Christmas is coming, eh?

It's the bizarrest thing. We just finished Thanksgiving in America yesterday and as I was talking on the phone with a friend this morning, I kept hearing Canadian coming out of my mouth!

I've lived here long enough that I felt pretty confident that many of the "Canadianisms" I've lived with had pretty much receded into the background. I don't tack on too many "ehs", and I think my "outs" and "abouts" are changing shape to a more local pattern. I'm teased about "bits" but I've hung onto that one deliberately and I still spell "cheques" with a "q" just because I like it better. Looks classier or something.

I mean, really, doesn't it sound better to say the "cheque" is in the mail rather than the "check" is in the mail? Or maybe that's just the Canadian reaction I have that links "checks" with slamming into rink boards.

Anyway, as I was saying, I have been noticing that fewer people are looking at me with that curious look that invariable ends with "Where exactly are you from?" Not that I sound particularly American (except to that one dear man in the senior's home in Saskatoon) but I think of it as sounding rather more generic. Like the Midwestern accent they reportedly try to teach to Indian people working for HP customer support.

The challenge is - I now HEAR a Canadian accent. Not just the distinct tones of the eastern "a" vowel, but the nuances that mark one as distinctly north-of-the-49th. And I HEARD it coming out of my mouth!!

I'm not sure whether to consider it nostalgic or alarming. But I'm looking forward to Christmas and to calls from family and friends that sound like home. And with Thanksgiving out of the way, I can be vocal about looking forward to it, too.

So Merry Christmas, eh? And here's a taste of Canadian for you:



This cracks me up!