Growing up in Scarbs, I caught bare different words, accents, and vibes from mans around me. Felt the education getting a big up, ahile
Or a more proper translation ....
Toronto man slang is something pretty dear to my heart. Growing up with family in Scarborough — I picked up a lot of different words, accents, and tones that you would pick up learning any other language
As I've been talking to more people from different places and learning about how families, cultures, and communities work around the world, I've noticed something that interests me: language.
People will have their own personal way of describing experiences others put a different name to, like playground games, food, and even slang
Recently, I've found myself having to explain some vocabulary I casually toss-up in conversation because of how embedded Toronto slang is in my lingo. But, I've found it very hard to explain the origins of this lingo and the connections between the words I say and what they mean
It wasn't until I learnt Toronto Slang had a some great history — that goes back and ties into not only the city but the the myriad of ethnic groups we have.
This article is not only a deep dive into the history, but I will also attach a handy guide at the end for those who want to become fluent in Toronto Man
I feel like I need to clarify something — the Toronto accent isn't just something that is chanted at Raptors games, Eaton Centre, and the CN Tower. It leaks throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) — which includes the likes of major cities like Toronto and even suburbs
Regardless, the Toronto accent first materialized from the widespread immigration from Caribbean, East African, and Middle Eastern groups
This was happening in the 1960s — primarily because immigration policies had eased for non-white individuals, with one of the biggest groups being Jamaicans
Here we see one of the first and closest connections to Toronto Slang — Patois. Patois acted as a language that was easy for Jamaicans to use during times of slavery and colonization, where colonists would force them to communicate in English
Words like "mandem", "mans", "ting", "wah gwan", and so many more were Patois words that made their way into the daily dialogue
From here, it becomes hard to identify where the slang develops. What can be said is that the ethnic groups, I previously mentioned, were all grouped in low-income communities. This caused a unique linguistic fusion as people from diverse backgrounds interacted and shared their respective terminologies. The result was an amalgamation of accents, words, and vibes that collectively formed what is now known as Toronto slang
Arabic terms that are rooted in Muslim culture are now commonly tossed around by the Toronto man. "Wallahi" is a term used by Muslims to emphasize the truthfulness of a statement — much like "I swear to god." In Islamic cultures, uttering this expression is a very serious expression of sincerity. Now, the term has been borrowed by all ethnic groups and normalized within the span of Toronto slang. Similar terms are "Inshallah" and "Akhi"
Fast forward to today, and the Toronto accent is now a mainstream phenomenon. Although there is a rich history behind the accent, and it is rooted in deep multiculturalism — the Toronto accent has now become synonymous with pop culture. Social media pages like 6ixbuzz, rappers like Drake, and the numerous debates and misconceptions over it being "fake" have made Toronto Slang an integral part of young generations
One of my favourite influencers that takes advantage of the Toronto accent is Random Order Studios — they're one of my top YouTube channels
I think the Toronto accent to a lot of outsiders is something off-putting or something they may find funny about the city. People will call it pigeon-english or make fun of how it sounds. Some people have even called me out on "my accent sounding like a Toronto man" although I like to think I speak proper English
I think it all has to do with context. I'm taking a Chinese class right now and what's unique about the language is how each word has its own distinct character
When my amazing 老师 explains the oracle bone script and how a character visually represents what it means — my intuition shifts
But different types of people have different intuition
I know 口 has to do with openings, how it's used as a radical, and the history behind it. But others may simply think it means box. Maybe even say "How am I supposed to guess that?"
Well, you aren't! That's the beauty. History and anthropology aren't things we derive ourselves or can guess. They're new paradigms to our intuition that help us think how we think
How to speak like a Toronto man at your next standup
I've devised a basic conversion chart for turning everyday standup
| English | Toronto Slang |
|---|---|
| "Good morning guys! How's everyone doing?" | "Ayo, wagwan fam! What the vibes???" |
| "I'm super excited for the weekend?" | "Straight gassed for the weekend, you know??" |
| "What are this weeks goals?" | "What's the move for this week mandem, what we tryna reach?" |
| "We are running out compute!" | "I'm bare tapped on GPUs fam" |
| "These GPUs are costing too much!" | "Ahile, these GPU tings costing me bare bills" |
| "Let's speak one at a time!" | "One mans story up, eh?" |
| "Can you clarify that?" | "Can mans break that down?" |
| "I disagree" | "You a bean bro, styll..." |
| "I agree" | "GAS, styll" |
| "End of meeting! Have a great weekend guys!" | "Link up's done! Yo, wastemen, big up yourselves for the weekend" |