Talk:O Canada
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I could be wrong here, but I have it written down that the anthem was adopted in 1967, not the written 1980.
Bumstead, J. M. The Peoples of Canada - A Post-Confederation History New York. Oxford Press: 2004.
Historical Lyrics
Weren't the lyrics changed around 1980? I believe before 1980, the lyrics were a little more towards the first verse of the poem (but not an exact match). Anyone know the details?
--Sdfisher 04:38, 3 Feb 2005 (UTC)
From Anonymous, November 17, 2004
Hello, just wondering why some natives refuse to stand up for O Canada. I'm thinking it has something to do with the Boarding School scandals, but I don't know. I'm native myself, so.. eh.
Sorry if I did this wrong.
- Couldn't tell you for certain as I'm not native, but I imagine it has to do with not recognizing the Canadian government's sovereignty, as a colonial power, etc. - Montréalais 06:05, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
There are some additional verses but like those of other anthems they are poorly known and rarely sung.
Actually, this doesn't seem to be the case. The anthem has only one verse in both English and French. However, the poem that the English version was based on has several more verses; people sometimes use those as addition verses to the song, but they aren't really. --Stephen Gilbert
In the 1980s it was common to mix the lyrics across languages, switching from English to French after the fourth line, then back to English after two lines in French.
I'm not so sure about that. I remember it going like this:
O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command. Car ton bras sait porter l'épée, Il sait porter la croix! Ton histoire est une épopée Des plus brillants exploits. God keep our land glorious and free! O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Two lines English, four lines French, last three English. --Stephen Gilbert
- Correct. I was trying to remember how it went by singing it out loud at home -- good thing I'm single -- but now that I see it written down it's coming back. -- Paul Drye
- I don't think switching languages mid-song has "fallen in disfavour" -- they do it at the Ottawa Senators games and I'm pretty sure they did it on Canada Day at Parliament Hill. (Personally, I really dislike switching in the middle. Toss a coin before the anthem to decide which language!). Dze27
- Well, they stopped doing it at Toronto sporting events, and I understand that's also the case out west. Perhaps Ottawa is a special case. -- Paul Drye
Moved to Talk:
SECOND VERSE
- O Canada! Where pines and maples grow,
- Great Praries spread, and lordly rivers flow.
- How dear to us they broad domain,
- From East to Western Sea!
- Thy land of hope for all who toil,
- Thou True North strong and free!
CHORUS
The anthem is typically sung without the second verse.
The Government of Canada (http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/progs/cpsc-ccsp/sc-cs/anthem_e.cfm) confirms that the official version is just one verse. As mentioned above, the poem by Weir had multiple verses.
FYI, both the English and French lyrics and melody are in the public domain. - Montréalais
Link dead as of May 2003: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/ceremonial-symb/english/emb_anthem.html
- Great. Added. --Menchi 21:23 May 5, 2003 (UTC)
It's stretching it a bit to claim that foi could "just as easily" be a secular faith -- the lyrics were written in the 19th century in Quebec for a society named after St. John the Baptist. They talk about carrying the cross. My aged memory also recalls that the religious reference in the English lyrics was added later than 1968, but my memory is aged. Jfitzg
- Nice NPOV-ing. --Menchi 12:15 21 May 2003 (UTC)
Sons Command vs. Sons' Command
Jfitzg, you've added an apostrophe in the second reference to "sons command" (beside the feminists criticism). I actually did the exact same thing to the first reference of "sons command" earlier this month. But it just didn't sit well with me and after some research online and in print, I reverted it. In all but one incidence (online), there was no apostrophe.
This is because "command" is used as a verb to mean "deserve" here, not noun. The reason why the verb is placed in an exceptional order (SOV) is to rhyme with "land" from the first line. --Menchi 12:15 21 May 2003 (UTC)
- Thanks for the compliment above. Thanks for the explanation of "in all thy sons command," too. I suppose if I'd parsed the sentence I could have figured it out by myself, but there you are. Your interpretation is obviously correct when you actually think, so thanks for thinking for me. Jfitzg
- A weird sentiment, though, eh? A political abstraction is supposed to command love in its "sons". I suppose it's no weirder than the idea of l'épopée des plus brillants exploits, though. Jfitzg
- Well, a beautiful idea can command (inspire) respect/admiration, why not love? And aren't most epics composed of wonderful deeds? - Montréalais
- You're right that command can mean 'inspire, and in a completely admirable way, but what were the plus brillants exploits Lavallée was talking about? Perhaps it was the founding of Quebec, but although it's nothing to sniff at it doesn't seem to qualify as brilliant. Thanks for clarifying command for me; perhaps you can clarify brillants as well. Jfitzg
- After further thought I decided that since brillant can mean shining maybe that's what Lavallée meant by it. Well, I feel better about my national anthem now. If they'd just take the religion out of it everything would be perfect. Jfitzg
- I always thought it was "all thy Son's command," and was referring to Christianity somehow...as in "there is patriotism in all the land ruled by Jesus," or something.
Does it make sense to have the full version of the original French poem, which has no official status? - Montréalais
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since it is "la foi" , should it not be "trempée" not "trempé"
Since it is "la foi" , should it not be "trempée" not "trempé".
Could this typo have escaped your attention or am I misreading?
Grandson of Verchères.
- trempé(e) modifies valeur, not foi ("ta valeur trempée de foi", otherwise put); but it's feminine anyway. I'll change it. - Montréalais
Oh vs. O
For the copy editors and fact checkers of the world, could someone please mention in the article that it's definitely "O" and not "Oh"--right? jengod 03:00, Jan 29, 2004 (UTC)
official version
An anonymous user put in the entire texts of the original poems under "official version." Those aren't the official versions of the anthem; merely two poems upon which the official versions are based. If they are going to be included (a measure whose utility I question), it should be in a separate section. - Montréalais 01:55, 12 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Inuktitut Gloss
Can somebody provide an Inuktitut gloss, too? Circeus 01:14, Feb 27, 2005 (UTC)
Moved from User_talk:Diderot
Hi, on the O Canada page there is the Inuktitut version of the national anthem there. I don't know if this is an "official" translation. Could you check it out as best you can and see if it is the same as the English or French versions, and if not maybe give an English translation? From what I can tell from the living dictionary it's seems sort of the same, but I couldn't find very many of the words.
- O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut
- Piqujatii / Nalattiaqpavut
- Angiglivaliajuti sangijulutillu
- Nanqipugu / O'Kanata
- Mianiripluti
- O'Kanata nunatsia
- Nangiqpugu mianiripluti
- O'Kanata salagijauquna
This version was probably taken from this web page (http://www.members.shaw.ca/kcic1/nunavut.html).
I also found the first two lines in Inuktitut on another website (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/alain.perron/paroleshymne.htm), except they're very different =P.
- Uu Kanata, Nunavut taimanngat
- Najuqtavut, Ungagijaavut
--Ben 01:49, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Ben,
I doubt that there is an "official" Inuktitut translation, and it wouldn't surprise me at all if more than one translation was extant. The one you found here (http://perso.wanadoo.fr/alain.perron/paroleshymne.htm) looks like a medley of Inuktitut, French and English, which strikes me as the most likely candidate for "official compromise version used in state ceremonies" for officially trilingual Nunavut. I don't live in Iqaluit, but "Nunavut taimanngat" sounds familiar to me.
I'm kinda on an impromptu hiatus right now, and I want to warn you, my Inuktitut sucks ass. But I'll give it my best shot. I'm mostly using dictionaries and corpora to do this - not native knowledge.
For the two line Inuktitut section you quoted last, I'd translate it word for word like this:
Uu Kanata, Nunavut taimanngat O Canada, our land always Najuqtavut, Ungagijaavut our pride the thing we are strongly attaching ourselves to
A more syntactically correct literal translation might be something like:
O Canada, our home forever Our pride and what we hold dear
For the longer version:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut O Canada the very thing our land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut to its commands/laws we listen good Angiglivaliajuti sangijulutillu (I think this should be Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu) its growth and its strength Nanqipugu O'Kanata (This should be Nangiqpugu. It's a typo.) we stand up O Canada Mianiripluti to guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada beautiful land (nunatsia is the same as Nunatsiaq, the Northwest Territories) Nangiqpugu mianiripluti we stand up to guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada overcome challenges?
The last word is really hard. The contexts where I find the root "saligi" refer to challeges, achivement and assistance, but I can't quite figure out the morphology. I'm not really sure about the morphology of mianiripluti either, but the root mianiri definitely means to guard, to watch over, to supervise and to manage. The rest I feel pretty good about. I warned you I couldn't speak Inuktitut.
So, you might put it as:
O'Kanata nangmini Nunavut Our very own land Piqujatii Nalattiaqpavut To its commands, we listen closely Angiglivalliajuti sanngijulutillu It's growth and its strength Nangiqpugu O'Kanata We stand, O Canada Mianiripluti On guard O'Kanata nunatsia O Canada, beautiful land Nangiqpugu mianiripluti We stand on guard O'Kanata salagijauquna O Canada, to meet challenges
I corrected the Inuktitut typos on O Canada.
The lack of confirmation of the text as "offical" merits some note. However, the long version of the lyrics seems to have originated on a defunct page (http://web.archive.org/web/20010812043207/http://www.arctic.ca/LUS/Inuktitut.html) run by a teacher at the Leo Ussak school in Rankin Inlet. I suspect that it's therefore an authentic but informal translation. For the short version, it's plausible that it's in some way official, but I can't find anything about it.
You decide what to do about it. I'll write up the Inuktitut in syllabics if you want, but I'm not sure you should trust an amateur translation like the one I've given you enough to put it on the page.
Diderot 10:22, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)
Cool! Thanks Diderot! --Ben 21:41, 23 Mar 2005 (UTC)