Any Britishisms you struggled to adopt if you grew up in Canada, but then moved to the UK?
Posted by porpoise251@reddit | expats | View on Reddit | 40 comments
Regardless of how many years you've lived in the UK, are there any Britishisms you never adopted because they just felt unnatural?
E.g., I can't imagine ever using 'alright' as a greeting and 'horseback riding' hits right for me even though I acknowledge 'back' is unnecessary. Just a fun question as I'm curious.
SeanBourne@reddit
Some odd ones I encountered in Australia as a North American English speaker - that you pick up on quickly, but still seem out of place (that said, I use literally none of them myself):
- “How are you going?”. This is literally replacing ‘doing’ with ‘going’ for some reason. Took a second to pick up on this.
- “Heaps”. Pretty much a 1-for-1 swap with “Loads”. Though while we’d say “Shitloads” for extra emphasis, I haven’t heard “Shitheaps” in the same sense here. Otherwise, in most cases, it’s a straight swap. Pretty much instant recognition.
- “Do you reckon?” - Roughly “What do you think?/Do you think so?/Do you agree?” depending on the context/tone. Instant recognition (reckon is an archaic synonym for ‘guess’ in NAm, so just a little bemusement that this was the word used).
- “Mate”. Roughly equivalent to “Man” in North America, though used much more broadly. Instant recognition. Aside from the casual form of address between Males, I swear to God an Aussie could express a range of meanings equivalent to how the rest of the English speaking world uses the word “Fuck”. This second understanding of the word takes a bit longer living in Australia, and the first few years, one can find new expressions all the time.
- “How are you tracking?”. Really odd way of asking ‘how are you progressing’ (on some objective or another). Usually asked in as casual a tone as “How are you going?” but the intent is entirely different - which is why this one takes another second to realize that it’s different/ doing different work from the (socially intended/pleasantry) of “How are you going?”.
As mentioned before, I don’t use any of these myself - as it would seem out of place/I’m mocking them. I also generally don’t switch away from US pronunciations or spellings (as I already switched once from Canadian to US as a kid).
CuriousLands@reddit
I picked up and use "reckon" and "heaps" on occasion... but not so much the rest. Especially not "mate". Like you said, it'd almost feel a bit put-on, in particular because after 8 years I don't have even a shred of an Aussie accent lol
SeanBourne@reddit
Same - I’m in ‘year 7’… and not even a tiny smidge of an Aussie accent - which surprised both family and friends when I went back for the first time since Covid, and increasingly Aussies I meet when they find out how long I’ve been here.
CuriousLands@reddit
Did you move a bit later in life? I moved to Aus when I was like 34, so I figure that has something to do with it. Sorta like how my grandparents (both sides, different countries haha) moved to Canada when they would've been in their 30s or so, and they all had moderate accents right to the end
SeanBourne@reddit
Yeah, late 20s for me. That said, I’ve not picked up various regional accents within the US at much younger ages. (North Americans broadly can’t tell where I’m from within the continent, and I often get labeled as having “Newsanchor English”.
Meanwhile my mom, and a few ex gfs over the years can spend a couple of hours talking to someone and start mirroring their accents. I think I’m just stubborn.
On the positive side, North American accents are apparently ‘sticky’ - I know a number of other NAm. expats with kids being raised here. Despite being surrounded by Aussies, they still have NAm. accents. Beyond age 5, I wouldn’t want my kids raised here… but if they are, there’s a good chance that at least they’ll have a NAm. accent.
CuriousLands@reddit
News anchor English, I haven't heard that one before! Interesting. Haha, maybe being stubborn is part of it, I think I might be too lol. I kinda don't wanna lose my accent 😛 Interesting that the accent is sticky, haha. Maybe it helps that we hear it so much in the media... though now that I think of it, that can't quite be it either, because I still have a very noticeable Canadian accent and you don't hear that accent as much in TV and movies. Like any time an Aussie has spent time in Canada, worked with Canadians, etc. they can always tell I'm Canadian. One mall marketer guy even pegged me as being from Alberta because I sound just like a Calgarian guy he worked with, and that was after being here for like 6 years, lol.
And yeah, I've met some people who were born and raised here but have a Canadian parent, and they have a milder accent than other Aussies. It's pretty interesting actually.
Why wouldn't you want your kids raised here after age 5? Just out of curiosity lol. We're thinking of trying for a kid soon, and tbh I kinda wanna move back to Canada, but we're also kind of on the fence about it... so I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.
SeanBourne@reddit
Haha, yes I hear you - I’m not keen on losing my accent either.
On the kids front, I think Australia is kind of idyllic (provided you’ve got good finances), which is good when kids are just tots (so the 0-5) stage. I think past that, the schools here are a bit limited, and the environment overall doesn’t really foster curiosity.
Of course all that is theory - living here now, there’s a non-zero chance the future wife ends up being aussie… and they typically don’t like to live more than 5 miles from ‘mum’ when it comes time to settling down. (So may well be a bit outside my pure preferences.)
Icy_Respect_9077@reddit
Using "whilst" instead of "while" seems hilariously anachronistic.
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
Lol. I also notice that 'literally' is a favoured word in the UK
SeanBourne@reddit
TBF, “literally” has been wildly overused across the Anglophone world for the last 20-25 years at least. To the point where the dictionary has changed the meaning of the word “literally” to include “figuratively” (which is what people incorrectly used “literally” instead for at least 15 of those 25 odd years).
USS-Enterprise@reddit
I wonder if you also feel this way about amongst and whom? :)
I don't have a fantastic source, but I do want to point out that whilst and while have some differences dialectally.
https://www.theguardian.com/notesandqueries/query/0,5753,-5498,00.html
safadancer@reddit
I feel so pretentious when I say that
FinestTreesInDa7Seas@reddit
I only lived in the UK for one year, and I never grew accustomed to the British use of "at" when Canadians would normally say "on".
In Canada, you would say "on the weekend", while British people would say "at the weekend".
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
Something similar, but some British people use stood and sat differently, e.g. he was stood there (British) vs. he was standing there (Canadian). But I actually find that British version cute/quaint and use it sometimes lol
cr1zzl@reddit
Tell me you’ve never been to Newfoundland with telling me you’ve never been to Newfoundland.
To be fair though Canada is a big country and there are many different dialects and word usages. Instead of saying the Canadian way you might do better with specifying province here.
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
Newfoundland is one province. That would be regional. Same with things that are specific to Cape Breton. Generally, you do not encounter that in Canada...watch a Canadian TV programme, listen to Cdn politicians, newscasters, read a Canadian book...you do not encounter that. So, yeah, it is Canadian in the same sense that there's a "general Canadian accent".
cr1zzl@reddit
It’s not just one or two places though. There are a lot of regional dialects within Canada. As an east coaster (who has also lived in Ontario and Quebec) I can usually tell when someone is from BC as opposed to Ontario, for example.
Have you ever considered that your way of saying things in your region might be regional as well? Or is your accent just the default Canadian accent? 🙄
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
Have you travelled around Canada much? An accent from Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Charlottetown, etc. does not vary that much. There are rural accents in each province that will differ. If you live close to the border you might sound American-Canadian, and out East there is more regional diversity to accents. But, yeah, there is a "general Canadian accent" in the same way that you can say there is a "general American accent". That emoji is so cringe. You're not very nice for a Canadian. You're ruining the stereotype lol
CuriousLands@reddit
Nah, I think there is a genera Canadian accent, it's just that there are also regional tweaks to it.
FinestTreesInDa7Seas@reddit
I have a hard time identifying some of them as being distinctly British. I'm from Canada, but I grew up in a family with a mix of RP and Ulster English.
Saying "was stood there" is something I grew up hearing.
Kiwiatx@reddit
I moved to Texas and the locals have a habit of saying something occurred ‘on accident’ instead of ‘by accident’ and it makes me cringe and scream silently.
Also no longer know if ‘schedule’ is supposed to be pronounced ‘sked-ule’ or ‘shed-ule’ and just use either randomly.
In Australia they pronounce the letter ‘H’ as ‘haytch’ rather than ‘aytch’ and that also sends me…
SeanBourne@reddit
Total agreement.
CuriousLands@reddit
Haha; I'm from Canada but for some reason one of my sisters always said that. Like right from when we were kids, and despite the fact that nobody around her said it. I love her but I cringe a little to when she says it, lol
cr1zzl@reddit
Are you a kiwi who says “brought” instead of “bought”? ;)
Kiwiatx@reddit
At this point I probably use them both interchangeably
Sense_Difficult@reddit
on accident drives me bonkers too!!!
Conscious-Tutor3861@reddit
100% sked-ule with a hard k sound in the US and shed-ule with a sh digraph in the UK.
BlockLocal6433@reddit
I viscerally hate the saying “dress smart/dressing smart”. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
Their fancy dress confuses me lol. They actually mean a costume
BlockLocal6433@reddit
OMG YES! Good one as well
cr1zzl@reddit
As someone who grew up in Canada, what’s wrong with horseback riding? I grew up around horses and it was a common thing to say.
Are these really “struggles”?
doofenhurtz@reddit
Yeah also confused by that one as a Canadian former horse girl
porpoise251@reddit (OP)
British people mock (North) Americans for that. I don't know if they know Canadians say that too, but their comedians mock Americans for that. As in "where else would you sit on the horse? Horsetail riding?"
RandomTopTT@reddit
We don’t use the ending “back”. It’s horse riding.
MojoMomma76@reddit
I also don’t think I hear it routinely here in the UK. You’re riding a horse, riding on horseback, I don’t hear the phrase horseback riding at all.
Imaginary_Resist_654@reddit
Yes why does a cuppa fix everything!
SeanBourne@reddit
They’re addicts. Source: UK raised parents.
FlippinHeckles@reddit
It just does.
chasrm999@reddit
I like the use of the word blimey, a bit of a surprise; bollocks, meaning non-sense, You all right, when meeting someone; to start something, Right. Pronounce Canada as Canadr. Just to name a few. Scottish they call others Jimmy; Ireland Paddy- but usually to see if you want to fight.