ABSTRACT
A number of years ago, I was asked to proofread a publicity brochure for the Faculty of Education at my university, along with my American colleague Jill McClay, a long-time resident of Canada. We had not read much of what I perceived as its very innocuous prose when she broke down in gales of laughter. ‘Every time I think I finally understand Canadians, I see something like this’, she gasped when she finally got her breath back. I looked carefully at the brochure but nothing struck me as unusual. She pointed. ‘The city of Edmonton is exciting yet safe’, promised the blurb.
