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» 444 Failures in Communication

  1. Aja says:

    CSLI needs more investigation.

  2. Peter says:

    You’ll learn to add an “eh” after every sentence

    • rihannon says:

      First for sure

    • thepowerofblue says:

      Do you know how Canada got its name? From the Coalition for National Dominion. C, eh. N, eh. D, eh.

      • Loz says:

        I have Canadian friends and they don’t do that…

        • Bondfan4518 says:

          Me too, except most of them are more British than Canadian, but they were born in Canada.

        • Peter says:

          I used to live in Canada ;) i know they don’t or rarely do.

          • fluffy the fish says:

            I’ve never been to Canada, and I know they all do it all the time.

            • Emperor says:

              Lies and slander. Since you typed it I will include liable. We don’t say eh all the time. Only as much as you Americans say huh. Well at least the Californians. (my cousin says it at the end of pretty much every sentence)

              • Dasboomski says:

                I live in Canada right now, I hear ‘eh?’ all the time, I say it too. I just depends on where you within our country.

                • Emperor says:

                  Please refer to the graph BFF provided. Also please do not incourage them.

                  • Emperor says:

                    or outcourage ** encourage
                    *kersplotch*

                  • LightDisciple says:

                    Do you say ‘eh?’ You seem very determined to change the stereotype and it makes me wonder if you were perhaps a victim to some event in your childhood that forever made you hate ‘eh.’

                    I would also like to point out that your attempt to insult us Americans, I mean, Californians, or perhaps just your cousin… see? I didn’t even have to finish that argument. That debunked it all.

                    • Emperor says:

                      It was not an attempted insult. It is a comparison so how could it be. Nice try though. No situation happened in my childhood, but your ignorancce is one of the reasons I am posting. See you, well Americans in general, know so little about the outside world. You expect others to know about your country. Then a stereotype you hear, you magnify it 100 fold, and yet hold it to be true. Point is “eh” is not said half as much as you believe. Please refer to bondfan’s graph. One thing I have to say that as much as I dislike the egocentric aura I get off Americans I have met. I don’t know how scary the world would be without you there to police it. (This is not meant as an attack on the American posters on FB just sad that Light didn’t get the gist of my point)

              • thepowerofblue says:

                Did you mean libel?

                • At first I thought he meant he was liable… but I think you’re right.

                  • Emperor says:

                    Yes pob but I will pretend he is liable to defend his sentence, or something along the lines that makes my word choice somewhat correct.

                    • Dragonwriter says:

                      So…if Canadians say “eh” as much as Californians say “huh”, and you claim that your cousin (who, by means of association, I take to be Californian) says it after “pretty much every sentence”…doesn’t this mean that you (pl.) say “eh” after pretty much every sentence?

                      • Emperor says:

                        That was more of a justification that I am not making it up. Though you brought up a nice correlation. In the end “eh” is not used as much as people believe is what I am trying to get out there.

                        • Emperor says:

                          *tacks on*
                          I also stated the Californian part as I am not to sure of the rest of the states. If they say it at the end of every sentence or not.
                          I was trying to draw out a person that would say we don’t say huh at the end of every sentence. At which point I would have said aha.Though you have foiled my plan.
                          *tearfully sulks in the corner*

        • thepowerofblue says:

          I’ve been up to BC a few times and never heard a single Canuck say “eh”…

          • chaosjessica says:

            Really? My friends from Canada and the Canadian students in my college all said, eh. Though a lot of them I think were from Niagara Falls. Maybe its more locational?

            • Anonymous2 says:

              I don’t know. I’m close to Niagara Falls and I don’t say eh. Usually.
              It’s probably just stereotype, but we’ll never know for sure, eh?

            • kannadzuki says:

              Neither I nor most people I know back in Canada say “eh” all the time. imho I think CJ is closest here. I suspect it’s not just current location, but location as a child (for those who have moved to the city) and/or while in school.

              However there ARE differences in how most Canadians I’ve spoken to across Canada and many Americans I’ve spoken to across the US say certain words. The ones that spring to mind:

              roof — /u/ vowel in Canada; /ÊŠ/ in US
              about — /aÊŠ/ in Canada (NOT /u/ !!!) and /oÊŠ/ in many US cases I heard.

      • HistoryBuff says:

        Not so. It’s from Kanata… which means village. “I think he mean’s those houses.” “I know the word – it means nation, and Ca-na-da is its name!”

  3. Mookie says:

    My first language is Spanglish, so this will be a step up.

  4. pronaz says:

    aboot time eh…

  5. Speedkills says:

    French?

    • rihannon says:

      second

      • insert name here says:

        We here often make the joke ‘Learn Belgian now!’

        • Unbeliever says:

          belgian isn’t even a language…

          if you mean the people, then you’ve just met one ^^

          • Loz says:

            *sends Unbeliever to Humo(u)r 101*
            *writes on his prescription, “urgent case”*

            • Dragonwriter says:

              Oh, Loz, fer crying out loud…if he doesn’t get that it’s a joke when it states clearly in the post that IT IS A JOKE, I don’t think there’s much that even I can do with him.

              *puts dunce hat on Unbeliever and sticks him in the corner*

          • Mookie says:

            Belgian isn’t a language? How do they communicate?

            • Loz says:

              They just grunt and mumble, but they’re getting there!

              • Bondfan4518 says:

                The French go one step further, and shrug their shoulders and nod as they grunt and mumble.

                • Arthur Eld says:

                  I think French is more a habit than a language.

                  • Bondfan4518 says:

                    The French are having a crisis with so many English words creeping into their language, like “email” or “internent” that they are considering banning some of them.

                    • Arthur Eld says:

                      I read that Finland has its own words for everything. I think the word for “computer” was as long as this comment and it had about 20 “ä”s in it.

                    • Loz says:

                      That’s been happening for a longgg time, before ‘email’ became an issue. They have English words like ’shampooing’ (to mean shampoo) and ‘un parking’ (to mean a car park). But we’ve stolen from them too so tit for tat I say.

                      • thepowerofblue says:

                        *wishes he had some tat to trade*

                      • kannadzuki says:

                        I’ve always thought it was interesting that the French will say “le parking,” but the Québecois will say “le stationnement.”

                        • mirz says:

                          Same reason why to order a hotdog in France you ask for a “hotdog”, but in Quebec it’s “chien chaud”, which literally translated means a dog that is hot… very concerning to Europeans visiting Quebec. Quebec wants to be its own nation and many Quebecers like to be viewed as having their own distinct culture and identity, and therefore try distance themselves from anything Anglophonic as much as possible.

                          And by the way… eh… not as common as you’d like to think.

                        • Aja says:

                          Le Big Mac…

                        • LightDisciple says:

                          I’ve heard that Canadians like to put gravy on many normally gravy-less foods. Since you were explaining that all so thoroughly, I figured I may as well ask.

                        • mirz says:

                          Haha.. I don’t know about “many”. Just fries… and turkey and mashed potatoes.

                        • alex14 says:

                          I don’t know where you two get your information, but I am a Québécois and I would never ever say “chien chaud” and I use “parking” like 99% of the time.

                        • mirz says:

                          My information came from experience, having ordered a chien chaud on a few occasions. Just because you don’t use the term doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. I don’t say “eh” but I know that it is used however infrequently I may hear it, more so in some regions than in others which may be the case for you & “chien chaud” and “parking”.

                          chien chaud

                          French
                          Etymology
                          francisation of the English hot dog
                          Noun
                          chien chaud m (plural chiens chauds)
                          1. (Quebec) hot dog.

                          http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/chien_chaud

                          Wiki backs me up on this one. Or maybe it’s just a big chien chaud conspiracy. Shhhh…..

                        • mirz says:

                          *Read “stationnement” instead of “parking”

                      • Emperor says:

                        Are you Canadian?

                        • kannadzuki says:

                          Yes, I’m Canadian, Emperor. And as I said already, I don’t say “eh at all.No even sometimes.

                        • kannadzuki says:

                          ^ inserts ” after “eh. :S

                        • Emperor says:

                          That was meant for loz. By the way you are preaching to the choir here. I myself am Canadian, I would give a closer region, but other than the obvious reasons, it is pretty obscure. So I am going to go with I live near Toronto.

                        • kannadzuki says:

                          *pulls head out of bukkit*

                          Sorry, Emperor, I know you’re also a canuck. That part was meant for mirz

                          My post was pretty garbled. I don’t know how to fix the text window I type into. Half of what I write goes off the edge of the box and is hidden from view so I can’t see what I’m typing. I try to be careful, but now and then posts like that one escape my fingers. :sigh:

                        • mirz says:

                          Sorry, the “eh” bit of my post wasn’t directed towards kannadzuki… it was just a general comment. I should have said that.

                        • kannadzuki says:

                          No worries, mirz. :)

                          btw, Emperor, if you’re still reading this and haven’t heard, Loz is Irish.

                    • TheCannyScot says:

                      I think the last new French word was ordinateur, coined in 1955
                      by IBM France. There has been a concerted effort to root out the
                      Franglais words, but it’s failing. I’ve been saying that French is a
                      dying language for 30-some years. Of course, English has been
                      known to borrow the occasional French word. Fuselage, garage,
                      dîner à deux, ménage à trois, entente cordiale, concorde, that
                      sort of thing.

                      • Arthur Eld says:

                        I think about 160 million native french speakers would disagree on the “dying”.

                      • thepowerofblue says:

                        [43]
                        The problem with the French is they don’t have a word for entrepreneur.
                        [/43]

                        (Thank goodness for 44.)

                      • Annie says:

                        entrepeneur, cul de sac ……….. etcetera :)

                      • Kristopher says:

                        english does not borrow words. It stalks the other languages into alleys, batters them into unconsciousness, and plunders all of the most difficult and irregular words and grammar it can find, and adds them to itself.

                        That is why English is so stupidly difficult, as it contains ALL the worsthe brain-dead constructions from ever language group that has conquered that island … starting with the Celts conquering the Picts.

                  • Barbara says:

                    A bad habit :P

                  • gorgonzola says:

                    Sister Emanuelle wore a habit. She taught me to (speak) French.

                • jam says:

                  French is the same as English but you shout it really loudly and wave your hands around.

          • Cadichi says:

            Do you taste well with syrup?

        • Loz says:

          Oh you Belgians, such a laugh!

  6. Aja says:

    I prefer Belgian as a second language.

  7. rihannon says:

    third

  8. rihannon says:

    Comments barred.
    Thread over…

  9. Blank Mage says:

    Eh?

  10. scotteh says:

    Well. All I can say is, I bet this is in Markham. (joke for the locals)

  11. ching chong says:

    ching chong ching ching chong chong chong

  12. Pete says:

    Hmmm…what’s this all aboot eh? Are they faaaarking serious eh?

  13. thepowerofblue says:

    Just for reference, moomins go “meep” when squeezed, right?
    Not that I could possibly put this information to use…

  14. Scrappy Coco says:

    today’s lesson: how to say ‘eh’ every after sentence

  15. bob says:

    Les others persons in cette thread do not comprend que Canadien est a real langue – Ils thinkent que tout le monde parle Anglais et French. Stupid americains…

  16. Admiral-Awesome says:

    Im Canadian, and Ive never said eh after any sentance. Also, I’ve never heard anyone say ‘aboot’, we say about just like you guys. And Canada got its name from the native americans, ‘Canada’ means home.

    • Arthur Eld says:

      *salutes*
      Admiral, we ran out of humo(u)r, Sir! Oh, you already know that? Sorry, Sir!
      *off*

    • jam says:

      I say ‘aboot’ all of the time. I’m a Geordie.

      • jam says:

        and we say ‘man’ after every sentence. You have to say it with an abrupt ending though or it just doesn’t sound right.

        • Bondfan4518 says:

          In London we say “bare blates” or “allow that”, which both mean “Great!”. It’s really annoying. And that rapper hand thing. That is the most irritating thing invented since Bill Gates.

          • jam says:

            apples and pears, blimey guvna… *said in her dulcet Geordie tone* :-p

            • Bondfan4518 says:

              Pffft! The only problem is, those kinds of phrases, when used, will get you funny looks around London, the looks that say “Are you taking the p*ss?”. They are still a source of great amusement to Americans though.

              • jam says:

                I know but to be fair, as a Geordie working in the smoke, they do exactly the same thing to me just with ‘whay aye man’.

                • Bondfan4518 says:

                  I’ve actually never heard that phrase.
                  But I can think of several famous Geordies: Jeremy Clarkson, Michael Parkinson, John Prescott, Ant and Dec…I could go on. I’ve heard the people there are very nice.
                  In fact, I have actually been to Durham City once. Beautiful place. I also visited Durham Cathedral. Marvelous architecture.

                  • jam says:

                    Geordies err… mmm… muh huh?
                    Oh… You had me there for a second. Durham, Jeremy Clarkson, Parky and Prescott indeed. *scoffs*
                    Though I have been told I sound Welsh.
                    btw… I am nice :-D

                    • Bondfan4518 says:

                      Apparently the Welsh are the only people we are allowed to be openly racist towards. I meant that in a humo(u)rous way, in case I am arrested by the PC police.
                      Why? I thought Prescott was known all over the world for his…er…nevermind.
                      I can see that. I’m quite a good egg too.

                      • jam says:

                        Prescott is better known for being paid huge sums of money to stay out of politics! He’s a Welsh/Yorkshire hybrid and he got none of the good points from either group of people. *climbs down from soap box*

                        I try my best to be nice but with me being Geordie it comes out as brash.

                        • jam says:

                          ^^ that was me being nice about Mr Prescott.

                        • Bondfan4518 says:

                          That’s the first time I’ve heard someone being nice about John Prescott.
                          Anyway, how are things up North? Has the credit crunch struck hard?

                        • jam says:

                          Don’t know as I live in Sussex. I’d ask my dad for you but I’d have to listen to him moan in Geordie for 45 minutes first.

                        • Bondfan4518 says:

                          Ah, Sussex. Must be a very green and foresty place!
                          That reminds me of a quote from a TV show I saw last week “There are only two people I know with a Northern accent, and that’s you or George Formby”.

                        • jam says:

                          Sussex is hilly as my legs can testify.
                          You don’t strike me as someone old enough to know about Georgy Formby. That reminds me… I must clean my windows. *sigh*

                        • Bondfan4518 says:

                          Ah. I assume that getting about must be tough on your feet?
                          The only thing I know about George Formby is that he played the ukelele and was a comedian.

                        • jam says:

                          ‘Ukelele’ know that much about George Formby as there’s not much else to know. *hangs head in shame*

                          I do have a car but when I’m feeling brave I walk up them thar hills. I can also assure you the hills are only alive with the sound of my heavy breathing. There’s no music unless I take my Ipod.

                        • Bondfan4518 says:

                          Really? Surely he’s done something famous?
                          Of course, a car. What was I thinking? In London, I take the tube. It is like being in a can of tuna everyday. Not only that, but there are those morons who play their music so loud I want to cut their Ipod with a pair of scissors.

                        • jam says:

                          OMG… we’ve commandeered the blog! *bows and exits stage left*

  17. Tim T says:

    Actually, i live in Canada, and you’d be surprised how often a Canadian use the phrase “eh”, it cannot be found without looking for it though, hell, i even do it but it’s not like on TV where its after every sentence, we just do it sometimes.

  18. buba says:

    buba finds canadian to be quite hard as a language. he had difficulties at school when studying it.

  19. Shadow Link says:

    Wow, this took me longer to get than it should have.

  20. glory hole frequenter says:

    today, i am flaccid.

  21. Andrew says:

    There are a few ways we spell differently though, color=colour, practice=practise

  22. Grumpy Curmudgeon says:

    Iwas told once that if I hear an “American-sounding” accent, the smart thing to do is ask the person speaking if he’s Canadian. If he’s actually an (USA)merican, he’ll simply correct you and move on. If he really is Canadian, you’ll have made a friend for life. :-)

  23. pookie II says:

    The folk song “Blame Canada” (sung by noted activist Shiela Broflovski) says it all:

    Blame Canada
    It seems that everything’s gone wrong
    Since Canada came along
    Blame Canada, Blame Ca-na-da
    They’re not even a real country anyway

  24. rush2112 says:

    thats blatant and offensive…

  25. Joe says:

    Fail, eh ?

  26. Danielle says:

    We don’t say eh often at all. And if someone does its to enhance a question, basically a word for a question mark. I live in the states now and everyone I meet that finds out I’m Canadian – feels the need to say eh immediately in some way or form. I’m always told I must be from somewhere that doesn’t have an accent, and it’s true. If your not from Newfoundland or Quebec or northern New Brunswick – you usually don’t have an accent.

  27. Giggity says:

    Yes, dammit we do say “Eh”. And yes, it can be dilectic and even different within each family. Those sharing the Ottawa-River valley “twang” ( it’s a lilting way of speaking) may have a tendency to say it more than say, a westerner. My parents were immigrants and, of course, never used the happy ole “Eh” as a sentence ender. My oldest brother and I never took up the linguistic peccadillo but my middle brother, a copy cat of the first order, began to Eh everyone in sight. I have to agree with Danielle about everyone here in the states deciding they must toss an EH at me when they find I’m Canadian even though they have never heard the sound cross my lips. * sighs * Just what the hell is the world coming to, eh? Somebody pass me a timmies….. Double Double, eh.

  28. BOB MARTIN says:

    Eh, Beh, Ceh, Deh, Eh, Ehf, Geh, Ehch, Ehy, Jeh, Keh, Ehl, Ehm, Ehn, O, Peh. Q, R, Ehs, Teh, U, Veh, W, Ehx, Weh and Zeh…

  29. Cadichi says:

    LOL who’s flag is that?

  30. woods says:

    Owe-Kee class. Who can use the word ‘HOSER” in a sentence for me?

  31. (='.'=) says:

    Soooooo…….

  32. Shawn says:

    You know what is really sad about this, 1 man started an entire career, rented a building, hired staff, advertised, and either made or tried to make a living teaching a language that doesn’t exist. What I want to know, is how does one speak Canadian and where did he learn.
    Maybe I should give him a call……..

  33. Ryan says:

    Harley P. Mathewson would disagree, this is a win:

    http://joinusordie.org/wiki/New_Canadianese

  34. MarkSouthFL says:

    Canadian is similar to American, but more polite. And without so #$%ing many curse words. (Sorry, I’m obviously not Canadian, you $#%ing &%@ers.)

  35. binda says:

    I imagine Canadian is similar to Australian, without all the references to shrimps on the barbie or kangaroos…

    And we obviously don’t have so many eh’s. :P

  36. Rae says:

    I saw this in Vancouver last week. I’m glad it’s here, but I’m sad that I was beaten to the punch.

  37. Agnus says:

    England -> English
    Spain -> Spanish
    etc

    why can’t they have their own language?

  38. Ken Adams says:

    That’s something to tell the world aboot, eh?

  39. DuBBlE_TailZ says:

    LOL Canadian not a langige! *Let’s throw the old hoser down the cliff!!!*

  40. werd says:

    canadian as a language…what’s that the equivalent to tex-mex? little french thrown in there to spice up the english?

  41. GuyWithDogs says:

    Canadian Test – finish the phrase: “When you eat your Smarties …”

  42. Forge says:

    Bah, I call this a WIN. And a guffaw as well.

  43. bronnie says:

    eh?

  44. Kafele says:

    hahaha..this is a fail in more ways than one…they mean canadiEn not canadiAn…they way they have it is like speaking a person…hahahah

  45. OnenathemCanucks says:

    Hoser (Urban Dictionary)

    A Canadian term of both derision and affection, popularized – but NOT invented – by the MacKenzie Brothers (from their “Great White North” segments on the old SCTV programme).

    Used as a negative, it basically means “idiot.” When used positively, it’s a phrase of light endearment.

    In both cases, it is most effective when the subject(s) displays stereotypically Canadian attributes.
    NEG – “They drank all our beers and smoked all our smokes. What a bunch of Hosers.”

    POS – “They drank all our beers and smoked all our smokes, but took the ski-doos to get more before the hockey game started. What a bunch of Hosers.”

    Yeah, this more or less matches how I use it.

  46. george says:

    your all dumb for thinking this is funny…THEY DO STILL SPEAK FRENCH IN CANADA! so yes it should say “come here to learn canadian french” (yes there is a difference, its a different dialect.

    • mavdotar says:

      I don’t think they were even talking about Canadian French, I’m pretty sure they’re substituting English with Canadian, same as people sometimes substitute English with American. CSL as opposed to ESL, which is an actual term.

  47. Stix213 says:

    I don’t get it… I can barely understand those Canadians sometimes!

  48. JTK says:

    Where’s the fail?

  49. Anthony says:

    i wanna join that just to see what “canadian” is

  50. fattyesz says:

    hey is this picture from Vancouver? I live right beside a building like this and i laugh at it every time i pass it lol

  51. Axroh-Infinity says:

    Eh, so you all know what yer talkin’ aboot.

    *rolls eyes*

  52. Canadian Guy I says:

    Fail!
    I know eh?
    it’s aboot time some hoser did this

  53. Kebrethian says:

    “Try speaking American, it’s the only language I understand.” – Bandit Keith, YGOTAS

  54. oldeskul says:

    I didn’t realize that canadian was a language, lol, even educators are stupid here in the usa

  55. Anthony says:

    thats a studio in Toronto.

  56. Saira says:

    Haha This is in Vancouver at Nelson and Cambie, I walk by it every day and I was born and raised here and I still can’t speak Canadian!

  57. I have H1N1 says:

    Canadian is a language, eh?

  58. Stff Sgt says:

    Eh?

  59. peacetank says:

    hey, does anyone speak Africanian here?

  60. l says:

    Canadian as a second language doesn’t seem all that far fetched, eh?
    I’m Canadian and I know half of you won’t be able to understand what I wrote because of it.

  61. morgie says:

    When my friend moved to America the school asked her mom if they spoke english in Australia

  62. Jamila says:

    eh?


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