The following is a guide to facilitate greater ease of communication between Canadian and American staff at LePort Schools.

Pronunciation
1. zed (n.) Translation: the letter z

2. been (pronounced bean): when used as a verb, this is the past participle of be, as opposed to our pronunciation, bin

3. long o where it doesnt belong EXAMPLE: prcess, prgress, prject, srry, recrd

4. short a where it doesnt belong EXAMPLE: psta, cavet, Natscha, Arina, Nirvna

5. strong t where it doesnt belong EXAMPLES: literature (litt-er-a-chur as opposed to lidder-a-chur) water (waht-ter as opposed to wahdder)

6. an even statement of fact sounds like a question (i.e. it rises in inflection), and is usually spoken quickly EXAMPLES: So I went to the Blue Jays game? And they sell maple syrup candies now? And I had one and it was great?

6. missing yuh sound EXAMPLE: figured (sounds like fig-er instead of fig-yer)

7. unnecessary insertion of schwa between rn consonant cluster

EXAMPLE: pattern (sounds like patter-uhn instead of pat-urn) (Frequently committed by Ray in fast speech.)

8. unnecessary pronunciation of silent 'h' EXAMPLE: herb (but notice how they don't say 'hour' for hour?) 9. pronouncing 'Mom' as 'mum' EXAMPLE: "My mum gave me maple syrup candies to soothe me as a babe." 10. pronouncing 'lasso' as 'lassue' EXAMPLE: "The cowboys of Saskatchewan lassue the caribou, in order to round them up. Just like they do in Texas, eh!"

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. pylon (n.) translation: cone

2. eh? (interjection)

translation: dont you think? / isnt it? / doesnt it?

EXAMPLE: Jalapeos are pretty spicy, eh?

3. mark (v.), (n.) translation: grade

EXAMPLE: Feel free to do your marking while the students read quietly.

4. take up (v.) translation: go over, review

EXAMPLE: Typically we take up the tests before we send them home in the Tuesday Envelopes.

5. write (v.), as in: a test; translation: take

tests.

EXAMPLE: Please ensure the classrooms are quiet while the students write their

6. pop (n.), translation: soda While not strictly Canadian (northerners say this as well), it may be a source of confusion and proper ridicule in California

EXAMPLE: Do you have an extra can of pop with you today?

7. last day (adv.), translation: yesterday

EXAMPLE: So as you recall, last day we covered the topic of dividing fractions by fractions.

8. pencil crayons (n.) , translation: colored pencils

9. cue card (Q-card) (n.), translation: index card

EXAMPLE: "Write your vocabulary words on cue cards to study."

10. supply teacher (n.), translation: substitute teacher

EXAMPLE: If youre ill, we can arrange a supply teacher for you.

11. numbering grades by cardinal as opposed to ordinal numbers

EXAMPLE: The Grade 7 class studied poetry this year. grade class studied poetry this year.) As shorthand, the term is simply pluralized:

(Translation: The seventh

year.

The Grade 7s studied poetry this

12. saying "university" instead of college Though many Americans attend universities, we refer to this time colloquially as the period "when we were in college. Canadians are so hoity-toity as to always need to remind you that they went to "university. EXAMPLE: "When you go off to university, you will have many new experiences."

13. chesterfield (n.), translation: couch

14. unnecessary 'u' used in spelling certain words EXAMPLES: humour, colour, vigour, honour

15. spare (n.), translation: a free period EXAMPLE: "I find myself in good humour anticipating my spare, when I'll finally have time to go to the second storey of the synagogue and mark the tests the students wrote last day, eh?"

16. nikki nikki nine doors (n.), translation: ding dong ditch EXAMPLE: "When we were little, we used to run around and bug the neighbors by playing nikki nikki nine doors."

17. garburator (n.), translation: garbage disposal

EXAMPLE: "When cleaning the kitchen, please be sure to run the garburator, otherwise strange smells begin to emanate from the sink."

18. hothouse (n.), translation: greenhouse EXAMPLE: "The Huntington Botanical Gardens contain many interesting plants, including a tropical hothouse."

19. referring to a closet as a "cupboard" EXAMPLE: "ZEV: Doug, can you unlock the science cupboard for me? DOUG: Why, is there an Indian locked in there?" (Zev proceeds to point to a room with a door.)

20. double-double (n.), translation: a coffee containing two sugars and two creams EXAMPLE: "Please make me a double-double."