A Brief Collection on A Few Variations on A Few Common Words in English

Canadian, American, and British English are all recognizably similar – and different. So here follows a few phrases the informant has collected through his travels and studies.

Canadian: “washroom” vs. American: “restroom/bathroom” vs. British: “the loo”

The informant even has a story illustrating the difficulty for a Canadian to live and study in America: when he first arrived at his university in New York and asked for directions to the washroom, a kind-hearted schoolmate led him to the laundry room.

Canadian & east coast U.S.: “bubble tea” vs. West coast U.S.: “boba”

To this day the informant expresses supreme confusion over why this is so.

Canadian: “First Nations” vs. American: “Indian/Native American”

The informant draws upon his high school experience and hypothesizes that this is due to the Canadian government’s greater efforts at restoring and preserving its native culture, as well as the education system’s greater emphasis on teaching Canadian citizens of the aboriginal people and culture.

THE INFORMANT

The informant has had an international experience that allowed him these fascinating observations. He is currently a student at Parsons, New York. Prior, he spent most of his life in Vancouver, Canada. He has also travelled extensively – one of the destinations, of course, was England.

THE ANALYSIS

Considering our reliance on language, it is perhaps not surprising at all that the specific term we choose for an object – or anything – reveals our deeper understanding of the object – or the anything. It may be argued that folkspeech reveals a folk belief, and a folk attitude.