"The" Walmart

[Inky 1,110]

I don't use "the" I always just say Walmart and we have 3 close to us.

None of my family or friends ever say " The " in front of anything we say.

Only very few of us use " eh " and they are from more north.

I got made fun of for saying " eh " for the first year and a half and I don't use it anymore.

But I still get called " Canmerican " by pretty much everyone he works with.

[canada_socks 97]

I always say 'the' in front of highways, and my husband thinks it is weird. When he visited Canada the first time, we went to Toronto and I was talking about the rout we were taking. "We take THE 400 to THE 401 going east" etc.

I also say it in front of places the way you do Thea. If there is more than one. "We are going to THE Tim Hortons" "Wanna go to THE McDonalds?". I never noticed it until my husband pointed it many years ago! My family and friends in Canada say it too.

[BlueBonnet 84]

I got made fun of for saying " eh " for the first year and a half and I don't use it anymore.

I am guilty of saying Eh. For such a little word it says so much.

Question Eh?

Excited Eh!

Fact Eh.

I try not to use slang, but that little buggar gets by sometimes.

Another word I use alot, is one I learned here ... it made me laugh so hard.

It was a thread posted by someone who was asking what words their S.O. was having difficulty saying so that they - the English speaking S.O. could understand. One person posted ... I could almost quote this :

Sometimes when she says Darling, it sounds like Dumbass.

I told my husband about this one, and whenever were jokey arguing, I call him darling ... he does it to me too.

Some light reading if you have time . . .

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/255868-usc-what-english-word-does-your-so-mispronounce-most-often/

Edited June 14, 2012 by BlueBonnet

[warlord 72]

I always say 'the' in front of highways, and my husband thinks it is weird. When he visited Canada the first time, we went to Toronto and I was talking about the rout we were taking. "We take THE 400 to THE 401 going east" etc.

Actually that's not all that strange for highways. I always say "the 101" or "the 210 freeway" or for interstates "the 5 Freeway" or "the 10 Freeway". Here though saying "The I-25 Freeway" will get you that where the hell are you from look.

Of course this could be because Los Angeles metro area is really the 3rd largest Canadian city by population believe it or not...

[JohnR! 5,495]

1339763335[/url]' post='5452925']

. I always say "the 101"

I still call it Ventura HIGHWAY! LOL. Old habits die hard!

[Stuart and Thea 95]

Problem is you's talking Canadian!

You's in America now, so you better start learning how to talk good Murkhan!!!!! LOL...

You can get right back at him by adding 'the' to all these places, a perfectly timed pause, followed by an adverb of place as in 'I went to the McDonalds... ...on Main'... Make sure you make eye contact and look smug... LOL

Hahaha! I giggled BIG time at this one! My husband has lived all over, and has an interesting accent, not quite Little Rock, but it's still there. Whenever I do something purely Canadian, or misunderstand something because of my Canadian goggles, he comes out saying pretty much that in exactly the way you described, putting a really thick redneck accent on. I find it adorable!

See I don't think Canadian realize that they do it. And I know I never did it all the time.

I would never say, "I'm going to the Wal-mart", but I would say, "Let's go the Wal-mart to get the patio furniture and the the Pizza Hut for dinner". I would only use it when I'm referring to a specific location that correlates with the next place.

It's kind of hard to explain, but I think it's used more in the context of, "Let's go to the Wal-mart [on Main St.] for the XXX" - we are leaving out the specific location details.

At least that's how I would use it. I don't think Thea means in a redneck kind of way.

You hit the nail on the head, that's it exactly! I kinda was surprised to hear that rednecks did it too, but they do it the way my husband described, as in, there's only one, so it's the...

So glad to hear I'm not alone in this one, but I had never heard it talked about as a difference before...

[warlord 72]

I still call it Ventura HIGHWAY! LOL. Old habits die hard!

I still hear some people call it the "Hollywood Freeway" or instead of the "1" the "PCH or Pacific Coast Highway".

Kind of funny they all have names but rarely does anyone actually use it. Hell I have yet to ever hear anyone use the term "The San Gabriel River Freeway" in my life ha ha. Why bother naming them.

Here we have the "Valley Freeway", and if you ever say it, not a single person will know what the hell you're talking about...

[Dana and Divine 61]

Okay, this seems rather weird, but it makes sense to me, being the Canadian, and my husband cracks up everytime I say it. He's tried badly to explain it to his friends, and ends up just making fun of me... well here goes, tell me if you do this too:

I say, "we can get it at the walmart on the way home"

It's the "the" that's the big deal to him.

We have two walmarts, I call one The walmart, and one The Supercenter. If we only had one, I think, but can't be sure, that I'd just say "we can get it at walmart" instead of "the" walmart.

We only have one Target, so I only say Target. Same with KMart. If the store had The in the title, I normally do say it, but have been known to just say Home Depot instead of The Home Depot, if there is only one in town.

On the flip side, because there are SO many McDonalds in town, I would probably just say McDonalds instead of The McDonalds. Unless I was meeting someone at a McDonalds close to where I was regularly, like if I was going for lunch, I'd probably say "I'll meet you over at the McDonalds" instead of just plain McDonalds.

I also find that I say things like "over 60 you need to go to the bingo" instead of just bingo, and I KNOW I'm not the only one who does that.

My American husband finds this highly amusing, so I've been listening to my friends and family closely to see if they also say the, when not really needed. A lot of them do! But here it's just weird.. I'm trying not to.

I explained it to him that the sentence kind of ends with the unspoken WHICH walmart I mean when I say the. He thinks I should only say the if there's one in town, but that's not how it works. It's that we need to go to the walmart (near his work) or the mcdonalds (across the street) for example. Rather than any of them being okay to choose.

(please tell me I'm not alone in being made fun of over this... is it a Canadian thing? I'm from Kitchener Waterloo...)

I lived in Johnson City, TN and my mother in Knoxville, TN...throughout that state, they all say "THE" Walmart! It used to crack me up too! We're Southern in Alabama, but even we do not say "the" Walmart. WE are simply going to Walmart.

[JohnR! 5,495]

I still hear some people call it the "Hollywood Freeway" or instead of the "1" the "PCH or Pacific Coast Highway".

Kind of funny they all have names but rarely does anyone actually use it. Hell I have yet to ever hear anyone use the term "The San Gabriel River Freeway" in my life ha ha. Why bother naming them.

Here we have the "Valley Freeway", and if you ever say it, not a single person will know what the hell you're talking about...

It does however, give us insight as to how places evolved and developed... At one point I am sure the name 'San Diego Freeway' meant the road that took you from LA to SD, however, today it is almost impossible to discern where one ends and the other begins...

[Texas22 50]

Hahaha! I giggled BIG time at this one! My husband has lived all over, and has an interesting accent, not quite Little Rock, but it's still there. Whenever I do something purely Canadian, or misunderstand something because of my Canadian goggles, he comes out saying pretty much that in exactly the way you described, putting a really thick redneck accent on. I find it adorable!

You hit the nail on the head, that's it exactly! I kinda was surprised to hear that rednecks did it too, but they do it the way my husband described, as in, there's only one, so it's the...

So glad to hear I'm not alone in this one, but I had never heard it talked about as a difference before...

I find this thread quite amusing as I just had this conversation with my fiance (he's the USC) the last time I visited. But he was the one that said "the".. in fact he said: "Greg wants us to meet him at The Walmart". I laughed my butt off at him. And yeah, it's because there is only 1 Walmart in the town we were in... so they call it "The Walmart"..

Oh and yeah, he's from the south (Texas) and definitely redneck country....

[Canadiandggal 49]

I find this thread quite amusing as I just had this conversation with my fiance (he's the USC) the last time I visited. But he was the one that said "the".. in fact he said: "Greg wants us to meet him at The Walmart". I laughed my butt off at him. And yeah, it's because there is only 1 Walmart in the town we were in... so they call it "The Walmart"..

Oh and yeah, he's from the south (Texas) and definitely redneck country....

My heritage is Scottish and Ukrainian, But Im 1000 Percent Canadian lol

I've never used "the" for any store and I Have never heard anyone use it in the way you are describing. I do Use "eh" But not very often in the past few years, Only when I ask a question and no reply is given....

"What do you want for dinner???"

Taps foot.. A Minute later

"EH???"

I still notice that I constantly say sorry to the point of everybody stares at me.

[Texas22 50]

It is funny because I asked my fiance if he thinks people know that I'm not from around there when I visit... he said "no, not unless they talk to you for a few minutes... then they'll know"... I think they all talk funny and they think we talk funny. But I am so used to his accent now I don't even notice it... well except for when he says "Y'all"..

When he came to Canada a bunch of us went ice fishing and our friends told him that if the game warden showed up... that he should just keep quiet, because if he said anything.. the warden would know for sure that he wasn't from around these parts... lol.

I use "eh" a lot apparently, but I don't even notice it... but they all do. Sometimes when we are chatting online I even find myself typing the word eh... hehe..

[KTandTommy 30]

I'm sorry to bring up an old-ish thread, but this had me laughing SO hard!!!

I use "the" in front of highways all the time "I take the 427 to the 401, to the 400" (Also, if you're visiting Toronto, don't ever refer to those as "four hundred twenty seven" ... it's four-twenty-seven)

But I don't think I use it in front of stores... "the walmart" just sounds weird to me, unless i'm referring to a specific one : "the walmart on st. clair" LOL.

As for "eh" ... I use it ALL the time, and I get made fun of BIGTIME for it

[Ban Hammer 12,842]

they use funny looking draft horses too in canada!

[Sprailenes 47]

I have family in Quebec who call it: "Walmarts" I always get a kick out of that.