May Run or May 2-4 (n): Northern and southern Ontario slang for the Victoria Day long weekend. Here are a few.īar-hopping (n): Going to many different bars, one after the other, in one night.īrush-cutter (n): A job involving clearing out brush.īush party (n): An outdoor party in the wilderness.Ĭamp (n): A cottage typically with no electricity.įox-and-goose (n): Childhood game, where the fox tries to find the geese. Through interviews with Ontario residents dating back to 2008, Tagliamonte has compiled a list of dozens of new words or new meanings for existing words that might trace their roots, in part or whole, to Canada. "We're really excited to see what comes out of this collaboration," Martin said. "One of the things brought to life is how much Canadian English differs." Made-in-Ontario words and phrases
"The Oxford English Dictionary is the best dictionary in the whole world," she said. The chief editor gives the final stamp of approval, allowing new entries or meanings to appear in the OED.Īdding words is not an overnight process - but Tagliamonte's fine with that. and that's what Sali is helping us with," Martin said. "We of course rely on expert input as well. True patriot love: the evolving words of Canada's national anthemīefore a word can be published, internal teams handling pronunciation, etymology and bibliography check the accuracy.
In March, the OED added an entry for "bundle buggy," a Canadian phrase for a small, four-wheeled, lined cart often used for errands and grocery shopping. It's a "complicated" process, but Martin said various Canadian-isms have already made the cut in recent years.įor example, the entry for "atom," commonly known as the smallest part of a chemical element, was updated in 2008 to reflect the Canadian term for youth sport leagues. Her goal? Bringing new Canadian words, or new definitions of already-included words, to the Oxford English Dictionary. Tagliamonte laments the fact that, out of more than 600,000 words in the OED, only around 700 entries are dubbed "Canadian."ĭuration 1:50 University of Toronto professor Sali Tagliamonte has been on a decade-long mission to document Ontario lingo. "And so, every community I go to has its own story, has its own words, has its own local expressions." "All these communities have their own flavour, their own cultural, local phenomena that are of interest," said Tagliamonte.
Since then, she's criss-crossed the province, visiting 16 other communities, including Arnprior, Beaverton, Belleville, Burnt River, Haliburton, Kapuskasing, North Bay, Peterborough, Toronto and Wilno. Tagliamonte started her quest in 2008 in her hometown, Kirkland Lake, Ont., a community east of Timmins that began as a gold mining camp. "When we have a word deep in our past, that we learned as a child, we often don't know it's not the same word other people have for the same thing," she said. Tagliamonte's goal is to bring new Canadian words, or new definitions of already-included words, to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). That sentence has a few made-in-Canada words, says University of Toronto linguistics professor Sali Tagliamonte, who's been on a decade-long mission to document Ontario slang.įor many Ontarians, a "soaker" is what happens when someone steps in a puddle "slimes" are the waste from a mine that fills the space where a lake once was and a "bush party" is an outdoor party off in the woods. Are you born and raised in northern Ontario? If so, you might understand this warning: Don't get a soaker from the slimes on your way to the bush party!
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