in 1974. Maybe, the word has changed. We wear jogging shoes in Canada now or walking shoes or joggers. We used to use sneakers. I haven't heard that word in years though. I know runners and running shoes, but I wouldn't use that term. I'd say I"m going to buy a new pair of joggers today.
Hi. As an Englishman in his 60s we always had ice poles or even ice pops. When Lucy said lolly I immediately thought of something frozen on a stick. As for pop to describe fizzy drinks. I now live in the Midlands and you do hear pop far more. When I grew up near London in the 1950s and 1960s we always talked about pop. Finally it was interesting that the word kilometre was written this way under the lady from the USA and the American spelling of kilometer under Lucy.
in the Philippines 🇵🇭 We call this 2:35 zee 6:16 soft drinks 13:10 C.R. (Short for comfort room) 16:36 tissue (napkin is for female monthly period a.k.a pad)
Don't want to contradict Bob, especially since I'm French Canadian so my first language is not English. But I'm fully bilingual and some of Bob's words for things I never hear around here from native English speakers (I live near Montreal). Serviette is one. Even speaking in French we'll mostly use "napkin" in Quebec although older French Canadians might call it "serviette de table" in French so maybe that's where it comes from in Eastern Canadian English. Hydro I've never heard to designate electricity. I think that's just an Ontario thing. Power, electricity yes. I would still probably understand hydro as the main company producing electricity in Quebec is Called Hydro-Quebec ;). A 2-4 I've heard but in French Canadian we'd say "une 24" "a 24". Everyone knows what that is without adding the word "case". Same with a 12. For some reason we'll mostly say "a six pack" thouigh. Weird huh? ;)
@Yvette Brisco same. Otter pops is most common around my neck of the US. Freezer pops would tell me what someone meant and a popsicle I would think of the ones with sticks in them that come frozen.
@MagicalOmaha even in Ohio where I'm from it's Kool Pops, Popsicles have to have a stick, my cousins from Licking County 1 County to the south- I call them semi- literate for I was the Red-headed cousin they picked on- Ah Sweet Revenge!- call them Sickles- love to see them try.it near a Hardware Store!
CZcams algorithm has brought me here and I absolutely love the video! As a non native English speaker (from Korea) it's very interesting to watch. I have been to all of the 3 countries. If there was Aussie English it would've been more interesting though. Anyway I really enjoyed it. Thank you! :)
Really nice, although i find the differences in pronounciation even more interesting. the most unusual way of speaking seemed the new zealands, like from antoinette emily in her yt channel, when she pronounces many things with the letter E, which sounds like a german I to me actually.
My father was born in British Colonial India and had an Indian inflection, rather than accent. He had a middle class "London" accent, though he had a problem with pronouncing v and w and r and l. My husband is from Edinburgh and still has that accent after living 45 years in New York.
I can relate to the British woman's story about soda. When I first moved to London I was in a restaurant and ordered a lemonade, thinking I would get delicious glass of sweetened lemon juice and water, like I would in North America. Imagine my confusion and dismay when I received a glass of Sprite! "I asked for lemonade" I said "This IS lemonade" he said. 🙃
In the UK, ‘ade’ would imply a carbonated (fizzy) fruit drink, as opposed to a still or flat drink. So, you will always see Orangeade, Lemonade, Cherryade, Strawberryade for example. So if you ask for lemonade, you will get a fizzy lemon drink, like R Whites or 7UP, for instance.
Hello ! Lucy ! Your channel is awesome , I’m Japanese , I’ve studied abroad in US and lived in Australia , and English major . How interesting western English speakers can be so different . Like a dialect. In Japan , we learn American English from young age . But I met British, Canadian , all over mostly because of my study and work .
In regards to "clicks" as a word for kilometers, I think it's primarily seen as military lingo here. For the question tag, I think I would use "-huh?" more often than "-right?" I would call those icy treats in the tube an "otter pop" after the brand name. I might still call it a bathroom, but I tend to say restroom if it's public. Toilet is specifically the fixture rather than the room as a whole. Firehouse sounds more old fashioned to me, but I'd still know what it meant. (California)
American, here - Austin, Texas. I agree, clicks is generally a military term that I only knew of because I took JROTC. Also, my grandfather was in the Navy and would call the bathroom a latrine, yet they had a sign on the bathroom door at their home that did say "water closet". As for the popsicles, I might also say ice pop or freezer pop. I'd never use the word firehouse for the fire station. Also, agreed - when I hear the word toilet, I would never think bathroom or restroom, just the fixture. And for that my grandfather would call it the commode.
As a Canadian, the only time I’ve ever heard someone say serviette is if they were speaking in French. I’ve always heard napkin in English. I live in Northern Ontario for reference.
Candian terms for 24 beers: 2-4, A flat, A box of beer, it's very regional. Milk does come in bags but only in a couple of regions, it is not a national thing and yes it's awesome. Had fun watching, keep it up eh!
I’m from Canada and I have never heard “clicks” being used instead of kilometres same with serviette instead it’s napkins. Hydro is used to be a electrical company in Ontario so it’s mostly used there. Also bagged milk is common in Ontario I’ve have never seen bagged milk in stores here in Alberta, however I did see bagged milk at my relatives in Ontario.
Clicks is common, but it comes from watching the digits on the older cars as it says you now traveled one more mile / km... then you would hear the spedometer "click" as it changed from 97,145 to 97,146. That sound in older vehicles made a loud click sound.. so clicks was born... (and there's another word cars? trucks? or vehicles?)
Even in India, soda just relates to a gas filled water as most of the habits and accents were inherited from a British leadership for over a century ! I myself got used to Soda to buy coke in the US 🙂
I am Canadian born and raised (Ontario). I have now lived over half my life in various parts of the US, both North and South and have traveled East and West. I believe Bob's accent/vocabulary is typical of Ontario. One of my sisters has spent the majority of her adult life in northern Newfoundland. I could not understand my nephews over the telephone LOL. Their accent, vocabulary and idioms were very regional. So there can be some very distinct differences in the English language in Canada as you see in the US.
@Samsaknight X Grew up in Toronto until I was 35, then moved to Ottawa for the next 35. We always called the paper ones serviettes and the cloth ones napkins. My parents were older so that might have something to do with it. We also called the couch, the chesterfield. One word they didn't cover was the hard-sided suitcase. We called it a grip. My friends never knew what I was talking about.
@David Ellis and in other parts of the province the influence was Cornwall, Devon, ( southwestern) UK . My wife is from Fogo, Fogo Island, descended from English fisherman and merchants, a different accent they use in Tilting, clearly of Irish -Catholic descent but only about 15 miles away.
In America, we usually distinguish "soda" as what you would call "fizzy drinks," whereas "soda water" exclusively refers to carbonated water. I quite enjoyed this video, and am looking forward to seeing what else is on your channel. Though I was raised to use the Imperial system of measurement, I adopted using Metric in my everyday after living abroad for a number of years. For measuring length and volume it is just so much easier! In the military, we call cigarettes "cancer sticks" and it's almost a badge of honor amongst smokers.
as a Canadian who has lived in the Western provinces, Central, and Eastern. I can agree with all of what Bob said except for "Hydro"; this was uniquely an Ontario term. In every other province I lived in it was called "Electricity" or simply "Power". As an aside, another very regionalized term was for the hooded sweater. Every province in Canada called it a "Hoodie" but Saskatchewan calls it a "Bunny Hug"
In Manitob, ti tis Hydro. The company is a crown corporation called Manitoba Hydro. All the electricity comes from the huge hydro dams up North and most of it is sold to the Americans. The Hydro trucks in Winnipeg all say Hydro. We have our water bill and our hydro bill and the gas (methane) bills to pay monthly. My wife is from Ukraine and they get electric bills. Also she was confused about gas (gasoline) and thought I was filling my car up with natural gas. In Ukraine it is called benzene, which is the main chemical in gasoline. So you fill your car with benzene at the benzene station. My Hydro bill is about $90 per month average , even with the A/C running from May to October.
Yeah, I believe they call it Hydro as it's a Quebec term due to Hydro Quebec which regulates and produces the electricity in the Belle Province. I guess the term has made it's way to Ontario and it just stayed over time.
I'm a native Spanish speaker and I lived in England for twelve years. Then I moved to the US and sometimes it felt like learning a new language. Some people would correct my pronunciation sometimes and I often thought I had mispronounced the word because English is not my first language, but after double checking the pronunciation in a dictionary, I would realise that I had pronounced it with an English accent (herb, nauseous, water, etc)
@titanramfan OH yes. Estar and ser always got me confused. Our teacher was a native Spanish speaker, but she was never able to explain it clearly, at least for my understanding.
@CZcams's Hypocrisy Thats the thing isn't it. We all think we sound "normal" and then when we hear someone who sounds different it sounds completely wrong. It sounds foreign. Either way, I'm right and you're wrong lol.
We have washrooms labeled WC here in Canada as well, but I always assumed it stood for Wash Closet! Hahaha. Also, in Western Canada we usually say power, not hydro. From what I understand hydro is more of an eastern/Ontario thing but I could be wrong
9:25 those were 3 examples of it being used in the exact same way lol. My grandfather was a man of few words, but 90% of them were the word 'eh'. If he wanted something, he'd point and say "Eh!" If he was mad, "EH!" If he asked a question or didn't hear you, "Eh?" Eh could mean yes, it could mean no, it could be a maybe ... it is one of the most versatile words I know, along with the F-Word lol
As a kid growing up in Eastern Canada, we definitely bought our milk in bags, which would slide into a plastic holder, and then just clip a corner of the bag to pour. We also used to have bags of juice, called mini-sips. A smaller version of the bags of milk, but with juice. A staple in schools growing up.
I was born in Toronto and lived there till I was 13, my mother is from London, England and I’ve lived in the southern USA for the past 14 years. This whole video about made me pass out trying to figure out why every single thing you guys said sounded correct 😂
I was born in Saskatchewan, with a mother who came here from the Southern US (North Carolina), and although I never lived in England, I spent enough time there, so I think I know what you mean.
I am Canadian and I call them sneakers 👟. Canada is a very big country with a variety of accents and dialects so I guess it would depend where in Canada you grew up.
9:19 I had a friend from Ontario explain Canadian _eh?_ PERFECTLY. It turns a statement into a very specific question. "Don't you agree?" "Nice weather." Statement. "Nice weather, eh?" = "It's nice weather, _don't you agree?_ "
I think Bob needs to explain that he speaks more for Ontario than he does for Canada, I've lived on both sides of the country and rarely hear some of his stated choice words. Other than that, great video.
@S W Don't be mad, Shane, but you do know that one third of Canadians live in southern Ontario, eh? So, maybe not a majority, but still not a small part of a small part.
I am from Ontario and I say napkin not serviette, power, not hydro and bathroom not washroom and distance is measured more in time and km.for example Ottawa is five hours from Toronto.
Interesting because in French Canada, you get a «serviette» or «serviette de table» in a fancy restaurant (=fabric), and a «napkin» in fast-foods (=paper).
@Mordakk I'm pretty sure they don't say it on the West coast either, having visited AB and BC. I think it's just a Midwest thing running up from WI and MN into Ontario.
@Mordakk Route pronounce " root" or " row-t" ? Garage, as "Garrr-aaaage" or "Gar-age"? Roof as "Ruff" Or " Rooooof?" Fire as " Fy- ER" or " FAAR" ? Y'all? Or You Guys? Soda? Or Pop? ( unless you get to Texas) You want a coke? What kind? Dr Pepper! And when my poor Canadian Daddy asked for TEA in the South, he was apalled that they " ruined a perfectly good pot of tea by pouring it over ICE!😵!!!"
@TaDa Oh I agree. My dad was from El Paso, VERY different accent from Georgia. Or Southern Louisiana/Mississippi for that matter. Down there you hear what I call the "lazy drawl"; they speak really slowly and it sounds like they're half asleep.
On the west coast of Canada - Hydro is Power, I haven't heard the word serviette in many years but it's napkins, Parkade is Parking lot, case of beer is 24 pack
@SilveRose Parkade I've never heard. My husband has never heard it used either. Neither one of us has ever heard or seen "Parkade" in Southern Ontario. "Serviette"? Of course, I use it. I've always called "a paper napkin" bought in large quantities in a plastic bag "a serviette". A fancier paper napkin sold in a box and somewhat larger I call "a paper napkin". "A napkin" for me is a cloth napkin. Damsk napkin?
I agree with Bob on all but - bachelor/bachelorette is when the couple party separately. Jack and Jill or doe and stag if they party together as a couple.
Much of Western Canada would have specific names for the different size packs of beer. 24 is a "flat" of beer, 12 is a "case", and a six pack is just a "six pack". Hard liquor gets specific names too. 40 oz (1.14 L) bottle is called "a forty", a 26 oz (750ml) is called a "two-six" and a 13 oz (375ml) is called a "Mickey"
From Ontario - I always called it brown bread. Then I moved to the Maritimes, and to them "brown bread" means bread made with molasses and it really throws me for a loop.
Very Ontario-centric and him saying “in Canada we say this,” assuming that as someone from Ontario he speaks for all Canadians is what makes much of the rest of Canada resent people from southern Ontario. 😂😂
As a Canadian re: “click”, I’ve never used it or heard it said. Also we’re only a metric country on paper, irl we use an esoteric mixture of imperial and metric. We also say “k” for running like, “I did a 5k race”, and we tend to speak of distance in time like, “it’s a 5 hour drive”, because our country is beyond huge. Americans might do this, too, I’m not sure.
Albertan Canadian here. I'm guessing that Bob is from Ontario or somewhere else in eastern Canada based on his accent (hullo instead of hello) and vocabulary. Just thought I'd share my answers for how we talk out west: Zed Cheque (NOT check) or Bill Running shoes Couch or Sofa Loonie (specifically dollar coin) or Buck (like dollar, not specific to a bill or coin) Pop (although I say Soda, a habit I caught from living in the U.S. for a few years) Kilometer or the less common Click (but often if someone asks for the distance somewhere we just give the answer in time) Stag or Stagette or Bachelor/ Bachelorette Party (I have never heard of a 'Jack and Jill' party, that would confuse me at first) Eh Cigarette or Smoke (dart is not unheard of but not as common) Freezies Homo milk (milk does still come in bags in the eastern provinces but hasn't here out west for decades) Parkade Washroom or bathroom (although bathroom is sort of more like a private home or private room, not public washroom with a bunch of stalls) Fire station Power or Electricity (we don't call it hydro in all provinces, only regions where their power is actually from hydroelectricity) Brown bread or Whole wheat bread Napkin (no one uses serviette where I live) Case of beer (maybe two-four if it's actually 24) And most Canadians say the stereotypical "aboot", I think it's more like "aboat", especially in the eastern half of Canada. Where I live we pretty much say "about" like the word "out".
Re: Sofa. I'm from SE Michigan. It depends on where you're from, but I have mostly used the words sofa and couch. However, my maternal grandparents (born in 1886 and 1900) also used the word Davenport, so I also grew up using all three terms interchangeably...
That was fun to watch- I am British, married to a Canadian, and living in Canada, my husband calls the sofa a 'Chesterfield ' I was confused about 'Parkades' too, and the 'Hydro ' I thought that too meant water and my husband doesn't say "eh" too often! but being from Yorkshire, I say "eh" too in my Yorkshire accent 😄
I love the fact that we in Canada use British spelling which can actually save money. For example, in my province of New Brunswick ( the one officially bilingual one), we use the British spelling of "centre" which is also the French spelling so rather than make 2 signs for "City Center" and then "Centre Ville" we simply put "City Centre Ville". Saves space and money.
Canadian here.....I once ran in a union election and was ridiculed for my "spelling error" on my poster that used an S instead of a Z. I guess due to my British ancestry, I was familiar with a lot of British words and spellings.
I don't get what you're saying. Why would you need two signs to begin with? In the U.S. we would just use "Downtown..." that saves far more space (and money, I guess.)
Perhaps you should include the midwestern and southern US dialects as we have different words or colloquialisms. Someone from Iowa told me he moved the Davenport... I had no idea what he was talking about. He was describing a couch. Then he asked where is the spigot... I was clueless. He was referring to the water fountain for a drink.
Hola, como van?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedan venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfruten de la solidaridad, amabilidad, y fraternidad para con la gente que no gusta de la guerra y sus consecuencias, aqui podras difrutar mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos, felicidades por sus vídeos y que ustedes y los suyos esten bien, sean bienvenidos siempre.
Many different terms for most of these items in America, depending on the region. I grew up in Massachusetts, and a carbonated beverage was called a tonic. Later I moved to Georgia, where it was a soda or a coke. To most of the midwest and northern plains, it's a pop.
I live in Australia and when the beer one came on i was like “24 beers” like we call it that but in actual reality it’s a “24 pack” 😅 just something I say 😅 i also use different terms for the washrooms in my house master washroom is a washroom (because when I hear that term I think toilet, sink, shower) and the other one my brother uses is a bathroom (because I think shower,sink,bath) and then there’s the separate toilet which I call the toilet or the loo or sometimes when I’m tired the poopy wired thing... and the soft drink (fizzy or soda) one we call it a soft drink but when I’m tired or out of it I accidentally call it a soda 😅
11:11 whaaaat? 😮 I'm Canadian and those have always been "freezies" to me. Just thinking about them fills me with nostalgia. Every summer here growing up, us kids would take a break from playing outside in the heat and go inside for a bit to have some freezies. I actually had no idea Brits and Americans call them popsicles. In Canada, the word "popsicle" only refers to a frozen flavoured and sugary treat with a stick in it. Hence the term "popsicle sticks". But freezies don't have sticks in them, they're literally just plastic tubes filled with sweet, frozen, artificially flavoured and coloured syrup 🤣🤣
@D4rk51d332 A"popoicle"is a brand name, isn't it? They used to cost 5 cents when I was young. Kids collected popsicle sticks thrown on the ground around convenience stores and made model houses and castles from them.
@Jason Frary Once as a kid visiting a castle in England (where we moved to briefly) I asked a guy at the concession stand for a "popsicle" and he said he didn't know what that was. When I pointed it out, he still wouldn't sell me one unless I used the "proper" term: ice lolly. What a prick.
This was definitely a lot of fun!! I’m in Ontario & yes, milk does come in bags! It’s my understanding that it’s only in Ontario, however - fellow Canadians, is this correct?? - they come in a bag of 3 individual bags for a total of 4 litres (depending on the brand, but mostly 4), so each bag is 1 1/3 litre. You need a special jug to hold one. We can get milk in cartons, jugs, glass &/or plastic bottles, too, though. Thank you for this video!! Oh, I definitely don’t say “a-boot”, I say “about”.
@Mike Rosborough Thanks. Seems like us Ontarians still prefer this way 🙂, although I actually pour ours into glass milk bottles after I had to buy a litre in one once. Much nicer in those.
Milk in bags was introduced Canada-wide (late 60s/early 70s -?) It didn’t ‘stick’ here in BC. I lived in Ontario for a few years and bought bagged milk zero times.
A lot of what is being presented as Canadian is in fact very regional to Ontario, or perhaps other eastern regions. E.g. if someone said "hydro" to me in the west I would have had no idea what they meant before this video. I would have guessed the water distribution system.
Here in the Philippines, when you say 1k like that, we might get confused because in our English, it means like 1 thousand 😅 We also call this "🥤" soda but its common to say "Softdrinks" and I've never heard pop before
English teachers Rachel and Bob join me today for this vocabulary and accent comparison video: US vs UK vs Canadian English words! 📝 *GET THE FREE LESSON PDF* _here_ 👉🏼 bit.ly/VocabPDF WATCH PART 2 (pronunciation) HERE: bit.ly/UkUsCanACCENTS
📊 *FIND OUT YOUR ENGLISH LEVEL!* _Take my level test here_ 👉🏼 bit.ly/EnglishLevelTest12
👩🏼🏫 *JOIN MY ONLINE ENGLISH COURSES:* englishwithlucy.teachable.com/courses - _We have launched our B1 and B2 Complete English Programmes!_
Congrats for your marriage Lucy!!!
Hello Lucy. I am a 55 year old Indian male. I would like to say that the English educated Indians of my generation generally speak like the British as there was a British influence on our education system. However the millennials speak more like the Americans do. I have only recently come across your CZcams channel and I must admit that I enjoy it. There is so much to learn from you. Thank you.
@donkey kong what ?
English accent, Me learned from Dr. Strange MARVEL .. Dr.Strange Accent real UK.. Yours not . also, Captain America girl Peggy Carter her accent More UK than yours.
I feel so foreign watching this video, it's definitely more southern English as half of these I've never heard being and living in Yorkshire
This was so much fun! Thanks Lucy for inviting me to participate in this awesome English lesson!
I like your talking and explanations, it's very clear
keep up the good job👍
I love you Bob.💝
shhhh, don't tell her about Newfie English.... might give someone a stroke. Lol
@English with Lucy Make sure you include a photo of a roof.
Enjoyed your little additional commentary
American here, originally from Long Island, New York.
I did some research into why we pronounce the letter Z as "zee," rather than "zed" and where the pronunciation originated. Believe it or not, we actually inherited it from England.
At one point in history, "zee" was used as an alternative pronunciation for the letter Z in England. When the English first colonized what is now the United States, the alternative pronunciation made its way over to the colonies, so for a long time, both "zed" and "zee" were used in the U.S., depending on what area a person was from, or if the person inherited the pronunciation from their parents.
"Zed" began to fall out of use in the U.S. when Noah Webster, an American lexicographer, wrote "An American Dictionary of the English Language." In it, he listed the correct pronunciation for the letter Z as "zee." In addition, American music publisher Charles Bradlee, who wrote the A.B.C. (alphabet) song, chose the pronunciation of "zee" because it rhymed with the rest of the song.
Q-R-S
T-U "VEE"
W-X
Y and "ZEE"
These things helped to popularize "zee" to the point that it just became the proper way to pronounce the letter Z in the U.S. and what was taught in every school. There's your history lesson for the day. Now the question remains, why did "zee" fall out of use in British English?
@dianad1968 sorry I was dropped on my head when I was younger
@Aldo Zilli Why such a harsh response? It doesn't take a lot to have a civil discourse.
@Aldo Zilli I never said the historical Celts spoke English.
Do you misinterpret things often? I said American Media has a major influence on the world and that the British Isles have been a historical melting pot for various peoples, do you need everything to be spelled out?
@drewnashty All of that evolution happened before America existed! The Celts (and most of the rest) didn't even speak English! What's your point as it makes no sense regards language evolution? The main evolution change is the US colonies homogenising different English accents into the US variant.
The falling out of Zed is more than likely attritubed to American media/entertainment and influence over the world plus Britain has been a historical melting pot of cultures and languages. From the first peoples to the Brittonic and Gaelic Celts; the Romans; the Angles, Jutes, Saxons and Danes; the Vikings; and then modern immigration, I think British Isles has had one of the most interesting evolution of languages and dialects
We mix both vocabularies in Nigeria, we call an item both British and American names eg, "short knicker" 😀
I'm also Canadian(from Newfoundland), we use most of the same terms as Bob. I think it's more a generational thing though. My mother would use serviette, but I just call them napkins. Hydro can be used but for more common to hear power or electricity. Never ever heard of brown bread though.
I believe it's also refered to as molasses bread. As for Hydro I think it depends on what province you live in or grew up in. BC's power company is BC Hydro so it just gets shortened to hydro. Where as in Nova Scotia it's Nova Scotia Power so it would be weird to call it "Hydro".
It’s also quite strange how right next to Newfoundland, in Côte-Nord, we never call electricity “hydro”. We use that word to talk about Hydro-Québec , which owns the hydroelectric dams (mostly when you’re mad about the power running out, coupled with a bunch of semi-religious slurs). We’d be more inclined to use “courant”, which would translate to power or flow.
Native Québécois here, we use serviette as a french word (it probably is, I don’t think it sounds very English) and where I live, “brown bread” is commonly used in french, but we also have whole wheat bread as an alternative. It’s funny how both languages interchange in different places.
I have never heard anyone in alberta say clicks unless they were a pilot or in that area of occupation
In Alberta we call it brown bread or whole wheat. Usually brown bread.
As a Puerto Rican who speaks both Spanish and English, I can't deny the American influence of our English
I'm surprised the American didn't mention "davenport" as a possibility for a sofa. Also, she should know that in many parts of the southeast people refer to any soda as a "coke".
Rachel's accent is closest to a Northeast one, so a 'coke' wouldn't register
Being a western Canadian I can tell that Bob is somewhere from eastern Canada. In the west we tend to have more American speech influence and less French influence. For example, I rarely ever hear the word serviette. It is always a napkin. I also know from experience that Canadians on the east coast have a large number of variations on their speech that differ from anywhere else in Canada. East coast dialect is where a number of Canadian stereotypes originate from.
I say serviette, and I'm from Edmonton.
@Arctix A place like Alberta only gets 3% of it's electricity from hydroelectricity. (That's less than half of what Ontario gets from Wind for example.) There's 5 provinces get over 90% of their power from hydroelectricity and others like Ontario make a lot, but it's less than half of what comes from nuclear.
Also hydro is an eastern term. Oh and they're only called popsicles if they have a stick shoved in them!
@Michael Fredericks No one in Canada uses the term "chap" and Bob is from SE Ontario, the Niagara Peninsula, so he has a stronger US influence
I’m from Vancouver Island and we use serviette all the time
I wrote lot of English poems,dictums & coinages.After watching your video,I get happiness & feelings come to share words with you all.Sometimes...
im canadian and i say power lines and i say oat milk cause im no baby cow. would interresting to see a 2nd video including australian english
I love how the Canadian guy had a full story for every word and also offered up the US equivalent lol
@Shane Young Ha ha. Very true!
DYM BOB
Yeah those Canadians
I don’t recall using clicks I just say km, I also don’t say eh, we say cigs
I love Bob
Fizzy drinks is literally my favourite version of Soda or Pop. I've heard Fizzy Juice before and I adore that, but I say Soda-pop
(canadian) in saying kilometers, i've never heard "click" or "klick". apparently google says its more common in the military, as it refers to clicking a distance counter of some sort
At 15:00 I wanted to say "Electricity Pylon" but then the conversation quickly turned the actual utility & not the overhead device that transports the power, as shown in the photo.
This was my first “Lucy” video. I was very disappointed by the obvious prejudice against the American accent. Lucy was fawning over the Canadian gentlemen and working very hard to point out the commonality between the Canadian and the British accent. However, when the UK and US had more in common this was conveniently not emphasized in the same manner as it was with the Canadian. As someone who lived 11 years in the UK I was disappointed with her bias.
Actually, in Canada, though distance is officially measured in kilometers, we more often give distances in time (Montreal is five hours from Toronto, rather than Montreal is 540 kilometers from Toronto).
@Heather M i translated quebecois in english and it gived me quebecan so yeah im from quebec and i say quebecois instead of quebecan
@UKINIA KINGDOM EX no one from Quebec would call themselves a quebecan. It’s Quebecois
@Indian Train SR were assuming you drive the speed limit and it’s usually said something like “oh x place is 4-5 hours north of here depending on traffic”
Doeent most peiple?
I've started asking people how many hours it takes to get somewhere so they don't reply with the distance. 🤣 I've been surprised that sometimes they say they don't know. They only know the distance! I'm like, how do you arrive on time, then? 😅
In western Canada we say a lot more Us Canadian mix than Eastern Canada. I never say hydro for electricity. Didn't even know hydro was a thing until I traveled to New Brunswick. Alberta is way different in words and even delivery of power and gas.
BC Call it hydro too.
I love Bob. He really is the epitome of Canadian politeness
@vincent Lefebvre Yes, I was really struck by his very pleasant manner. He’s a great communicator too - crystal clear.
Typical canadian. Unassuming and friendly.
The name of the bird on the Canadian one dollar coin is a LOON--the name of the coin is a LOONIE.
What about a video with Australia added to the mix?
Agree.
Whoops: that's "Thongs" vs "flip-flops". Looks like auto-correct didn't like "thongs".
In Australia, a 24-pack is a ‘slab’
"serviette" is literally just napkin in french
I'm from Western Canada, and call it "power" or "energy" (never hydro). Milk was offered in bags here once upon a time, but not for many years now. Never use "serviette" - it's always a napkin (we have less french influence). Western and Eastern Canada have quite different terms for things. I'm in my 50's and when I was younger, there used to be more of a distinction in speech (we never said "eh" for instance). However, like a lot of places, extensive global exposure has influenced our common language.
@Jameson 123 BC, Ont. and Que.use the word Hydro in place of power, Ontario's primary power company is called Hydro 1. and in Que is called Hydro Quebec
When I saw the picture my first thought was of the "hyrdo tower" (metal stucture) where the "power lines" were hanging from...
It’s really a BC thing because like 87% of our power comes from Hydroelectric power plants and the main power company is called BC Hydro
@Jon Braun Ah, interesting. Not in Alberta :)
You mustn't be on the west coast. On the coast we use hyrdo quite often, or power.
As someone from Canada, and presumably close to where Bob is from as he used Niagara Falls in his example, I can honestly say I’ve never heard someone call the last thing a serviette. It’s always been a napkin.
mostly likely Bob is a Gen X as myself which as a kid most likely used that term. Napkins more commonly used today with the newer gens
@GOT-IIT in quebec we aay napkin a lot due or anglisisation
For those close to Quebec I hear serviette sometimes still. The french word for napkin.
even in quebec we say napkin aw the anglisim
@Plinko McPoyle Agreed with the "eh" bit and the serviette part! I grew up calling it a serviette. I think I mostly call it a napkin now. Most people do, eh? 😉
I love how Bob smiles everytime he's done speaking.
(Edited:Wow so many likes thank you guys)
@Braúlio Nicolau yes, you get it
That's what serial killers do.
@Simbarashe Chiwanga That's right
@quickstep she looks like a Karen
@kevin welsh "Murica!
Bath room is common in Canada but we use washroom
I am Canadian and some of them I say differently then what Bob said. for example I don't say Hydro lines, i call it power lines. I guess it depends on what province you're from. Im from Alberta
If you live in Ontario we say Hydro for electricity bill and anything to do with electricity. Even in Quebec they say Hydro I know friends from Montreal and parts of Quebec they say Hydro too .
im sure hydro come from hydro quebec
@Some Stranger nope BC aswell
I'm from Manitoba (where we use hydro) and we call electricity in general hydro, but not the lines themselves. I'd probably say powerlines. Just a few weeks ago I went to m cottage, and the hydro was out, so I had to call hydro and get them to fix it. It was a problem with the powerline, either a tree or squirrel.
I think only in Ontario where they refer to it as “hydro”.
Regarding the soft drink word options, Rachel missed one. Oftentimes in southern states, people will refer to it as a Coke, no matter what type of drink it is. I grew up in the Midwest and then moved South. Most Midwesterners do say pop, but when you head South, you'll find that people will either say soda or Coke.
Same. Nowadays you ask for the name. I'll have a Seven-Up, Coke, Pepsi, Root-beer, etc.
As a Minnesotan I loved this. A very common stereotype/joke we make around here is that we're the Canadians of America. I like calling our state "Canadia." We definitely lean more American with the words themselves, however, I felt like how the Canadian and our dialect have more in common than the American. Which is funny.
Also, it's a pretty even split between bagged and galloned milk
Just want to say I live in Western Canada and I swear I never use 'eh?' or very very rarely. The Canadian vocabulary is very different depending on area and what socio economic level you grow up in.
I like Bob giving everything a very interesting explanation!
That was quite interesting! I know it's been out for a while, but still I liked it!
I obviously liked to learn the difference in all countries, but as a French Canadian, I really liked to see from which country the French version of those words comes from!
Being from Quebec, Canada, and having french as my first language, I realise we use a mix of the terms from all three countries in english. For example we would use either the term toilet or bathroom,. For us a serviette would be made of fabric and be reusable. If it is disposable we would use napkin. I honestly thought Hydro was particular to Quebec. A popcicle would be on a stick. Beer would come in a six pack or cases if there is 12 or 24. We use Zed but only because it is the same in french. And yes we do get our milk in bags (commonly three bags of 1 liter) or in a carton (1 or 2 liters).
I'm from Alberta and yes a popsicle is on a stick here too.
hilarious :D
This was a great video! I love how clear the Canadian man was! All the comparisons where great!
I'm French Canadian and we call the «serviette» which is French for napkin, napkin most of the time. Seeing that the english canadians say the french word instead of the english word for napkin and we do the opposite is really funny
"serviett" (without the "e" at the end) is the Norwegian word for napkin too LOL
@Annie B. that makes sense, and it mirrors the historical trajectory of english.
@Ian Hruday I would call a cheap paper one a napkin but I would say "serviette de table" if it were a fancier one made of fabric.
There might be a class distinction there, or a generational thing. I usually call it serviette, but I have had people look at me weird when I do that. I'm English Canadian by the way.
I’m a Jamaican now living in Canada. I grew up saying ZED but now say Zee. I remember when Jamaica switched to the metric system in the 80s. So even though we use metric here in Canada, I understand measurements better in imperial so I’m always converting to get a better image in my mind.
I always enjoy these, but I have to say there is so much regional and/or generational difference in the US that frankly you could do an entire series just on those.
Canada is also similar to US in the sense most of the provinces in Canada have different terms they use for specific things, some provinces also have different accents. It's quite amazing and informative.
@Tmwaster Yeah like Bodmin, crackers or doolally.
@KING KRIMSON How different is Alberta English from Ontario English? My mother was from Alberta and my Grandmother moved to Ontario in 1974 from Alberta and they both sounded identical to me frankly. I'm from Ontario. My father pronounced some words differently,. I suppose. My father was from northern New Brunswick. He called "poplars"" populers", for example. A ferry was "a furry".
And the same for England
@Danny Boy I'm up north and like to use "y'all" as part of an insult, such as "yawlaw crazy" or "yawl don' know what yawl's talkin' about." 😁
That was a fun video! I am an American. My girlfriend is Canadian. We had some "fun" with words and pronunciation during my first stay in Canada many years ago. We both swear that it is the other one who has the accent.
You both have an accent lol that is funny though.
Bob is so interesting, he always makes the words easy to understand.
I’m loving this as I’m Canadian, but “me mam” is British, so I’ve felt I walk a weird line in my language choices. I think Hydro is a very Ontario thing, because their electricity is largely generated from water, so abbreviated from hydro-electricity. Where I am in Western Canada I think it would commonly be referred to as just electricity, but I’m wondering if this is some of my mother’s influence because I’ve often referred to it as the “power bill,” “power lines,” or “power failure/power’s out”… also, there may be a tendency to refer to the bills by the names of the service provider, which can get confusing since there’s some variety between electricity providers and natural gas providers, etc. and, some companies provide both, thus offering joint billing for what I would call “power and gas”.
In central Appalachian English I was surprised to have so many similarities with the British English than with either the mainstream American or Canadian.
The central Appalachian region was settled by Northern English and Scottish populations for several hundred years, so I wonder how much that affects the modern situation since the American representative here said that she had only lived in other parts of the country. Very interesting video. I subscribed.
I would enjoy seeing these 3 along side Australian, Kiwi and South African English for comparison of all 6 at once.
@Earl Wyss most definitely we do!
@Papps British colonialism to thank for that. Most of southern Africa speaks English as the business language.
@D Inkster
Different pronunciation, intonation, different vocabulary, different idiom: both got what I call a Southern Hemisphere twang, though.
There is a lot of variation within Australia.
@talantedwiccan I did a student teaching assignment in Harlow Essex England and the gym shoes were called "espadrilles", I believe. It's a French word pronounced as if it were English. ESPADRILLS. That was in 1974. Maybe, the word has changed. We wear jogging shoes in Canada now or walking shoes or joggers. We used to use sneakers. I haven't heard that word in years though. I know runners and running shoes, but I wouldn't use that term. I'd say I"m going to buy a new pair of joggers today.
Hi.
As an Englishman in his 60s we always had ice poles or even ice pops. When Lucy said lolly I immediately thought of something frozen on a stick.
As for pop to describe fizzy drinks. I now live in the Midlands and you do hear pop far more. When I grew up near London in the 1950s and 1960s we always talked about pop.
Finally it was interesting that the word kilometre was written this way under the lady from the USA and the American spelling of kilometer under Lucy.
in the Philippines 🇵🇭
We call this
2:35 zee
6:16 soft drinks
13:10 C.R. (Short for comfort room)
16:36 tissue (napkin is for female monthly period a.k.a pad)
Australian also call soft drinks
This is hilarious. I subscribed. Thanks for this fascinating series.
Don't want to contradict Bob, especially since I'm French Canadian so my first language is not English. But I'm fully bilingual and some of Bob's words for things I never hear around here from native English speakers (I live near Montreal). Serviette is one. Even speaking in French we'll mostly use "napkin" in Quebec although older French Canadians might call it "serviette de table" in French so maybe that's where it comes from in Eastern Canadian English.
Hydro I've never heard to designate electricity. I think that's just an Ontario thing. Power, electricity yes. I would still probably understand hydro as the main company producing electricity in Quebec is Called Hydro-Quebec ;).
A 2-4 I've heard but in French Canadian we'd say "une 24" "a 24". Everyone knows what that is without adding the word "case". Same with a 12. For some reason we'll mostly say "a six pack" thouigh. Weird huh? ;)
In my region of the US, we call the "popsicles" that come in bags "freeze pops" or "freezer pops." To qualify as a popsicle, it has to have a stick.
@Yvette Brisco same. Otter pops is most common around my neck of the US. Freezer pops would tell me what someone meant and a popsicle I would think of the ones with sticks in them that come frozen.
@Eikichi Onizuka Ice pop was the first word that came to my mind. (Southern US)
We also call them freeze pops in the northern U.S
@MagicalOmaha even in Ohio where I'm from it's Kool Pops, Popsicles have to have a stick, my cousins from Licking County 1 County to the south- I call them semi- literate for I was the Red-headed cousin they picked on- Ah Sweet Revenge!- call them Sickles- love to see them try.it near a Hardware Store!
Same. I think Rachel messed up on this one.
CZcams algorithm has brought me here and I absolutely love the video! As a non native English speaker (from Korea) it's very interesting to watch. I have been to all of the 3 countries. If there was Aussie English it would've been more interesting though. Anyway I really enjoyed it. Thank you! :)
Really nice, although i find the differences in pronounciation even more interesting. the most unusual way of speaking seemed the new zealands, like from antoinette emily in her yt channel, when she pronounces many things with the letter E, which sounds like a german I to me actually.
My father was born in British Colonial India and had an Indian inflection, rather than accent. He had a middle class "London" accent, though he had a problem with pronouncing v and w and r and l.
My husband is from Edinburgh and still has that accent after living 45 years in New York.
Nice! I used to have a Canadian teacher in my country El Salvador! It was really good teaching!
I can relate to the British woman's story about soda. When I first moved to London I was in a restaurant and ordered a lemonade, thinking I would get delicious glass of sweetened lemon juice and water, like I would in North America. Imagine my confusion and dismay when I received a glass of Sprite! "I asked for lemonade" I said "This IS lemonade" he said. 🙃
Yeah, I was in London and asked for a root beer and the server laughed at me and said they don't serve alcohol.
@Арсений Федоров Sprite tastes nothing like lemonade, lmao
In the UK, ‘ade’ would imply a carbonated (fizzy) fruit drink, as opposed to a still or flat drink. So, you will always see Orangeade, Lemonade, Cherryade, Strawberryade for example. So if you ask for lemonade, you will get a fizzy lemon drink, like R Whites or 7UP, for instance.
IT IS THE SAME TO TASTE. SPRITE IS CITRIC ACID WITH SUGAR
this is awesome! I love hearing my American friends use different terms words et al - greatvideo!
Hello ! Lucy ! Your channel is awesome , I’m Japanese , I’ve studied abroad in US and lived in Australia , and English major . How interesting western English speakers can be so different . Like a dialect. In Japan , we learn American English from young age . But I met British, Canadian , all over mostly because of my study and work .
In regards to "clicks" as a word for kilometers, I think it's primarily seen as military lingo here.
For the question tag, I think I would use "-huh?" more often than "-right?"
I would call those icy treats in the tube an "otter pop" after the brand name.
I might still call it a bathroom, but I tend to say restroom if it's public. Toilet is specifically the fixture rather than the room as a whole.
Firehouse sounds more old fashioned to me, but I'd still know what it meant.
(California)
@Shannon Wallschlaeger I was in the Navy too, but we called the bathroom "the head."
American, here - Austin, Texas. I agree, clicks is generally a military term that I only knew of because I took JROTC. Also, my grandfather was in the Navy and would call the bathroom a latrine, yet they had a sign on the bathroom door at their home that did say "water closet". As for the popsicles, I might also say ice pop or freezer pop. I'd never use the word firehouse for the fire station. Also, agreed - when I hear the word toilet, I would never think bathroom or restroom, just the fixture. And for that my grandfather would call it the commode.
As a Canadian, the only time I’ve ever heard someone say serviette is if they were speaking in French. I’ve always heard napkin in English. I live in Northern Ontario for reference.
In manitoba, my parents called them serviettes when I was a kid in the 70s
I think people say serviette less then they did a few generations ago
@KaiserSoze679 not regional, I think, but temporal. Older Canadians used serviettes in restaurants.
I'm from Alberta, the only time I have heard or used serviette. Is when you get those wet napkins for cleaning your fingers when eating ribs.
@D Inkster No she sounded very much British
Candian terms for 24 beers: 2-4, A flat, A box of beer, it's very regional. Milk does come in bags but only in a couple of regions, it is not a national thing and yes it's awesome. Had fun watching, keep it up eh!
I’m from Canada and I have never heard “clicks” being used instead of kilometres same with serviette instead it’s napkins. Hydro is used to be a electrical company in Ontario so it’s mostly used there. Also bagged milk is common in Ontario I’ve have never seen bagged milk in stores here in Alberta, however I did see bagged milk at my relatives in Ontario.
I never heard of clicks and I'm canadian
Clicks is common, but it comes from watching the digits on the older cars as it says you now traveled one more mile / km... then you would hear the spedometer "click" as it changed from 97,145 to 97,146. That sound in older vehicles made a loud click sound.. so clicks was born... (and there's another word cars? trucks? or vehicles?)
Even in India, soda just relates to a gas filled water as most of the habits and accents were inherited from a British leadership for over a century ! I myself got used to Soda to buy coke in the US 🙂
I love your accent, diction, clarity, and most of all articulation.
I am Canadian born and raised (Ontario). I have now lived over half my life in various parts of the US, both North and South and have traveled East and West. I believe Bob's accent/vocabulary is typical of Ontario. One of my sisters has spent the majority of her adult life in northern Newfoundland. I could not understand my nephews over the telephone LOL. Their accent, vocabulary and idioms were very regional.
So there can be some very distinct differences in the English language in Canada as you see in the US.
@Mr Jake Mallard Lol.
@Jaylynn Genereaux Ive been to Belleville and Trenton. Never been to all that jazz
@Potts Yea that def has to be it. Also I grew up around a lot of hood men kind of so swift slang too
@Samsaknight X Grew up in Toronto until I was 35, then moved to Ottawa for the next 35. We always called the paper ones serviettes and the cloth ones napkins. My parents were older so that might have something to do with it. We also called the couch, the chesterfield. One word they didn't cover was the hard-sided suitcase. We called it a grip. My friends never knew what I was talking about.
@David Ellis and in other parts of the province the influence was Cornwall, Devon, ( southwestern) UK . My wife is from Fogo, Fogo Island, descended from English fisherman and merchants, a different accent they use in Tilting, clearly of Irish -Catholic descent but only about 15 miles away.
This was awesome!! I love this kind of stuff… I’m happy I clicked on it! I’ll definitely come again.🥰
In America, we usually distinguish "soda" as what you would call "fizzy drinks," whereas "soda water" exclusively refers to carbonated water. I quite enjoyed this video, and am looking forward to seeing what else is on your channel.
Though I was raised to use the Imperial system of measurement, I adopted using Metric in my everyday after living abroad for a number of years. For measuring length and volume it is just so much easier!
In the military, we call cigarettes "cancer sticks" and it's almost a badge of honor amongst smokers.
as a Canadian who has lived in the Western provinces, Central, and Eastern. I can agree with all of what Bob said except for "Hydro"; this was uniquely an Ontario term. In every other province I lived in it was called "Electricity" or simply "Power".
As an aside, another very regionalized term was for the hooded sweater. Every province in Canada called it a "Hoodie" but Saskatchewan calls it a "Bunny Hug"
In Manitob, ti tis Hydro. The company is a crown corporation called Manitoba Hydro. All the electricity comes from the huge hydro dams up North and most of it is sold to the Americans. The Hydro trucks in Winnipeg all say Hydro. We have our water bill and our hydro bill and the gas (methane) bills to pay monthly. My wife is from Ukraine and they get electric bills. Also she was confused about gas (gasoline) and thought I was filling my car up with natural gas. In Ukraine it is called benzene, which is the main chemical in gasoline. So you fill your car with benzene at the benzene station.
My Hydro bill is about $90 per month average , even with the A/C running from May to October.
Yeah, I believe they call it Hydro as it's a Quebec term due to Hydro Quebec which regulates and produces the electricity in the Belle Province. I guess the term has made it's way to Ontario and it just stayed over time.
Cool video. It was fascinating to hear the difference of words
I'm a native Spanish speaker and I lived in England for twelve years. Then I moved to the US and sometimes it felt like learning a new language. Some people would correct my pronunciation sometimes and I often thought I had mispronounced the word because English is not my first language, but after double checking the pronunciation in a dictionary, I would realise that I had pronounced it with an English accent (herb, nauseous, water, etc)
@titanramfan OH yes. Estar and ser always got me confused. Our teacher was a native Spanish speaker, but she was never able to explain it clearly, at least for my understanding.
i dont correct such sounds
@Oscar Martinez "would realize "because it was multiple cases not just one instance
@David Ribeiro Inherited implies ownership. English is still owned by the English, though it is used throughout the world.
@CZcams's Hypocrisy Thats the thing isn't it. We all think we sound "normal" and then when we hear someone who sounds different it sounds completely wrong. It sounds foreign. Either way, I'm right and you're wrong lol.
We have washrooms labeled WC here in Canada as well, but I always assumed it stood for Wash Closet! Hahaha. Also, in Western Canada we usually say power, not hydro. From what I understand hydro is more of an eastern/Ontario thing but I could be wrong
9:25 those were 3 examples of it being used in the exact same way lol. My grandfather was a man of few words, but 90% of them were the word 'eh'. If he wanted something, he'd point and say "Eh!" If he was mad, "EH!" If he asked a question or didn't hear you, "Eh?" Eh could mean yes, it could mean no, it could be a maybe ... it is one of the most versatile words I know, along with the F-Word lol
As a kid growing up in Eastern Canada, we definitely bought our milk in bags, which would slide into a plastic holder, and then just clip a corner of the bag to pour.
We also used to have bags of juice, called mini-sips. A smaller version of the bags of milk, but with juice. A staple in schools growing up.
Would love to see the same with French and Canadian French :D
@Marek Zmazur Also, our french is a lot more similar to the old french. The one french that changed is yours, we have old sayings and vocabulary.
@Marek Zmazur brah look at your name and try to judge our french.
It’s pointless. Québécois French is like Jamaicans speaking English. 😹
I was born in Toronto and lived there till I was 13, my mother is from London, England and I’ve lived in the southern USA for the past 14 years. This whole video about made me pass out trying to figure out why every single thing you guys said sounded correct 😂
Thanks for watching, send a direct message right away on the above⬆⬆ number for more enlightenment❤
I was born in Saskatchewan, with a mother who came here from the Southern US (North Carolina), and although I never lived in England, I spent enough time there, so I think I know what you mean.
I am Canadian and I call them sneakers 👟. Canada is a very big country with a variety of accents and dialects so I guess it would depend
where in Canada you grew up.
9:19 I had a friend from Ontario explain Canadian _eh?_ PERFECTLY. It turns a statement into a very specific question. "Don't you agree?"
"Nice weather." Statement.
"Nice weather, eh?" = "It's nice weather, _don't you agree?_ "
Never heard of serviette... Very interesting and informative as well! Thanks.
You're all funny , thank you so much for the video.
I think Bob needs to explain that he speaks more for Ontario than he does for Canada, I've lived on both sides of the country and rarely hear some of his stated choice words. Other than that, great video.
@D Inkster Flying is shorter if you live near the airport :) longer by bus because it would stop in every town along the way...
@S W Don't be mad, Shane, but you do know that one third of Canadians live in southern Ontario, eh? So, maybe not a majority, but still not a small part of a small part.
@MTL Which is why it's usually called a "feminine napkin," so you don't wipe your face with it:)
@Maggie Mclaren Shorter if you fly or longer? Shorter by bus or longer?
I am from Ontario and I say napkin not serviette, power, not hydro and bathroom not washroom and distance is measured more in time and km.for example Ottawa is five hours from Toronto.
Interesting because in French Canada, you get a «serviette» or «serviette de table» in a fancy restaurant (=fabric), and a «napkin» in fast-foods (=paper).
Hello Lucy.
Am glad to learn English language with you.
THX... cool to see the effects and influences we have on our respective vocabularies
You can't " American" , without doing Southern vs Northern. Big difference.💞
@Jonny B. Goode no we do not say it on the west coast either hahaha
@Mordakk I'm pretty sure they don't say it on the West coast either, having visited AB and BC. I think it's just a Midwest thing running up from WI and MN into Ontario.
@Mordakk Route pronounce " root" or " row-t" ? Garage, as "Garrr-aaaage" or "Gar-age"? Roof as "Ruff" Or " Rooooof?" Fire as " Fy- ER" or " FAAR" ? Y'all? Or You Guys? Soda? Or Pop? ( unless you get to Texas) You want a coke? What kind? Dr Pepper! And when my poor Canadian Daddy asked for TEA in the South, he was apalled that they " ruined a perfectly good pot of tea by pouring it over ICE!😵!!!"
Same with Canadian English we don't say aboot on the east coast.
@TaDa Oh I agree. My dad was from El Paso, VERY different accent from Georgia. Or Southern Louisiana/Mississippi for that matter. Down there you hear what I call the "lazy drawl"; they speak really slowly and it sounds like they're half asleep.
Interesting. Half of the stuff Bob says is so different than what I'm used to hear for almost 3 decades living here.
On the west coast of Canada - Hydro is Power, I haven't heard the word serviette in many years but it's napkins, Parkade is Parking lot, case of beer is 24 pack
@D Inkster ahhh i see, yeah pretty much everyone i know is lazy like me and just use “napkin” for every napkin variation :p
@SilveRose Parkade I've never heard. My husband has never heard it used either. Neither one of us has ever heard or seen "Parkade" in Southern Ontario. "Serviette"? Of course, I use it. I've always called "a paper napkin" bought in large quantities in a plastic bag "a serviette". A fancier paper napkin sold in a box and somewhat larger I call "a paper napkin". "A napkin" for me is a cloth napkin. Damsk napkin?
@JabbatheHut we’re very similar to American English in Alberta too!
I agree with Bob on all but - bachelor/bachelorette is when the couple party separately. Jack and Jill or doe and stag if they party together as a couple.
Much of Western Canada would have specific names for the different size packs of beer. 24 is a "flat" of beer, 12 is a "case", and a six pack is just a "six pack". Hard liquor gets specific names too. 40 oz (1.14 L) bottle is called "a forty", a 26 oz (750ml) is called a "two-six" and a 13 oz (375ml) is called a "Mickey"
I liked the differences for each words between US, Canadian and UK .. Greetings!
In Ukraine in school, a long time ago, we learned English and my teacher always used to say "zed" I was surprised to hear Americans say "zee"
From Ontario - I always called it brown bread. Then I moved to the Maritimes, and to them "brown bread" means bread made with molasses and it really throws me for a loop.
Bob is from Southern Ontario. All of Bob's sayings were Ontario-centric (including his southern ontario accent).
Very Ontario-centric and him saying “in Canada we say this,” assuming that as someone from Ontario he speaks for all Canadians is what makes much of the rest of Canada resent people from southern Ontario. 😂😂
My parents say serviette. I say napkin.
Ontario calls it stags and does. In western Canada we call it a bachelor out bachelorette party
@Beast Same in US where I live. We say napkin. Rarely do we see cloth napkins except in fancy restaurants or sometimes for formal dinners at home.
@Joad Breslin lol... glad I could help eh! ✌
As a Canadian re: “click”, I’ve never used it or heard it said. Also we’re only a metric country on paper, irl we use an esoteric mixture of imperial and metric. We also say “k” for running like, “I did a 5k race”, and we tend to speak of distance in time like, “it’s a 5 hour drive”, because our country is beyond huge. Americans might do this, too, I’m not sure.
Albertan Canadian here. I'm guessing that Bob is from Ontario or somewhere else in eastern Canada based on his accent (hullo instead of hello) and vocabulary. Just thought I'd share my answers for how we talk out west:
Zed
Cheque (NOT check) or Bill
Running shoes
Couch or Sofa
Loonie (specifically dollar coin) or Buck (like dollar, not specific to a bill or coin)
Pop (although I say Soda, a habit I caught from living in the U.S. for a few years)
Kilometer or the less common Click (but often if someone asks for the distance somewhere we just give the answer in time)
Stag or Stagette or Bachelor/ Bachelorette Party (I have never heard of a 'Jack and Jill' party, that would confuse me at first)
Eh
Cigarette or Smoke (dart is not unheard of but not as common)
Freezies
Homo milk (milk does still come in bags in the eastern provinces but hasn't here out west for decades)
Parkade
Washroom or bathroom (although bathroom is sort of more like a private home or private room, not public washroom with a bunch of stalls)
Fire station
Power or Electricity (we don't call it hydro in all provinces, only regions where their power is actually from hydroelectricity)
Brown bread or Whole wheat bread
Napkin (no one uses serviette where I live)
Case of beer (maybe two-four if it's actually 24)
And most Canadians say the stereotypical "aboot", I think it's more like "aboat", especially in the eastern half of Canada. Where I live we pretty much say "about" like the word "out".
Re: Sofa. I'm from SE Michigan. It depends on where you're from, but I have mostly used the words sofa and couch. However, my maternal grandparents (born in 1886 and 1900) also used the word Davenport, so I also grew up using all three terms interchangeably...
That was fun to watch- I am British, married to a Canadian, and living in Canada, my husband calls the sofa a 'Chesterfield ' I was confused about 'Parkades' too, and the 'Hydro ' I thought that too meant water and my husband doesn't say "eh" too often! but being from Yorkshire, I say "eh" too in my Yorkshire accent 😄
A chesterfield is more formal, usually with tufted buttons. It is it's own style.
I love the fact that we in Canada use British spelling which can actually save money. For example, in my province of New Brunswick ( the one officially bilingual one), we use the British spelling of "centre" which is also the French spelling so rather than make 2 signs for "City Center" and then "Centre Ville" we simply put "City Centre Ville". Saves space and money.
@tazztower44 I didn't know that. Thank you, Tazz! :)
@Ch Kl because you need the sign in both french and english
Canadian here.....I once ran in a union election and was ridiculed for my "spelling error" on my poster that used an S instead of a Z. I guess due to my British ancestry, I was familiar with a lot of British words and spellings.
I don't get what you're saying. Why would you need two signs to begin with? In the U.S. we would just use "Downtown..." that saves far more space (and money, I guess.)
@TheAuthorIsNotDead exactly
Perhaps you should include the midwestern and southern US dialects as we have different words or colloquialisms. Someone from Iowa told me he moved the Davenport... I had no idea what he was talking about. He was describing a couch. Then he asked where is the spigot... I was clueless. He was referring to the water fountain for a drink.
Hola, como van?, Los mejores y más cordiales Saludos desde puente piedra, lima, Perú, ojalá que puedan venir en algún momento a mi país y que disfruten de la solidaridad, amabilidad, y fraternidad para con la gente que no gusta de la guerra y sus consecuencias, aqui podras difrutar mucho de todo por aquí, con la familia y los amigos,
felicidades por sus vídeos y que ustedes y los suyos esten bien, sean bienvenidos siempre.
Many different terms for most of these items in America, depending on the region. I grew up in Massachusetts, and a carbonated beverage was called a tonic. Later I moved to Georgia, where it was a soda or a coke. To most of the midwest and northern plains, it's a pop.
I live in Australia and when the beer one came on i was like “24 beers” like we call it that but in actual reality it’s a “24 pack” 😅 just something I say 😅 i also use different terms for the washrooms in my house master washroom is a washroom (because when I hear that term I think toilet, sink, shower) and the other one my brother uses is a bathroom (because I think shower,sink,bath) and then there’s the separate toilet which I call the toilet or the loo or sometimes when I’m tired the poopy wired thing... and the soft drink (fizzy or soda) one we call it a soft drink but when I’m tired or out of it I accidentally call it a soda 😅
11:11 whaaaat? 😮 I'm Canadian and those have always been "freezies" to me. Just thinking about them fills me with nostalgia. Every summer here growing up, us kids would take a break from playing outside in the heat and go inside for a bit to have some freezies. I actually had no idea Brits and Americans call them popsicles. In Canada, the word "popsicle" only refers to a frozen flavoured and sugary treat with a stick in it. Hence the term "popsicle sticks". But freezies don't have sticks in them, they're literally just plastic tubes filled with sweet, frozen, artificially flavoured and coloured syrup 🤣🤣
@supermash1 He's helping you learn to speak proper British English. You should be grateful.
@D4rk51d332 A"popoicle"is a brand name, isn't it? They used to cost 5 cents when I was young. Kids collected popsicle sticks thrown on the ground around convenience stores and made model houses and castles from them.
@Jason Frary Once as a kid visiting a castle in England (where we moved to briefly) I asked a guy at the concession stand for a "popsicle" and he said he didn't know what that was. When I pointed it out, he still wouldn't sell me one unless I used the "proper" term: ice lolly. What a prick.
For me i have always called the Freeze Pops or Freezie Pops.
@No One LOLAS!!! Omg 😳 I loved grape Lolas 😄
This was definitely a lot of fun!! I’m in Ontario & yes, milk does come in bags! It’s my understanding that it’s only in Ontario, however - fellow Canadians, is this correct?? - they come in a bag of 3 individual bags for a total of 4 litres (depending on the brand, but mostly 4), so each bag is 1 1/3 litre. You need a special jug to hold one. We can get milk in cartons, jugs, glass &/or plastic bottles, too, though. Thank you for this video!! Oh, I definitely don’t say “a-boot”, I say “about”.
@Mike Rosborough Thanks. Seems like us Ontarians still prefer this way 🙂, although I actually pour ours into glass milk bottles after I had to buy a litre in one once. Much nicer in those.
We used to get our milk in bags in BC when I was a kid (in the 70s-80s).
@Susan Anderson Interesting, thanks!
Milk in bags was introduced Canada-wide (late 60s/early 70s -?) It didn’t ‘stick’ here in BC. I lived in Ontario for a few years and bought bagged milk zero times.
A lot of what is being presented as Canadian is in fact very regional to Ontario, or perhaps other eastern regions. E.g. if someone said "hydro" to me in the west I would have had no idea what they meant before this video. I would have guessed the water distribution system.
Here in the Philippines, when you say 1k like that, we might get confused because in our English, it means like 1 thousand 😅
We also call this "🥤" soda but its common to say "Softdrinks" and I've never heard pop before