Job Discussion Forums

[latefordinner]

I find it incredible that this thread has lasted long enough for me to respond to. FWIW:
1) The correct name of my country is "The Dominion of Canada". (Hey, it could be worse. When Canada was approaching nationhood from the other side in the 1860's, one hot idea was the "Kingdom of Canada". No kidding) If someone wants to refer to it as "the Dominion", or even ungrammatically as "the Dominions", I won't complain. I prefer "the Colony", but that is another issue altogether. If there is ever any confusion as to which Dominion / States / Federal Republic / Whathaveyou, one need only ask.
2) Thanks, Atlas and Yaramaz. Glad that my favourite Newfie town (Dildo) made its entry, er, ummm...
3) I'm not sure how to take the suggested new names for the Americans. It takes of bit of work, but I _can_ imagine someone saying, "Hello, I am from the Great Satan. I am a Satanist." I wouldn't want to inflict the nescessity of it upon any of the Americans that I know, but it could be done...
4) won't someone put this sucker to rest with a really funny post?

[Seth]

[yaramaz]

How dare he insult the family of Erin Moran! Joanie loved Chachie and we should never be ashamed of this fact!

Shame on him!

ps

[zaneth]

The Colony?! Hey I resent that, we're a colony too! Where do you get off saying you're THE Colony.

Hey, I know where Vancouver Island is. I even know that it used to be named (according to a treaty) Vancouver and Y Quadra's Island as a compromise solution between the Spanish and English. In an blatant act of cultural insensitivity, Y Quadra's name was dropped at some point. Never trust the Canadians to honor a treaty.

Vancouver Island, city of Vancouver, and, to make it worse, there's a Vancouver, Washington, USA (but it's small and insignificant and hardly anybody wants to go there or bothers to talk about it so it isn't a huge problem).

The 'Columbia' comment was a feeble attempt at a joke, by the way. And not directed at British Columbia. I think British Columbia is a swell.

[Chris_Crossley]

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[nomadder]

I believe Canada lost dominion status a number of years ago. We also don't raise the union jack anymore.

[Louis]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure the Statute of Westminster cleared that up (1931.) Or, at the very least, the repatriation of the Constitution (1982.) So, it's just Canada.

[Jorik]

Also:

never speak about 'Holland' if you mean the whole country: that's what we (Dutchmen) properly call 'The Netherlands'. Holland is just the Western part of the Netherlands, roughly said: from Rotterdam upwards to The Hague, via Leiden to Amsterdam, including the polder periphery north from our beloved capital.

(European midget is leaving again...)

[Chris_Crossley]

Scot47 wrote:

[Snoopy]

In a quick written exercise, my students (in England) were asked: "Is our teacher English, Scottish, British or a European citizen?" One answer was wrong: I am not Scottish. But afterwards it provoked a lively discussion: some of the students said that they were Basque, not Spanish, and yet they spoke to each other in Spanish all the time, until they realized that I understood every word they whispered.

I could make similar remarks about the Welsh, whose population of about 3 million comprises an estimated 20% of Welsh-speakers, who use paint-sprays on the English words on all public signs with the exception of "Bed and Breakfast, Boyo".

I am English, and, if you detect any whiff of racism, it comes only from experience.

[nik_knack0828]

Wow Yaramaz!
I'm currently living in Chase (actually Turtle Valley, a small part of Chase) and I work in Salmon Arm. At least two of those made your list. I didn't see Turtle Valley, it's pretty small, though.
Even smaller than Spuzzum, which is my favourite British Columbia town name.

Too bad it wasn't bigger.

Ha ha "Spuzzum Public Library," "Spuzzum Town Hall," "Spuzzum University"

Those would be great!!

[Stephen Jones]

Dear Snoopy,
"Boyo" is a South Wales expression, particularly in the mining villages. Not many bed and breakfasts there (not many Welsh speakers either).
Still, as you said, you have many years of experience of being prejudiced, so it must be pretty hard to let facts get in the way.

[chushki2]

I have always felt there was a problem here, since Canada and Mexico both have nice, pithy names with no confusion. But saying one is "American" is too general and from "the States" always seems like one is speaking a different dialect (since almost no one from the US uses that term).

Therefore, I propose that we makes things easier by using the terms "Erika" and Erikans" in honor of Leif Eriksson. (After all, Amerigo was merely a mapmaker, and Columbus really discovered the Caribbean. Nobody is really sure where Leif landed, it's as close as anything).

Further, once reason someone might respond with a state or city when asked where she/he's from: One gets sick of:

"Where are you from?"
"The United States."
"Ah! New York or Chicago?"

For those of us from the unfortunately named Washington State, it's even worse.

"Which state are you from?"
"The STATE of Washington. Not the city! The STATE! On the West Coast! Just south of Canada!"
"Ah, Washington DC! I have a cousin in Virginia! Your neighbor!"

Therefore, I think it would be much better to rename the state Sacajawea, to avoid confusion. So let's say I'm from Sacajewea, Erika.

[Chris_Crossley]

chushki2 wrote: