Communication Coach Blog
This is a great interview of Larry King by ‘guest host’ and YouTube sensation Asa the comic. If you watch part 2 as well there is a very deep story about an interview Larry did with a paralyzed police officer many years back – powerful story. Larry is truly the king of interviews. Excellent voice and great story teller. Asa holds his own even though he was obviously nervous. (I would be too!) Good job Asa!
This is a common speaking mistake. When English words have a double c (cc), we sometimes pronounce the first c as hard, like a K, and the second c soft, like an S. For example:
“Accept” is pronounced AKSEPT, not ASSEPT.
“Access” is pronounced AKSESS, not ASSESS. That’s a different word with a different meaning, right?
However English is not consistent. We do sometimes pronounce cc like a double k. Example:
“Accolades” is pronounced AKKOLAYDZ
“Accomplishment” is pronounced AKKOMPLISHMENT
So it can be confusing at times. Use a good dictionary which also shows you how to pronounce words (phonetics) if you are not sure.
We also have xc which sounds just like our first example of cc, which is to say the first letter is pronounce hard, the second soft. Example:
“Except” is pronounced EKSEPT
“Excess” is pronounced EKSESS
English can be fun but frustrating to learn, so try to have a sense of humour about it and use a variety of resources to enhance your learning.
(Original post from 2011) This is what I heard today over the phone from a potential client. She does not have a thick accent but she does has one. She sounds fairly confident and certainly intelligent. She has a couple of degrees and valid work experience. So what’s the problem, right?
She sometimes feels shy when she is in a group of Canadians. She is not sure what to say and if she says something is it appropriate or not. She is not as confident as she would like to be.
Like many she starts to think it is because of her accent, but as we chat longer over the phone she begins to understand that her level of formal English, both academic and professional, have taken her so far, but not far enough to truly mingle stress-free with the native Canadians. What does she need?
After admitting that she doesn’t have any native English-speaking friends to hang out with (she spends time only with people from her community – the exact community is not important for this story) I tell her that she needs to study, learn and integrate pop culture and idioms more to help increase her comfort.
It almost sounds too easy and so she resists, but it will not do her any good. Language, any language, not just English, is a reflection of the culture. Textbook English starts you off but to improve fluency you need to be able to speak about current affairs, get pop culture references and retort back to idioms.
Reducing your accent will benefit you if you have a thick accent, and there is nothing wrong with spending time to work on it even if it’s pretty good already, if you so choose. But please do not neglect the amount of fluency that comes from informal chit-chat, especially through idioms, slang, colloquialisms, and pop-culture references like movies, comics, heroes, books, etc.
Pop Quiz:
Who is Princess Leigh?
What is a Hobbit?
Where does ‘Gotham city’ come from?
Name a friend of Harry Potter.
What’s the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek? Name a few main characters from Friends, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons.
I could go on but for now if you can answer these questions easily then you are not living with your head in the sand, and you probably enjoy North American culture. If you are having problems answering my questions, then you probably have difficulty with small talk and in social situations in general with native English speakers, especially us North Americans. Borrow some books, rent some dvds or go online to YouTube or a steaming service, and watch some more content. If you have friends to join you – all the better. Create a study group and have fun while you learn. It’s worth the investment of time to learn some pop culture, and who knows, you might actually have fun learning it! 🙂
Take a look at these 3-syllable words:
Business
Chocolate
Corporate
If we read them as if English was a syllabic language, like Japanese for example, then we would read/pronounce them “bus-i-ness”, “choc-o-late” and “cor-por-ate”, right?
But that is not the way we say it, at least here in North America.
The way the word is written may appear to indicate that there are 3 syllables but we pronounce them like 2, and to do that we “squish” the middle vowel.
Try this:
“Bus-ness, Choc-late, Cor-prate.”
Okay that’s a start, but now we have to obey the “-ate” rule, which states that the “-ate” at the end of a sentence is pronounced like “it” if the word is a noun or adjective, and “8” if the word is being used as a verb. For example, “The graduates will graduate in June” is pronounced “The gradu”its” will gradu”8″ in June.”
So now when we put it all together, we should read our original three words like so (capitals are used to show stress):
BIZ-niss
CHOK-lit
KOR-prit
Try this sentence: “The corporate (kor-prit) office of the Dreamy Chocolate (chok-lit) Company reports that business (biz-niss) is running well ahead of schedule and will produce lots of chocolates (chok-lits) in time for Christmas.”
Hello everyone,
I would like to share an email I received today from Grace, one of my private coaching clients here in Toronto. (I have her permission to share this.) Before I do I just want to give you a little background on her. She has been transferred here from Shanghai, China, and works for a large financial institution.
In addition to working with me to improve her business English (which by the way is already really good) I coach Grace on interpersonal and professional communication skills.
Currently Grace is enrolled in a fun, dynamic Dale Carnegie course, which I fully support. However, I had the opportunity and ability to take her DC training further, by adding to what she was learning and advising her on how to improve her public speaking. (There are advantages to one-to-one training over large group workshops, right?)
Here is the unedited email I received today:
Thanks a lot, Ric!
I can’t wait to share the great news with you that I won the
Breakthrough Award yesterday at my Carnegie’s class!
I did restructure my story as you suggested and applied the body
language you taught me. My classmates were very impressed and voted
me as the winner of the night. I think the credit goes to you.
Without your help and inspiration, I would never get there. Thanks
so much!!!
Grace
_____________________
No Grace, thank YOU for being a hard-worker and a brave public speaker in English as a second language. It is not easy. Keep up the good work in your DC class as well as in our coaching sessions!
Coach Ric
Hi folks,
I originally compiled this list of Canadian English for a workshop I did recently for an organization that helps new immigrants settle and learn job skills, but I also think this list is great for people that visit Canada for business or pleasure. I know there are words and phrases that I’ve missed, and there may be some regional disagreements with this list, but it should serve it’s purpose, and maybe even generate some fun discussion that leads to a deeper understanding of Canadian language and culture. Enjoy!
“Aboot” – Despite what American T.V. and films suggest, we do not mispronounce “about” like this. Maybe 2% of the population might, but as a general rule – nope.
Can – instead of washroom, bathroom, toilet, lavatory, WC, loo, etc.
Canuck – A slang term for a Canadian, but we don’t take offense!
Chocolate bar – instead of candy bar.
Double-double – a cup of coffee with two creams and two sugars. ‘Tim Hortons’ coffee shop lingo. If you want just one cream and one sugar, you have to ask for “regular”.
Eh? Said often to get agreement, clarification or confirmation. Americans say “huh?”
Hoodie – A hooded sweatshirt.
Hogtown – old name for Toronto. The kids say T.O. or T-dot.
Homo milk – whole milk with a fat content greater than 2%, usually 3.25%.
Hoser – Nickname for a blue-collar Canadian popularized by Bob and Doug Mackenzie characters from SCTV and “Strange Brew”. Not generally spoken these days.
Hydro – synonym for electrical service, as in “Did you pay the hydro (bill) yet?”
Inuit – our Northern natives/aboriginals. We don’t call them “Eskimos”.
Joe Blow – Means any random person, like John Q. Public or any Tom, Dick or Harry.
Keener – an “eager beaver”, someone who is diligent and works (too) hard!
KD – Kraft Dinner – macaroni and cheese in a box. Americans call is “Mac N’ Cheese”.
Line-up – instead of saying “line” or “queue”. Used as a compound noun and verb.
Loonie – Canadian one dollar coin, that has a picture of a loon (bird) on it.
Mickey – no, not the mouse. This is the name for the small, pocket-sized bottle of booze.
Newfie – a person from Newfoundland, that tends to be the brunt of a lot of jokes. In today’s politically correct world, this is considered insulting and no longer acceptable to use.
Pissed – can mean angry or drunk.
Pogey – old name for (un)employment insurance given by the government.
Pop – Instead of “soda pop” or “soda”. Also slang for beer, made popular by Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry on The Coach’s Corner.
Poutine – french fries topped with cheese curd and covered with hot gravy.
Puck-Bunny – a girl that likes hockey players, as in a “groupie”.
Runners – running shoes. We don’t often say “tennis shoes”, “trainers”, “sneakers” or “joggers”.
Shinny – means pond, river or street hockey. A.K.A. a game of pick-up.
Ski-Doo – used generically to refer to any snowmobile.
Snowbird – a Canadian who spends the winter in the south, like in Florida. This is also the name of our national team of airplanes that perform at air shows.
Timbits – donut holes sold at Tim Hortons or “Timmy’s”. By the way, Tim Horton was an ex-NHL hockey player who started the first Tim Hortons shop in 1964 in Hamilton.
Toboggan – What we call our sleds and sleighs that we ride down the snowhill.
Toonie – the Canadian two-dollar coin. Two loonies equal a toonie!
Toque – a knitted winter hat.
26er – 26 imperial fluid oz alcohol – the big bottle!
2-4 – “two four”- a box containing 24 beer.
Washroom – commonly used instead of saying bathroom, lavatory, WC, loo, etc.
Zed – the last letter of the alphabet is pronounced “zed” instead of “zee”.
Canada on July 1, 1867 a lot like Canada today
Millions of people are gathering all over Canada to celebrate the country’s 143rd birthday, but the Canada of today in many ways is similar to the one of July 1, 1867.
People celebrated, world leaders worked toward a global economy, Canadians felt attached to British traditions and a new technology was changing how people communicated.
Queen Elizabeth II is even here with us to celebrate this year.
In 1867, Queen Victoria, Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother wrote in her proclamation, “We do ordain, declare, and command, that on and after the first day of July one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-seven, the Provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick shall form and be one Dominion under the name Canada.”
With those words Canada became a nation.
(RIC’S NOTE: Way back then, Ontario was known as ‘Upper Canada’ and Quebec was known as ‘Lower Canada’, and that is what is meant by ‘the provinces of Canada’ in the above speech by the queen. Yes, Canada was formed with just 4 provinces!)
To read the rest of this article on Yahoo!, please visit this link now:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/yahoocanada/canada_on_july1__1867_a_lot_like_canada_today
