Canadianese term
- noun
- Canadian
:
término canadiense
- He explained that 'toonie' is a Canadianese term for a two-dollar coin.
Examples
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A Canadianese term is 'eh'.
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Linguists often collect Canadianese terms to document regional language differences.
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He explained that 'toonie' is a Canadianese term for a two-dollar coin.
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Her essay included several Canadianese terms unfamiliar to British readers.
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Wow! That's a common Canadianese term!
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Her essay included several Canadianese terms unfamiliar to British readers.
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Linguists often collect Canadianese terms to document regional language differences.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Canadianese + term
The headword 'term' clearly denotes a word or phrase, and 'Canadianese'—though nonstandard—is transparently formed from 'Canadian' + the familiar suffix '-ese' that denotes a language or style. Because the construction lets a learner infer 'a word or phrase characteristic of Canadian English' without prior exposure but relies on morphological inference from a coinage, it is not fully idiomatic nor fully regular, so it is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
The noun Canadianese term comes from adding -ese to Canadian to make a joking word that sounds like a language name. Because this image suggests a special 'Canadian' way of speaking, it came to mean 'a word or phrase typical of Canadian English'.
