From prorogue to perogy to Pyrohy

Author: Professor Denis Hlynka
Centre for Ukrainian Canadian Studies
University of Manitoba

Canada has just come through its toughest constitutional problem in decades. And in the midst of the rancour, the name calling, and the anger, a Ukrainian food staple provides a moment of levity.

It is a sign of a mature culture, when that culture can be the one bright moment in a week of political wrangling. It is also a sign of a mature culture when no one even misses a beat or has to explain the joke. If that is the case, once again we see that Ukrainian Canadian culture has arrived as a mature culture.

Dec. 4, the CBC national news twice on the same program used a sophisticated Ukrainian linguistic pun to provide levity to a deadly serious situation, the decision to prorogue parliament. The joke came ten minutes into the news, first in an explanation of the latest EKOS poll by pollster Frank Graves who commented that people think that prorogue is "some exotic food from out west", with reporter Leslie MacKinnon explaining "No, not perogy, prorogation." Ten minutes later. In the same newscast, reporter Susan Orrniston, covering reaction on Facebook, showed an online plate of perogies, and asked "Is that with cheese or potato?' The essence of the pun was the move from prorogue to perogy. (One wonders: Can you tell the same joke twice in the same newscast? How often does that happen?)

To prorogue is a verb, meaning to shut down parliament temporarily, as we all now know. Interestingly the Oxford English Dictionary suggests proper pronunciation of prorogue is a choice, with the first r being optional, that is pronounced with or without the r. But Ukrainian culinary arts have also given Canadians an anglicized word for a favourite food: perogies, as they have become known popularly. Quite simply, perogy is not the noun version of the verb prorogue. But if you say it fast enough, it sure sounds like the two words are the same. The sophistication of the pun, comes from the fact that not only do the words sound similar, but this is a cross-linguistic pun.

And just in case the TV viewers didn't get the Ukrainian connection, news anchor Peter Mansbridge repeated the joke, this time with a Ukrainian pronunciation, pyrohy.

Not to be outdone, the same evening, on Winnipeg's local CTV news, Manitoba premier Gary Doer was taped explaining to his audience that a prorogue was NOT something you get at Alicia's restaurant. Indeed the simple joke popped up again and again, on local stations, on national radio and TV, and on the Royal Canadian Air Farce.

Prorogue to perogy to pyrohy... on the CBC national news! Clearly, the Ukrainian element is a natural part of the Canadian fabric. You no longer need to be of Ukrainian heritage or to know some Ukrainian to appreciate the pun. Nobody on the newscast had to explain what culture they were talking about... everybody knows. Nobody had to explain what a perogy is... Everybody knows. It is a Canadian word. And if you need proof that it is a Canadian word, look it up in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary. It is there.

Ukrainian Canadian culture has come a long way. Once - it was characterized by "painted Easter eggs" (which were never painted), a folk dance called a hopak. or by a quaint folk food called perogy. Today the ubiquity of Ukrainian Canadian culture is illustrated by a word that can stand on its own, and indeed is now used easily in conjunction with one of the most controversial words in Canadian English: to prorogue. And that is no joke.

Ukrainian News Editor's Note: Although the Polish word "pierogi" has been accepted in general Canadian usage as a reference to the dumplings that are usually filled with cheese or potatoes, the Ukrainian word for this dish is actually "varenyky", which comes from the verb "varyty", or to boil. Pyrohy refers to pasties or small meat-pies that are baked in an oven.

Source: e-POSHTA December 16, 2008 / e-POSHTA 16 hrudnia 2008‏

December 16 листопада 2006 -- Vol.9 No.46

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