It's so Canadian, eh? though!

Oh, Daniel - you were such a great student: curious, gregarious, witty, and kind. Something always bugged me though. You would suddenly interrupt class with a shout: FIONA, YOU SAID IT AGAIN!

I didn't mind though because I knew your keen linguistic mind was at work, whittling away at grammar rules and English language patterns.

I was stymied, though, because however often I tried to explain and answer your questions, you stared back at me, mystified and suspicious that I hadn't quite told the whole story.

So, for you, my former, fabulous student. Here is the whole story. The Story of Though, Canadian-style:

Though began life as an "although", sometimes an "even though", burdened with awkward spelling and sharp competition. Though is tight with his cousins, "however", "but", "despite", "in spite of" and especially close with "that said", though the family resemblance is sometimes hard to spot on first sight. Though often prefers to be fashionably late and make a statement. I doubt he'd admit it, though. I must confess, I like Though quite a bit.

Is Though particularly Canadian?! Though I like the suggestion, I'm not so sure, and though I hear him all around me and often from me, I haven't yet seen research that substantiates such a claim. I would like that, though. I detest the tag question, eh?, which supposedly defines the "Canadian" dialect.

Though is more concession than contradiction. It's the word you can turn to when all your thoughts have been exhausted.  Though is a gentle reprimand or hopeful encouragement. If its ubiquity is courtesy of Canada, then that's just perfect.  Don't bring it up at the G20 though; they might not have a clue what you're talking about.

Though this might not clear it all up for you, Daniel, I hope you have enjoyed the story. I sincerely hope you "got it" though because I can still see your accusing bright eyes across the classroom tables.

quick reference guide for Daniel and other travellers to Canada:

though=although=even though

as in: Though/Although/Even though I like Canadians, they smell too much like maple syrup. FOCUS: Canadians are smelly

starring *though* as its wonderful self:

1. I had a great time in Tofino! We went surfing in the most incredible waves and stayed at an awesome hotel. It rained everyday though.

(hint= Though/Although/Even though Tofino was great and we surfed in the most incredible waves and stayed at an awesome hotel, it rained everyday) FOCUS: It rained. Boo.

2. Omigod! That Canadian guy was super-creepy. He talked to me all night and when his phone buzzed he didn't even check it. He's like some engineering student or something. Anyway, he blabbed on about Canada and pipelines and how important they were. He wanted to know who I voted for in the last election. As if! He was cute though.

(hint=....?) You tell me. Seriously. Write your answer below.

Is Though your friend too? Look forward to your comments.

'Tis the season to be jolly - jajajajaja jajajaja (or "the laugh seen around the world")

A chicken sounds like what??!! I was trying furiously not to laugh as my students starting making all manners of sounds. Who knew Japanese cows sounded like that? Or Chinese chickens. It was one of those odd but happy accidents in the ESL classroom when I discovered yet another thing I didn't know: different languages have different sounds for their animal uttterances. That day, the multicultural mix of my Canadian ESL classroom created a cacophony of the strangest noises ever heard by English or otherwise ears. It was hysterical.

A similar dawning of new knowledge has been slowly stretching over me as I embrace digital communication with my students. I teach adults and therefore don't struggle with some of the privacy fears and issues my colleagues have with communicating with their students via Facebook, email, or text. I share messages, updates, announcements, encouragement etc...with my students using whatever method of communication they feel most comfortable using and with which they are most engaged. It's fantastic. It was on Facebook that I first started to notice:

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk


and


jajajajajaja


and the mysterious

^^

or even

~~~


Huh?

Ok, I'm not so slow that I didn't figure it out. My students are laughing! In text! In different letters or characters than in English! And not the dreaded and dreadful  lol fake-laugh! Also funny: I make kkkkkkkkk and jajajajaja sounds in my own head as I laugh along with them.

Of course, there's cool linguistic stuff here too: Spanish speakers and their "ja ja", Greek speakers and "xa xa" - small clues into the sounds of their languages (and sometimes how those sounds affect their English pronunciation!) - and the Japanese "~~~"  or Korean "^^" - western keyboard equivalents for the Chinese character 笑  (laugh). Just can't explain that kkkkkk.

And so I will live to learn and laugh another day. Thank you, my friends.

p.s. Blessed with these real AND Facebook friends who responded quickly to my plea for more examples of international laughs in text:

Alice & Janine (Swiss) - hehe or hihi
Daniel (Spanish) - jaja
Luanna (Brazilian Portuguese)- kkkkkkk
Hiroko (Japanese) - ~~~ or ^^
Hani (Arabic) - kkkkkkk
Grace (Tagalog) - nyahaha or hehe or hihi
Louis (Korean) - ^^
Dino (Chinese) - ^^
Aoy (Thai) - 555
Christine & Terry (Greek) - xa xa
Santa (North Polian) - hohoho

Please add comments or any other laughter from around the world! Happy holidays.