Member Articles
Coming To Terms with Culture Shock
When my wife Freidah and our children left South Africa, 
we chose an English speaking country for the very obvious reason that we would not have any language problem. After all, English is English, so we presumed. But to our surprise that proved not to be the case. We have since discovered there is a distinct difference between, American, Canadian, South African, British and Australian English. Apart from the accent which is acceptable, there is the problem of dealing with each country’s vernacular. It didn’t take us long to learn the hard way the different English words and sentences have the same connotations and meanings.
Being an avid tennis player the first person I befriended was Lloyd, a Canadian who also liked the game. I duly “picked him up” as we say in South Africa but should have “given him a ride” in my brand new car. Having to train myself to use the left side of the road and to keep clear of the “pavement” which Canadians call the “side walk”, needed some practice.
As he got into the care I told him to put his tennis togs in the “boot”. ”What’s a boot?” he asked. You must mean the “trunk” he presumed. Driving along, a car overtook us at the cross road cutting though the red light. I asked my friend whether drivers here do not obey the “robots”. I have since learned that here they are called “traffic lights”.
When I stopped the garage (service station) and ordered petrol, the attendant explained that they only sell gas. I instructed him to open the “bonnet” to check the oil. He was confused until Lloyd came to my rescue and presumed I meant “hood”. I asked my passenger to put my wallet in the “cubby hole”. He look mystified, I had to point to what he termed the "glove compartment”. En route I reprimanded an irritated diver to stop “blowing his hotter”. He didn’t stop until Lloyd explained that here in Canada they “honk the horn”.
So much for the car ride! When we reached the tennis courts we had some time as our foursome had not yet arrived. I suggested to Lloyd that we should have a “knock up” while we waited. He looked at me askance and asked what I meant. I replied “Let’s hit the ball to warm up”. Relieved he said “oh, you mean a ‘rally’”. During the game I reminded my partner to cover the “tram lines”. This time he really thought I was bonkers. Only after explaining and pointing to the parallel lines on the court he laughed saying this we call the “alley”. Strangely enough my friends now use the South African term.
One night we invited friends to dinner and to “bioscope”. The accepted the dinner but were not quite sure what the latter meant until we started the “movie”. At a later date they reciprocated and entertained us at their home. Everything went well until the host offered me a drink to which I replied with thanks but “I’ll have it just now”. He rushed like crazy to bring it to me immediately. I had to explain that what I meant was “later” and not right now. I could not believe that “just now” in Canada meant right away.
Telephonically we in South Africa speak to the “exchange” whereas in Canada you speak to the “operator”. Here the line is “busy” there it is “engaged”. Here they “put you on hold”, there we say “hang on”.
Talking about food, “melon” you call “cantaloupe”. “Ketchup” we call “tomato sauce”. Our “biltong” is your “jerky”. Corn on the cob” is known to us as “mealies”. Even my wife found it difficult to buy Sabbath bread when she asked for “kitke” when she should have asked for “chala”.
On the subject of business matters, when one negotiates a “mortgage” in Canada you have a ”bond” in South Africa. “An estate agent” is a “realtor” here. A bad “N.S.F” cheque here is an “R.D.” (refer to drawer) cheque, where I come from. A “sleeping partner” you regard as a “silent partner”.
When it come to the baby we use “nappies” you use “diapers”. When they become cranky we give them a “dummy” you give them a “pacifier”. What we call a “lift scheme” you term a “car pool”. “Band aid” we refer to as “plaster”. We refer to a “rubber” which is known in Canada as an “eraser”. In my South African pharmacy, when my clients wanted a “condom” they ordered a “French letter”. I find very few Canadians that are familiar with that alternative.
Finally now that all is said and done, I would like to end by saying as they do back home ‘Bobs your uncle” which a Canadian would say “AND NOW THAT’S IT.”
Submitted by Lou Segal - A richmond member of the Senior Link Society