Speaking Canadian… from duo-tangs to pasta

So it was a month after we got to Canada (and a few years before Google was the go-to research tool), that Abi, who was 8 at that time, remembered to tell me at dinner time that she needed a “do-o-tang” for school the next day.

Whaat? Never heard of it. “Did teacher tell you what it was, Abi?” “No” was the swift response. And so all of us guessed at endless possibilities…  Something for show and tell? Something to eat? Something to drink? Something to wear? Until… we gave up.

The next day I went into school with Abi and confessed to the teacher that I had no clue what a “do-o-tang” was. And she very kindly showed me one. Oh! A folder. What we called a folder – was called a duo-tang because it had two silver ‘tangs’ in it. Well, we live and learn!

To explain… having lived in India, Bahrain, England and Dubai, where English is the spoken language, one tends to pick up a multitude of accents and colloquialisms. But, of course, it all came under the ‘clear’ category of “Queen’s English”. So moving to a country where she was the Head should be a breeze, right??? Wrong. The smugness didn’t last long at all!

Shortly after we arrived, our oldest, who was at university, called me, and I guessed from her tone of voice she wasn’t very happy.

“You’re an English teacher, mum. How do you pronounce a l u m i n i u m?”

“Exactly as it is spelled, Becca. A-lu-mi-ni-um.”

“Well,” she said in a decidedly irritated voice, “that’s not how they spell it or pronounce it here. It’s A-LU-MI-NUM!”

“Okay,” I thought. “Duo-tang and aluminum. A word or two isn’t too bad. We’ve got this!” That was until I realized that people stared at us uncomprehendingly when we spoke of pavement and lift and flat and boot and thrice… to name a few. And so, over the next few months, we learned to say sidewalk, elevator, apartment, trunk and three times. When in Rome… right?

However, it didn’t stop there. I also learned that the gutters we had to clean before winter sets in, weren’t roadside rain drains (thankfully!!), but drain pipes that came down the sides of one’s house. I learned that a mobile was only hung above a crib, and not used to speak into – that was a cell phone. Petrol stations and *Eppco stations became gas stations, and shopping trolleys became shopping carts. Lorries and goods trains became trucks and freight trains. But I think what makes me giggle every time I think of it, is the look of alarm I saw in the grocery store assistant’s eyes when I asked him where I could find ladies fingers. I now say okra. 😄

It has been a lot to learn. But finally, after 15+ years here, I thought I was as Canadian as I possibly could be. Until, just before the pandemic. Abi and I were on our way to a Casting Crowns concert with a few friends, and I was regaling them with news about our pastor in India, when all of a sudden I hear this bewildered voice of my friend Judy, from the back seat: “Why do you bring pasta all the way from India, Susan?”

And just like that… I don’t know what I speak any more! 🤷🏻‍♀️

*Name of a fuel company in Dubai