Canadian French has very distinct regional differences. It usually takes only a few sentences to determine that someone is not from your region and, if you’ve traveled enough, to pinpoint where they’re from. After six years of living in the outaouais region of Quebec, it was still obvious that I grew up in the metropolis (Montreal) and I still encountered new-to-me words and expressions that gave me pause.

I’m discovering that the same is true for Canadian English, to the great amusement of my new boss, who was astounded that I had never heard of the words ginch and gonch. “What do you call a ginchy pull?!” she asked me and I finally clued in, replying “A wedgie?!” (Don’t ask me how we got on the subject! 😀 )

This week, I worked on an inventory project and she told me to add the deckles to the list. I had absolutely no idea what a deckle meant in that context. I’ve only used the word deckle in crafting, as in a deckle edge on paper. So, she spelled it out for me–decal–and I discovered that she wanted me to add the DEE-CALS to the list. My colleagues also say deckle. HUH?! I know that even though I did most of my schooling in English there are words I I don’t pronounce properly, but decal=deckle?!

At least, I know what a chesterfield is and we agree that dinner is served past 5pm, not at noon, so we’re still partially speaking the same language, although I’m learning to keep Google open for translation purposes. 🙂