Quote"The signs of New Brunswick's highways and byways aren't exactly done wrong, but they seem to require a cognitive leap of which our American sensibilities, enfeebled by reality TV shows and Katy Perry songs, are incapable," he explained. "My wife and I found ourselves gazing across a semiotic void, one that necessitated a more elusive process of conversion than miles to kilometres, English to French, or American quarters to Canadian dollars."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/american-tries-to-figure-out-what-canadian-road-signs-mean-and-fails-1.3137763
Pretty funny. Some of them are so silly. Bilingualism will do that I guess. :-D
Quote from: SignGeek101 on July 05, 2015, 02:11:35 AM
Quote"The signs of New Brunswick's highways and byways aren't exactly done wrong, but they seem to require a cognitive leap of which our American sensibilities, enfeebled by reality TV shows and Katy Perry songs, are incapable," he explained. "My wife and I found ourselves gazing across a semiotic void, one that necessitated a more elusive process of conversion than miles to kilometres, English to French, or American quarters to Canadian dollars."
http://www.cbc.ca/news/trending/american-tries-to-figure-out-what-canadian-road-signs-mean-and-fails-1.3137763
Pretty funny. Some of them are so silly. Bilingualism will do that I guess. :-D
If he had so much trouble in Canada, I can't imagine the trouble he'd have in Europe.
IMO most of these signs are not intuitive and should probably include a translation in English and French below the sign.
Because you're not used to them. If you lived in Canada and took a driving test in Canada, you'd probably be a little more familiar with them.
A lot of them the American was trying to be funny.
eg "I understand that all available lodgings are booked, but you are welcome to stay in my hayloft for $250 Canadian." for a sign that means Agri-tourism is pretty spot on.
ditto "Should you happen to die during your visit to Canada, we will ship your remains home in a decorative urn made by one of our many talented local artisans" for Local artisans nearby.
The Pavement Ends sign is similar to the MUTCD W8-3a symbol sign which was decommissioned in the 2009 edition.
Quote from: jeffandnicole on July 05, 2015, 08:07:33 AM
Because you're not used to them. If you lived in Canada and took a driving test in Canada, you'd probably be a little more familiar with them.
Some of those signs are provincial wide only. So anyone from out of province would have more difficulty. NB is fully bilingual, which is actually not common in Canada for road signs.
The author is mostly refering to province-specific tour route logos and park logos. He's just pretending to be dumb.
The bed and breakfast one would work better, IMHO, if the egg were replaced with a knife and fork. Not everyone has eggs for breakfast.
I read the original piece. Pretty thin jabs at low-hanging fruit, funny enough if you are telling your friend in the car, not exactly major-newspaper-columnist level of wit. I was a little embarrassed for Ty Burr.
A lot of the made-up meanings are very funny, especially the sign that illustrates "twerking as punishable by falling rocks"!
Typical Canadian nationalism published by the CBC. Let's badmouth the US any chance we can.....
I have only seen those trail symbols in New Brunswick and nowhere else. I honestly can't believe how silly this country actually is when they badmouth people for not knowing what that meant.
Show someone from Ontario the Quebec version of the "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" sign and tell them if they know what it means.
Quote from: MisterSG1 on July 06, 2015, 11:40:42 PM
Typical Canadian nationalism published by the CBC. Let's badmouth the US any chance we can.....
Funny, I felt like the original was typical US emasculation and cutesifying of Canada.
Quote from: MisterSG1 on July 06, 2015, 11:40:42 PM
Typical Canadian nationalism published by the CBC. Let's badmouth the US any chance we can.....
I have only seen those trail symbols in New Brunswick and nowhere else. I honestly can't believe how silly this country actually is when they badmouth people for not knowing what that meant.
Show someone from Ontario the Quebec version of the "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" sign and tell them if they know what it means.
Relax, it's just for fun. Nobody's badmouthing anyone. Canadian signage, in my opinion, is done well enough that most people would know what a particular sign means. The article just brings to attention some of the potentially silly signage out there, no matter where.
Quote from: SignGeek101 on July 05, 2015, 02:11:35 AM
Pretty funny. Some of them are so silly. Bilingualism will do that I guess. :-D
Pictogrammatical signs were introduced in 1923 because of the rising illiteracy rate among drivers, when automobiles stopped being rich people's toys.
Not because of bilingualism. Language equity was not even imaginable 20's.
Quote from: webfil on July 10, 2015, 06:05:10 PM
Quote from: SignGeek101 on July 05, 2015, 02:11:35 AM
Pretty funny. Some of them are so silly. Bilingualism will do that I guess. :-D
Pictogrammatical signs were introduced in 1923 because of the rising illiteracy rate among drivers, when automobiles stopped being rich people's toys.
Not because of bilingualism. Language equity was not even imaginable 20's.
But weren't there driving tests? You need at least a minimum level of literacy to pass those.