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The Differences In Canadian Slang Show The Country's Real Divides

We are united only by "chesterfield."

Canada is a big country (second biggest in the world, don't you forget it), and with great size comes great differences in how we speak.

While the Canadian accent has been found to be fairly uniform from coast to coast, the words we use to describe everyday things, and even the pronunciation of those words, varies widely.

The 10 and 3, a site dedicated to visualizing Canadian data, decided to find out exactly what those differences might be, analyzing social media for common usages of things like, for example, how people refer to the summer homes they abscond to on long weekends.

The 10 And 3

And while you've probably heard this argument before (say, while chatting with a friend from Quebec), there are some words we didn't realize were contentious.

The 10 And 3

Come to think of it, this does sound a bit familiar.

And don't even get us started on how people who were in French immersion say "10 on 10" instead of "10 out of 10."

Of course, that's just the thing. Even if you use the terms somewhat interchangeably, as we find we do, specific words do mark where you come from in an undeniable way.

Some other terms we've heard that weren't mentioned by this particular story include how you define the long weekend in May (Victoria Day out west vs. May 2-4 out east) and how you pronounce clique (is it "cleek" or "click" for you?).

Check out these graphics from The 10 and 3 (there's even more on their site) that look at words from across the country, and take your pick: are you more of a "runners" or a "running shoes" kind of person — or do you straight out opt for "sneakers"?

Bunnyhug vs. Hoodie

How Canadians Speak Across The Country

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