Saturday 22 July 2006

Foreign Accents, People and Languages

When people here first hear me speak, they ask where I'm from. When I ask them where they think I'm from, their first guess is usually British. Then Australian. Then New Zealand. Africa doesn't even feature on their radar.

So I ordered a Caramilk McFlurry at McDonalds the other day and got a caramel sundae. Hehe, not quite sure if it was my accent or an inattentive server!

Some more terms I've had to learn...
Cooldrinks/ fizzy drinks are called pop (i.e. Coke, Sprite, etc)
Prams are called strollers
Pavements are called sidewalks
Serviettes are called napkins
Shops are called stores
Jelly is jello


I have heard so many different languages heard around here.. in fact, I think the only time I have heard the second official language of French was at the airport. So many people asked if I was going to learn to speak French - well, I think I would do better to learn Mandarin there are so many Mandarin speakers here.

The cosmopolitan nature of Toronto is so aptly pictured here - one neighbourhood shopping block has such a variety of cultures... from Chinese to Indian to Middle-Eastern

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