Although Canada is officially a bilingual French/English country, you would be hard pressed to find many French-speaking people in BC. Services from the federal government are officially available in both English and French. Provincial and municipal governments operate in English only. Some businesses, especially in Vancouver and Victoria offer services in a number of languages (primarily Asian ones). Banks sometimes indicate by a sign in the window which languages are offered.
At one time Chinook Jargon, a bridge language for trading between English, French and First Nations peoples in the late 1800's and early 1900's, was common and almost became the official language of BC. Now there are very few speakers of the language, but many terms from the language are common slang terms in parts of BC.
Cheechaku�
Newcomer (more common in Northern BC and the Yukon).
Saltchuck�
The ocean.
High Muckamuck�
The chief, or boss.
Kultus�
Bad or worthless.
Skookum�
Strong, powerful, or impressive.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about British Columbia
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in British Columbia - updated Apr 2024
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British Columbia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
