Greater Toronto English

Greater Toronto English, Multicultural Toronto English (shortened to MTE), or (also mainly known as Toronto English)[1] is a sociolect linguistic variety of English dialect that is spoken within Canada. It is spoken specifically within the Greater Toronto Area and inner-city Toronto, generally spoken by young, working-class people, in an area where it is known for its multicultural diverse population and Caribbean influence. Including the variants which have emerged to other diverse neighbourhoods and urban cities as well, such as Ottawa,[2] Hamilton, Barrie, and parts of Montréal, Calgary and Edmonton. Greater Toronto English has also taken strongly similar approaches to Multicultural London English (shorten to MLE), with the exception of it having arisen differently, aside from a different accent and having it's own vocabulary of words.[3]

Greater Toronto English
Toronto English
RegionGreater Toronto Area
EthnicityVarious
Latin (English alphabet)
SourcesVarious, mainly Caribbean dialects (specifically Jamaican Patois), African dialects, and Arabic
Language codes
ISO 639-3–

Vocabulary

Here is a list of the common examples of vocabulary words that are spoken in Greater Toronto English which include:

Adjectives
  • Bare (very/a lot/many)[4]
  • Beat (something that looks ugly, can be used to describe an object)[5]
  • Cheesed (used to describe that you're either pissed, mad or angry).[6]
  • Dutty (dirty, bad, ugly)[7]
  • Likkle (patois word from the English word "little")[8]
  • Merked (ugly, unattractive)

Interjections
  • Ahlie! (used as an expression that you agree to something or "am I lying?"[9]
  • Are you dumb? (to describe someone who's behaving stupid and being a complete idiotic person.[10]
  • Dun Know (another way of saying "you already know", "of course" or "I know").[11]
  • Holy! (Often used when a person needs to chill out, or if they're doing too much).[12]
  • Wagwan (An equivalent greeting to "what's up" or "what's going on?") [13][9]

Pronouns
  • "Mans"[lower-alpha 1] (he/it, first or second-person singular)
  • "You" (second-person singular)
  • "You mans" (You, plural)
  • "My mans" (third-person singular, masculine)
  • "My guy" (close friend or aquantance)
  • "Them/dem mans/mandem" (them)
  • "Us mans" (we)
  1. The usage of man(s) is somewhat more common in MTE. In MLE however, the (s) isn't used in "man" unless you're referring to a group of guys, but in MTE, that doesn't seem to be the case as it is the preferred way.

Nouns
  • Bucktee/Bean (Referring to someone who's a crackhead, or acting stupid)[14]
  • Cyattie (a word used to describe a female who is being loud and obnoxious)[15]
  • Fam (Short for "family", but is notably used to refer to a "friend"[16]
  • Mandem (a group of males, male friends)[17]
  • Styll (pronounced "still" it means to agree to someone or the truth, and is occasionally used at the last part of a statement)[18][19]
  • Telly (slang for a hotel or a hotel room)[20]
  • Ting (A thing or something, but usually refers to an attractive female)[21]
  • Two-Four (used to refer to a case of 24 pack beers)[15] This noun however isn't just unique to Toronto, but is used across Canada.
  • Wasteman/Wasteyute (A worthless, garbage, insensible idiotic person that makes bad decisions with their life, both of these words is used interchangeably.)[22]
  • Yute (patois word from the English word "youth")[23]

Verbs
  • Allow/Lowe ➝ it or that (To ignore, forget or not bother with)[24]
  • Ball up (smoking marijuana)
  • Nize it (to tell someone to shut up, or stop talking)[11]
  • Y pree (patois word, meaning to mind your own. ex: why are you in my business?)[25]
  • Reach/Come thru ("reach" or "come thru" are both synonyms for "come by" or "attend").[26]
  • Scoop me (to get a ride somewhere, get picked up)[12]

See also

References
  1. Denis, Derek (2016-10-05). "A note on mans in Toronto". Toronto Working Papers in Linguistics. 37. doi:10.33137/twpl.v37i0.26973. ISSN 1718-3510.
  2. "21 Ottawa Slang Words You've Definitely Heard At Least Once". Narcity. 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  3. "A Linguistics Professor Wrote An Entire Academic Paper On The Toronto Slang Word 'Mans'". Narcity. 2018-05-07. Retrieved 2022-03-03.
  4. "The Ultimate Guide To Toronto Slang For Everyday Situations". Narcity. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  5. "25 Toronto Slang Words You've Definitely Heard At Least Once". Narcity. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  6. "A brief guide to Turrono slang". The Varsity. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  7. "Caribbean Expressions Used by Torontonians". VIBE 105. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  8. "Caribbean Expressions Used by Torontonians". VIBE 105. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  9. "The Toronto Slang You Didn't Think You Needed". 6ixBuzz. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  10. "The Toronto Slang You Didn't Think You Needed". 6ixBuzz. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  11. "6 Torontonian Slang Words From The Jamaican Vocabulary And What They Really Mean". Narcity. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  12. "14 Toronto Slang Phrases You'll Only Understand If You're Fluent In Torontonian". Narcity. 2019-08-22. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  13. "40 Things You'll Hear A Scarborough Person Say". Narcity. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  14. Denis, Derek (2021-07-03). "Raptors Vs. Bucktees: the Somali influence on Toronto Slang*". Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. 42 (6): 565–578. doi:10.1080/01434632.2021.1895181. ISSN 0143-4632.
  15. leahsoboroff (2017-08-14). "20 Toronto Slang Words You Need To Know". Society19. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  16. Salazar, Antoinette (2021-12-13). "How do you speak Toronto slang?". About Canada. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  17. "40 Things You'll Hear A Scarborough Person Say". Narcity. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  18. "'Dip,' 'Merked,'Swag' — Is This What Teens Are Saying These Days?". HuffPost. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  19. "The Ultimate Guide To Toronto Slang For Everyday Situations". Narcity. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  20. "What does "Telly" mean? | DailyRapFacts". dailyrapfacts.com. 2020-08-10. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  21. "The Toronto Slang You Didn't Think You Needed". 6ixBuzz. 2020-12-13. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  22. "A brief guide to Turrono slang". The Varsity. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  23. "Caribbean Expressions Used by Torontonians". VIBE 105. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  24. "The Ultimate Guide To Toronto Slang For Everyday Situations". Narcity. 2017-06-09. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  25. "[OFFICIAL] Toronto Slang Catalog". Kanye to The. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  26. "40 Things You'll Hear A Scarborough Person Say". Narcity. 2015-12-14. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
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