Ortac Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 1 minute ago, arekathevampyre said: also , can anyone tell me the difference between Canadian French and the French from France ? I think the differences between British English and American English make a pretty reasonable comparison. Different accents, some words and terms are different, but overall the same language and we can understand each other no problem. Link to post Share on other sites
Ortac Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 2 minutes ago, arekathevampyre said: Yup . How did you know ? 😮 From your description. It is the only country I know that is an island, a country and a city all in one. Link to post Share on other sites
TheAP Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 24 minutes ago, arekathevampyre said: also , can anyone tell me the difference between Canadian French and the French from France ? I think French from France tends to be more "proper" and relies less on slang and English loanwords. Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 1 hour ago, TheAP said: I think French from France tends to be more "proper" and relies less on slang and English loanwords. Brits would probably say the same about British English (except change "English loanwords" to "American loanwords"), compared to American English (and Canadian English?). I would say both are proper, just different. And all living languages, at least as spoken/written by most people, incorporate loanwords. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 12 minutes ago, daveb said: 1 hour ago, TheAP said: I think French from France tends to be more "proper" and relies less on slang and English loanwords. Brits would probably say the same about British English (except change "English loanwords" to "American loanwords"), compared to American English (and Canadian English?). I would say both are proper, just different. And all living languages, at least as spoken/written by most people, incorporate loanwords. With English, it's more like this: Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 I've encountered that quote many times. I know it's meant to be humorous, but I kind of don't like it because of the violence it portrays. English is a flexible and thriving language that does incorporate words from all sorts of sources. (anyway, this is getting off-topic and is probably opening a can of worms that should go in it's own thread (in hotbox?)) Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 20 minutes ago, daveb said: I've encountered that quote many times. I know it's meant to be humorous, but I kind of don't like it because of the violence it portrays. English is a flexible and thriving language that does incorporate words from all sorts of sources. (anyway, this is getting off-topic and is probably opening a can of worms that should go in it's own thread (in hotbox?)) While I agree with you on the violence thing, it still pretty accurate. English currently has the largest word base on the planet precisely because it's constantly picking up new words from other languages and incorporating them into the lexicon. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 Fun facts about my country: long before the Vikings/Chinese/Irish Monks/Columbus - take your pick - ever sailed the ocean blue, people walked across a land bridge and the ice in the far north and started filtering into what is now North, Central, and South Americas. Where I live, the Spanish found peoples known collectively as the Pueblo Indians, which in reality represent about 4 to 5 different languages and cultures, not including the Na Dine (bka the Navajo) People. Navajo is actually part of the Athabaskan language found in Canada. Link to post Share on other sites
Ortac Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 4 hours ago, TheAP said: I think French from France tends to be more "proper" and relies less on slang and English loanwords. That is true to an extent, but the situation is actually much more complex than that, and I could write a whole essay about it. There are some situations where the Canadian version of the language has remained more pure. For example, in France we use the English word Selfie, whereas in Québec, not wanting yet another English word to contaminate their language, they opted to use the word Égoportrait. In France, we have hot dogs. In Québec, they have chiens chauds. And there is also the famous Québécois stop sign. In France and all other French speaking countries, the octagonal red stop signs show the word “STOP”, whereas in Québec, they read “ARRÊT”. 2 hours ago, daveb said: Brits would probably say the same about British English (except change "English loanwords" to "American loanwords"), compared to American English (and Canadian English?). I would say both are proper, just different. And all living languages, at least as spoken/written by most people, incorporate loanwords. I agree. No one version of the language is better or more correct than the other. I get irritated by some people who seem to think otherwise! I have heard some Brits moan about the use of the word fall instead of autumn, believing fall to be an Americanism and degradation of English. Well, I’ve got news for them! The word fall was an old English word used in England a couple of centuries ago before the word was replaced with autumn. It was the English that changed the language, not the Americans! Link to post Share on other sites
Scott1989 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 5 hours ago, arekathevampyre said: ah now I get it !! How about tobacco products ? Just wondering because though I don't smoke , I realise that the pricing of tobacco products (including rolling papers) are increasing . Lighters are still cheap though haha Think they are just age restricted (18 now) but no minimum price but thibk they are expensive (like £10+ for a pack of 10). Link to post Share on other sites
Tyke Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 1 hour ago, Ortac said: The word fall was an old English word used in England a couple of centuries ago before the word was replaced with autumn. It was the English that changed the language, not the Americans! You mean that we Brits improved the language and Americans failed to follow suit? Ok, fair enough. Link to post Share on other sites
XYZ96 Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 - it isn't illegal here to escape/flee prison (you'll still be brought back to prison if you still have time to serve though) - the earliest known magazine was written here, some many many years ago - there's a snack, popular mostly with children, that is basically a marshmallow squished between two halves of a bread roll, it might sound weird, or even disgusting, but it is great - we have a city that called "Essen" which is also the word for "food" and if you don't care about capital and lowercase letters, it's also the word for "eat", so "eating food in Essen" translates the "Essen essen in Essen" - we also have a region called "Baden" which, if you you don't care about capital or lowercase letters, is also the word for "bathe", in that region is a city called "Baden-Baden", so if you want to say "bathing in Baden-Baden in Baden" you'd say "Baden in Baden-Baden in Baden" and because I technically have more then one country, here are some facts to a country I'm a citizen of, but have never lived in Spoiler - it's a monarchy, and it's monarch lives on another continent - there are two ways to get citizenship at birth, a) be born there b) be the offspring of someone who was born there (if you are however the offspring of someone who was born there, but weren't yourself born there, then your offspring will only be citizens if they are born there) - you can order a picture of the Monarch from the government for free if you ask (and live there)... Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 3 hours ago, fuzzipueo said: While I agree with you on the violence thing, it still pretty accurate. English currently has the largest word base on the planet precisely because it's constantly picking up new words from other languages and incorporating them into the lexicon. There's an implied value judgement, that somehow it's bad or wrong to adopt words from other languages, and that rubs me the wrong way. And the flip side that a language that doesn't do that or fights against it is somehow more "pure". I think there is also a bit of an inferiority complex among those who protest that their version of a language is "better". 42 minutes ago, Midland Tyke said: You mean that we Brits improved the language and Americans failed to follow suit? Ok, fair enough. Not at all. Webster improved a lot of the spelling (and that is absolutely a value judgement). American English has also coined or adopted a lot words over the years. Sorry, but English is a living language and the various forms of English spoken around the world change and evolve, including British English. Link to post Share on other sites
Tyke Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 3 minutes ago, daveb said: There's an implied value judgement, that somehow it's bad or wrong to adopt words from other languages, and that rubs me the wrong way. And the flip side that a language that doesn't do that or fights against it is somehow more "pure". I think there is also a bit of an inferiority complex among those who protest that their version of a language is "better". Not at all. Webster improved a lot of the spelling (and that is absolutely a value judgement). American English has also coined or adopted a lot words over the years. Sorry, but English is a living language and the various forms of English spoken around the world change and evolve, including British English. I'm sure you appreciate I was just being playful. I agree entirely that language must evolve, borrow, steal wherever it can make a difference. English has always been good at this, partly because of it's structure, but to a large degree because it has mostly been spoken in places with a history of either colonising or accepting immigrants from all places. i.e. places where cultures collide. It's always amused me that there is a 'keep French pure' campaign, when English has something like 50% more words than French. So, to my thinking, must be so much richer. Having said that, there are some American usages that just grate with what I was taught all those years ago, and it's hard to give way. Here's two involving the same word - "of". "A couple days", will always sound better(to me) for the addition of an 'of' - A couple of days. whereas "Get off of the grass", doesn't need one. Just get of the grass does the job. Link to post Share on other sites
Palovana Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 15 hours ago, notfeelingit98 said: Czechs love ice hockey. And I mean LOOOOOVE. I need to move to Czech Republic ASAP. I guess that it explains why there are so many Czechs in the NHL considering it's a tiny country compared to Canada and US. Link to post Share on other sites
TheAP Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 By the way, I didn't mean to say that any version of a language was "better" than any other, or that using loanwords was bad. By proper, I didn't mean "the proper way to speak the language", but more proper as in "prim and proper". Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 4 minutes ago, Midland Tyke said: I'm sure you appreciate I was just being playful. Yep (sorry for the Americanism ) I do object to words like "steal" when it comes to incorporating words from one language into another. Even if it's mostly used in a playful way. It's been a couple of days since I yelled "get off of my grass!" Link to post Share on other sites
Tyke Posted November 30, 2017 Share Posted November 30, 2017 2 minutes ago, daveb said: It's been a couple of days since I yelled "get off of my grass!" looks like I'll have to settle for one out of two. (One from two? One for two?) Link to post Share on other sites
Ortac Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Another fact: France has one of the two places with the shortest place name in the world, a small village with only a tiny number of inhabitants which is named 'Y'. The people who live there are called 'Ypsoliens'. Link to post Share on other sites
arekathevampyre Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, Ortac said: Another fact: France has one of the two places with the shortest place name in the world, a small village with only a tiny number of inhabitants which is named 'Y'. The people who live there are called 'Ypsoliens'. 😸 awww 😍 Link to post Share on other sites
arekathevampyre Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 8 hours ago, Scott1989 said: Think they are just age restricted (18 now) but no minimum price but thibk they are expensive (like £10+ for a pack of 10). I guess ours is around the same Link to post Share on other sites
arekathevampyre Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 this thread is making me smile Link to post Share on other sites
Sally Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 11 hours ago, daveb said: . (anyway, this is getting off-topic and is probably opening a can of worms that should go in it's own thread (in hotbox?)) I'm trying to visualize a can of worms stuffed into a thread and wrapped up in a hot box. Unfun fact about my country: It is ruled by an idiot. Link to post Share on other sites
arekathevampyre Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 32 minutes ago, Sally said: It is ruled by an idiot. haha . I think I know where you are from !! WARNING : NSFW https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=e-yvVVye0ds Link to post Share on other sites
paperbackreader Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 19 hours ago, arekathevampyre said: Russia ? (omg please don’t kill me) Nope but that's made me laugh lol thanks. I'm your neighbour!! :-) 18 hours ago, Midland Tyke said: I can give three different answers to "where do you come from" and they are all correct. And they are all country names, broadly speaking. IT ANNOYS ME EVERYTIME I HAVE TO USE COUNTRY LISTS because you potentiallh have to try 3 separate ones before finding the one you need 18 hours ago, Midland Tyke said: 18 hours ago, Rhaenys said: - Those blue seas, white sand bs y'all see on any fking thing that mentions the Caribbean only applies to the North coast of my island and the smaller island. The western coast where I live is industrial so the beach waters are brown. - Nicki Minaj was born on my island. Rihanna is not from my island kthanxbye - My island's culture is very laid back. Lateness is part of my culture for ffs. - We used to be a part of Venezuela before the land bridge sunk. - People say our accents sounds musical. - We speak Creole english which is just a broken dialect of English. Th > D sounds. Sometimes we ignore R sounds. We usually keep stuff in the present tense which is a mistake I make on here often. Oh yes! And your country makes angostura bitters too, one of my cupboard staples! Being laid back about time is part of my country's culture too... 16 hours ago, Ortac said: My country is often referred to by its inhabitants as «The Hexagon» because apparently it looks like one on the map. Sorry, this just gave me flashbacks of playing settlers of catan hahaha Link to post Share on other sites
arekathevampyre Posted December 1, 2017 Author Share Posted December 1, 2017 38 minutes ago, paperbackreader said: Nope but that's made me laugh lol thanks. I'm your neighbour!! :-) hmm ... too many neighbouring countries .. Thailand ? Malaysia ? Indonesia ? Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 -We love our poutine, but when we talk about to foreigners we often get the same shocked look. If not familiar, its fries, cheese curds and gravy on top of it. Gravy has to be dark and smooth, and curds thick and generously provided or you're eating subpar stuff. -We apologize. A lot. The running joke about a Canadian is if you anger one, they will write a disgruntled letter. -We are very polite. Its almost comical when you see two people trying to let each other in, and doing that dance you do when you can't figure out who's first. Guaranteed you will have both apologize, afterwards. At the same time! -We love our hockey. Our hockey superstars, are often seen as local heroes. -We don't have free health care. Its just covered by our taxes, which we happen to pay for. -Canadians have a very self-deprecating sense of humor. Odds are if you poke fun at our country, we'll likely laugh, agree or point to the fact our flag has a leaf on it. I guess part of it has to do with the fact we know how great this country is, but we have humility built into us. Being cocky here, is frowned upon. Especially in sports. -We're known across the globe for our maple syrup. Delicious on pancakes, or on its own. However, just about all Canadian kids remember having it thicken, and rolled onto snow on a popsicle stick. This is divine. -No. We don't all go around saying "Eh" all the time. -We love our Timmies (Tim Horton's). Lineups in the morning for people wanting their drive through coffee usually backlog traffic. I can honestly say their coffee tastes like shit, though. However, some love their soups, doughnuts or sandwiches which they're also famous for. McDonald's and many others, haven't come close to matching their breakfast time success (one of the more lucrative time of the day for fast food), due to how ingrained it is in our culture. It was started by a hockey player. -We pride ourselves on our very multicultural country. You can't go to any major city without seeing that very influence. -Shinny. I can't think of anywhere else I've been to that has something similar. You show up at a hockey rink with a stick and skates. Doesn't matter your age, race or any of that. You're instantly included on a team and get to play. -Our prime minister is bilingual and speaks French and English, as to many others in our country. Link to post Share on other sites
Rhaenys Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 2 hours ago, paperbackreader said: Oh yes! And your country makes angostura bitters too, one of my cupboard staples! Being laid back about time is part of my country's culture too... Up to now I don't even know what that is for. Angostura makes a drink called LLB that I love. Link to post Share on other sites
Yatogami Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 Flags...flags everywhere. So. Much. Sugar. In everything. Lots of space, lots of cars, and lots of freedom. America has every type of ecosystem. Every state has it's own street cred, that you will be subject to if you travel. People will always brag about how many states they've been to. Football is a religion. Link to post Share on other sites
Ortac Posted December 1, 2017 Share Posted December 1, 2017 2 minutes ago, Yato said: People will always brag about how many states they've been to. I've been to ten! And I'm not even American! Link to post Share on other sites
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