Canadian usage of "quite"

[dorsetgirl]

I'm working on a submission to an academic journal with a research buddy - I'm in the UK, he's Canadian, we communicate by email and generally have a pretty relaxed relationship with a reasonable amount of humour

Comments

[beesandbrews]

In American quite means really. In other words, the first sentence worked. The second, not so much. There's no passive agressive intention there.

Not sure how a Canadian would interpret the same. I suppose it would depend on their local idiom.

[dorsetgirl]

Thank you very much! I didn't think he was being passive aggressive, I just wasn't sure how to read "quite".

[queyntefantasye]

Sorry, I know I'm a random person, but a friend asked me to comment since I live and teach in Canada.

I second the response above: he liked the first sentence. There is a slight sense of "but" about it; he's saying this because he wants to soften the blow of the change made to the second sentence. But he's not being snarky.

But I'm very intrigued by the British usage. I didn't realize "quite" was so offensive in the UK.

[dorsetgirl]

Please, don't apologise for being helpful!

There is a slight sense of "but" about it

That's really useful to know, thank you. I definitely annoyed him in my previous email and I'd even been concerned I'd damaged our working together, so this is very reassuring.

I didn't realize "quite" was so offensive in the UK

No, no, "quite" isn't offensive at all. I was slightly parodying our "perfect politeness is the worst kind of insult" way of going about things, but in general we use "quite" to mean "only a bit". Which of course could be construed as offensive but in a pretty indirect way.

So for example the statement "it was quite good" could mean - according to context and tone of voice - either "it was just about adequate" or "it was actually a lot better than I expected" or (incorporating heroic understatement) "it was totally amazing".

[queyntefantasye]

Yes, once I posted the comment, I realized that I totally backed up my claim to being Canadian by starting with an apology. I guess that's another local usage: in Canada, "sorry" often is a somewhat apologetic version of "hi, I'm here; I'm not really sorry, but I hope that I'm not in your way." :)

I'd say that Canadians have a complicated relationship with "quite." Since it's something of a Britishism here, it seems to be perceived as a more "cultured" word than, say, "really" or "very." I remember having a conversation with a colleague about undergraduates overusing it wildly, assuming it would lend sophistication to their style. So, actually, there is a possibility your research buddy is mimicking your own vocabulary just a little bit; subconsciously trying to sound "more British" as he is responding.

[dorsetgirl]

by starting with an apology

We do that quite a lot in person, but not so much in writing, I think.

[Quite is] something of a Britishism here

Thank you for explaining this - I hadn't realised. Although there is definitely something quite amusing (you have NO IDEA how many times today I've done that...) about it being a Britishism but it gets used in a different way from how we use it.

[silverflight8]

We're pretty close to American usage and yes, it'd mean "I really liked it".

(Also, you can always just ask :P)

[dorsetgirl]

Thank you very much - this is very reassuring.

you can always just ask :P

Lol, I think not - how would I know how to interpret the answer? *g*

[fencer_x]

As others have said, Americans would interpret it without any passive-aggression: they did like your first sentence, a lot in fact, but the second needed some minor correction.

One other thing, though: As an American, I would never EVER use 'quite' in that context. I know exactly what it means from an American POV, but it reads 150% UK English to me, and any time I see it, I hear a posh British accent in my head. I have used it profusely myself--but only ever in my writing, which is high fantasy and generally uses more older-fashioned vocabulary/grammatical constructions.

We don't USE 'quite' differently in that context; we INTERPRET it differently. It's strictly a UK usage as far as I've ever heard it.

[dorsetgirl]

they did like your first sentence, a lot in fact

That's very reassuring to know, thank you! I'm surprised that people are seeing passive-aggression - perhaps it's just terminology, but to me, the British way of becoming more steely polite the more annoyed you are is totally different from passive aggression.

I'm also interested to learn that you see "I quite like it" as very British, particularly given that we're discussing the way "quite" is used differently in the US and Canada. Presumably due to history and immigration patterns British usage is closer to the surface in Canada.

[biascut]

Yes, I don't read it as passive-aggressive at all. It's intended to mollify, not inflame things further.

[dorsetgirl]

Thank you! From his response to my earlier, rather clumsy email, I was definitely expecting something less than positive, but I suspected that a straightforward British reading of the sentence wasn't going to be accurate. I'm glad I checked!

[magedragonfire]

Nah, there's nothing negative to be inferred there. Canadian English uses 'quite' as a straightforward intensifier in most cases like this (and usually when it's used in a sarcastic manner, it's really obvious by vocal tone - and, really, probably wouldn't be used for sarcasm in an e-mail anyways because of that lack of tone signifier (that'd just be impolite)). He liked your first sentence just dandy.

[dorsetgirl]

Canadian English uses 'quite' as a straightforward intensifier in most cases

Thank you, I shall remember that!

To be honest, if it weren't for this existence of this comm - which is almost certainly where I first learned about the difference in meaning of "quite" in North America - I would simply read his reply as meaning "it was just about adequate" and would still be wondering whether to be mildly offended or simply confused that it was the first sentence that was borderline but it was the second sentence that got changed.

[idunn]

Fellow North American here. I view "quite" as in "quite a bit", ie more than merely adequate or very good.

[dorsetgirl]

Thank you for that clarification - I shall remember that for the future!