Monday, December 5, 2011

Canadian Stereotypes eh

So I'm sure many of you have heard of some Canadian stereotypes, most are pretty funny. They're actually funnier for Canadians to read because we could relate to some of them and be like HAHA THAT'S SO TRUE!! But at the same time, they could get us mad. Here's a list of some of the Canadian stereotypes:
-People in Canada live in igloos. (Really? I don't think I've ever even seen one!)












-We have funny Canadian accents. We say eh a lot, and APPARENTLY..we say "aboot" instead of about. (Okay so maybe that one is true..)
-We put maple syrup on EVERYTHING. (Only on pancackes i swear!!)














-Canada has monopoly money (IT'S REAL MONEY!!!)













-It even snows in the summer. (uhh the sun reaches the north aswell! Summers in Toronto could get hotter than New Jersey!)

-We all play hockey 24/7 and have chipped teeth from it. (We don't ALL play hockey..and what's with the chipped teeth? We are very serious about the game though..)

-All Canadians speak French. (French is spoken in only one Province which is Quebec so..)

This picture contains French Canadian stereotypes.
-We ride Polar Bear. (Okay what.the.heck...never even seen one!)

-Some stereotypes that are true..
-We say "Zed" for the letter Z
-We always drink beer and Canadian beer is better than American beer

-Instead of saying the ninth grade, we say "grade nine"
-There is a HUGE difference between College and University. We say "University" for when we want to reffer to any College. It just makes us sound smarter.
 This clip is from the Tv show Family Guy.

I will end this blog with a monologue that was very popular in Canada in the 90's that was written by Glen Hunt. It is from a beer ad, Molson Canadian. Their slogan has always been "I am Canadian".
This is supposed to be your average Joe from Canada..
Hey, I’m not a lumberjack, or a fur trader….
I don’t live in an igloo or eat blubber, or own a dogsled….
and I don’t know Jimmy, Sally or Suzy from Canada,
although I’m certain they’re really really nice.

I have a Prime Minister, not a president.
I speak English and French, not American.
And I pronounce it ‘about’, not ‘a boot’.

I can proudly sew my country’s flag on my backpack.
I believe in peace keeping, not policing,
diversity, not assimilation,
and that the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal.
A toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a couch,
and it is pronounced ‘zed’ not ‘zee’, ‘zed’ !!!!

Canada is the second largest landmass!
The first nation of hockey!
and the best part of North America

My name is Joe!!
And I am Canadian!!!

What are some stereotypes that you know?

9 comments:

  1. That is exactly what I have seen in American media. I think they are funny too but I can also understand sometimes such stereotypes can get anyone mad. What I would say is such stereotypes are just false assumptions made by people who have barely any idea of what exactly is and taking such things seriously would just satisfy their intent. What I suggest is to always take these things the way they are: funny.

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  2. I love all the pictures you used to show the different stereotypes ! I especially loved the one of the babies ! I'm not goin to lie I believed some of these (maple syrup and hockey :p).This is because we never studied Canada in school. But the song lyrics at the end straighten out any of the stereoptypes!

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  3. I totally agree about stereotyping Canadians. People should really stop making false assumptions. Same goes with Canadian music. I’m a huge fan of Canadian bands like Rush and Anvil..but the thing with Canadian bands is that they never get much appreciation. They should’ve been big!

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  4. I think it's interesting your blog addressing the stereotypes that Canadians face is inspiring so many comments in which people either 1)acknowledge that they do no know much about Canada and thus make assumptions about the people who live there, or 2) talk about the way they too have been stereotyped because of the place that they come from. It seems to me that many of the comments are also suggesting a wide range of possible solutions, including getting information about a country's music out to a wider audience, or using humor, or doing a better job of teaching geography to American students (since students from Nepal, for example, seem to know more about Canada than do American students).

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  5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuQK6t2Esng

    Canadians insult each other like this is my favorite stereotype

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  6. Haha, I'm Canadian, but my family's from Germany/Denmark so we don't do much of these. I'd just like to say that I have never in my life heard anyone say 'oot and aboot', only some people say eh, It really IS pretty damn cold here (-37 degrees today), and people here are every bit as mean and horrible as in America, or anywhere else for that matter. I honestly don't know where the 'Canadians are all nice and polite and non-judgmental' stereotype came from. Maybe it's just b/c I'm German, but I've noticed that Canadians can be really cruel and racist, too. We're kind of just like US' quieter, less flashy cousin.

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  7. Just to add my 2 cents, i have lived here all my life and been all over the country, and have never heard anyone say "aboot".

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  8. as to french being spoken only in Quebec, that is just not true. i imagine that there are french speaking canadians in every province and territory in Canada, and New Brunswik is officially bilingual.

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  9. I can attest to French being spoken outside of Quebec, there are sizable french-speaking populations in Manitoba, New Brunswick and in parts of Ontario. Ever been to Ottawa, Sudbury, Windsor? Lots of French speakers there. Get your facts straight.

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