Blog voices: Montreal edition

I'm not sure exactly how this blog meme got resurrected, but I think that Lady Katza from Peanut Butter Macrame mentioned it on twitter last week.  Remember how this was going around last year?  I think I remember Carolyn recording hers in her back garden and we could hear the Aussie insects and birds singing.  Well, mine isn't at atmospheric as hers.  Mine was done in one take while I had 15 minutes to myself.  And I'm sick.  And it's been a long week.  So turn up the volume and be kind: 

List of Words:Aunt, Route, Wash, Oil, Theater, Iron, Salmon, Caramel, Fire, Water, Sure, Data, Ruin, Crayon, Toilet, New Orleans, Pecan, Both, Again, Probably, Spitting image, Alabama, Lawyer, Coupon, Mayonnaise, Syrup, Pajamas, Caught

List of Questions:

What is it called when you throw toilet paper on a house?
What is the bug that when you touch it, it curls into a ball?
What is the bubbly carbonated drink called?
What do you call gym shoes?
What do you say to address a group of people?
What do you call the kind of spider that has an oval-shaped body and extremely long legs?
What do you call your grandparents?
What do you call the wheeled contraption in which you carry groceries at the supermarket?
What do you call it when rain falls while the sun is shining?
What is the thing you change the TV channel with?

 

Also:  I should mention that when I was so emphatic about the word data, I didn't mean the pronunciation, because I actually say it both ways (day-ta and dah-ta).  I just meant that I use and hear that word A LOT!   "Where's the data?  How's the data coming?  What's wrong with this data?  Your data doesn't make any sense!  Quick, I need some more data before the conference next week!"  etc. etc. etc. 


P.S.:  I only briefly touched upon Montreal language, but that subject could be (and has been) the topic of volumes.  There are Montreal-specific words that are used in both French and English (like dépanneur for a convenience store); there are inflections from French that we use in English and English words used in totally different contexts in french (ie. Special doesn't mean special in Quebec; it means "special" as in odd or queer).  There is the contentious matter of French language preservation and the much maligned OLF (Office de la Langue Francaise - AKA The Language Police) who go around giving tickets to small businesses who don't adhere to strict and often bizarre language laws.  Most recent example: a yogurt shop had all its spoons removed because the words pressed into them were in English only.  Heaven forbid!

Another P.S.:  Holy crap, but I fidget around a lot!  Must remember to sit still like a grownup next time.