Vivinavi : Sodegaura : (Japan) Sodegaura

This text has been translated by auto-translation. There may be a slight difference between the original text and the translation. (Original Language: 日本語)

Canada and the U.S. #1

The following is a list of differences between Canada and its neighbor, the U.S., that I felt during my 20 years of residence in Canada.

Canada and the U.S. share a border, and while they both speak English as well, there are many differences. Both countries are made up of many immigrants, but while the U.S. is colored American regardless of country of origin or culture, Canada is said to be a melting pot of races in the U.S. and a mosaic of races in Canada, as each culture is respected in Canada. Perhaps this is why, in my opinion, there seems to be less discrimination and prejudice against race, ethnicity, and more recently, LGBTQ, in Canada.

<州>
The United States has 50 states, called statestates. In Canada, instead of states, there are 10 Provinces and 3 Territories （ ） Territories. The Province of British Columbia, where Vancouver is located, is the third largest of the provinces, but it is about 2.5 times the size of Japan.

<言語>
In the U.S., English is the only official language, but in Canada, the official languages are English and French, so government documents are always written in both languages and the people who work there are generally bilingual. Many large companies also have both English and French company names, and both languages are spoken.

In the Province of Quebec, French is the language of preference and all street signs are in French. When signs are written in English, the French language comes first. However, the use of words, pronunciation, and sometimes even grammar are different from the French used in France. If the French language used in France is the standard language, the language used in Canada seems to be a dialect from a region of France that has developed in its own unique way. I heard that tourists from France sometimes have trouble communicating with cab drivers. The language school I attended in Montreal taught the differences between the two.

The photo shows a stop sign in Quebec. It is written in French above and English below.

In most other provinces, English is the language of preference, but there are some spelling differences, such as "color" for color and "theatre" for theater, etc. In Canada, "eh" is used for "right," which is the last word Americans often use for "right. I was bothered at first by the fact that some people added "eh" every time they said something. When Americans make fun of Canadians, they sometimes add "eh".

<単位>
Canada originally used the same yards and pounds as the US, but decided to move to the metric system in 1970. However, since the U.S. uses the yard ・ and pound system, a neighboring country that has a lot of traffic, there are many situations where the two are mixed together.
In Canada, speedometers are written in kilometers on the outside and miles on the inside, as shown in the photo. Gasoline is measured in liters in Canada as in Japan, but in the U.S. it is measured in gallons.

In grocery stores, weights are often written in pounds lb and grams or kilograms in Canada. The photo is from a butcher shop, where the best Canadian rib steak is listed as $ 44.99 per pound and $ 98.98 per kilo. The clerks at supermarkets and other places where you hear people ordering meat and ham are very good at both.

Height is based on centimeters, but feet feet and inches inch, and weight may also be listed in kilograms and pounds. When asked for height, for example, the answer is often Five-Ten. This is 5 feet 10 inches, or about 178 centimeters. In the world of sports, basketball, ice hockey, baseball, and other sports that are in the same league as the United States use feet, pounds, and miles in many Canadian broadcasts.

Temperatures are measured in Celsius in Canada, the same as in Japan, but Fahrenheit is used in the United States.