I rate it toronto slang7/30/2023 One of the early references to Toronto's unique lexicon came from Kardinal Offishall in 2000 when he released "BaKardi Slang," a rap song outlining the city's local phrases. "For there to be this new feature that's similar is really interesting to me." "It functions similarly to 'eh' in normative Canadian English," he explains. One of the words he's particularly interested in is "ahlie," another Patois expression that gets thrown on to the end of a sentence in much the same way someone might end a statement with "right?" Many of Toronto's slang words are shared with London, England, where slang has also been shaped by Caribbean influences. "But there's an extremely strong association with these words and Toronto," he said. The global nature of Toronto slang makes it hard to say whether the phrases are specifically from the city, Denis noted. "Wallahi" means to swear on god in Arabic, but is commonly used by young people in Toronto and other cities as an alternate way to emphasize a statement. If you tell someone to "nize it," you're telling them to shut up, or if you call someone a "waste yute," you're calling them a silly kid. There are countless other words that are Toronto-centric. As a result, everyday slang words pull from Arabic, Somali and Patois references, among others.ĭuring the Toronto Raptors' championship run, a fan-made sign referred to the opposing Milwaukee Bucks as the "Milwaukee Bucktees," bucktee being an insult deriving from a similar word in Somali. He said Toronto's lexicon is noteworthy in large part because of its unmatched diversity. "When he starts using these words, whether people want to admit it or not, it brings a sort of pride to this city."ĭenis said that's a basic function of slang: to demarcate social boundaries and make you feel like you're in the "in-crowd" by knowing the phrases. "Drake didn't create any of these (words), but we can definitely point to his global influence as a catalyst," Denis said. Phrases like "mans" and "waste yute" have been around for years, but Denis said Toronto's growing pop culture profile means the city's local lingo is being adopted by Torontonians of all stripes. When Derek Denis asks his Toronto-area students about what kind of slang words they're using, he says he usually gets cringes in response.īut the assistant professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga isn't just trying to keep with the times.įor the last two years, he's been studying Toronto's vocabulary and the way the city's ethnic diversity sets its lexicon apart.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |