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American vs Canadian English
[edit]American and Canadian English sound similar, but speakers are still able to differentiate between the two. Whilst data from the NARVS (North American Regional Vocabulary Survey) established that there were still regional differences in spoken English within Canada [1] the difference between these regions when compared to America is small. There are many lexical a aspects of Canadian English that make it distinctly different and differentiable from American English. Canadian shift and Canadian raising are two aspects of spoken English that differs from its American counterpart, as well as a Canadianism. When a Canadian uses the words “about” or “house”, the words have a more rounded “ou” sound compared to the Americans this is an example of Canadian Raising (look below). Canadians also tend to use more British English compared to Americans. For example, pronouncing the letter “Z” would be pronounced as “zed” while Americans pronounce the letter “Z” as “zee” [2]
Harold Allen from the University of Minnesota looked at the middle border differences in English lexis. Middle border is defined as a region that stretches from Minnesota to Iowa, North and South Dakota, and Nebraska. Surveys were conducted near the borders of America and Canada. A total of five records were made from Canadian communities – Fort Williams (ON), Fort Frances (ON), Sprague (MB), Killarney (MB), and Estevan (SK). The researchers collected responses for 136 lexical items on 1069 checklists returned by mail. The results showed clear lexical differences between the U.S states and Canadian communities. Farm terms such as “hatching hen” and its variant “hatcher” were exclusively Canadian, and the American equivalent was “setting hen.” “Corn crib” is what Minnesotans and North Dakotans say and Canadians use the term “corn rick.” “Piggery” and “pig stable” is used in Canada for the farm building and enclosure and the states use terms such as “pigpen”, “hog pen”, “hog house”, and “pigsty.” Another term in the Canadian communities is the use of the term “parliamentary building” for outdoor toilets; this term was not observed in the U.S middle northern states. However, the term “whitehouse” was once used in the past [3].
One way to differentiate American vs Canadian English is through Canadian raising. Canadian raising affects the diphthongs “au” and “ai” when they occur in voiceless position. Voiceless refers to the absence of vibration in the larynx when the consonant is spoken[4]One such example of this is the word “price”. In Canadian English, the “i” sound is raised because the letter “c” is a voiceless consonant. This is why the “i” sound in Canadian English is pronounced higher than in American English [5]
Another noteworthy difference is the Canadian Shift. This is a phenomenon in which vowels in Canadian English sound lower, and originate more from the back of the mouth. The first studies conducted were done in the early 90s, when linguists first noticed this Boberg did a large study later called the Phonetics of Canadian English, in which many sound tests were conducted. He then discovered that the Canadian Shift is almost universal amongst Canada; virtually pan-Canadian, at least in the middle-class youth (those that could afford to attend post-secondary). Examples of this shift include words like Kit, Dress, and Trap; in which the vowel in the first word sounds similar to the pronunciation of the next word, in order [6]
The vocabulary is another feature that differentiates the two varieties of English. Examples from Boberg include words very distinct, borderline unique to Canada, such as Parkade (multi-storage parking unit), toque (a knitted cap), serviette (napkin), and terms such as bachelor apartment or grade one. These are words and terms that are distinctly Canadian, and would generally not be spoken in other parts of the world [7].
Another lexical difference between American and Canadian English lies in the spelling. Examples includes the addition of the “u” in colo(u)r and favo(u)rite in Canadian spellings, and other words like center/centre, theatre/theater, and so forth. Spelling however is somewhat controversial, as there are American influences within the school system that sometimes teaches kids the American spelling rather than the Canadian [8].
All of this goes to show that lexical change between Canadian and American English is not unidirectional, and much more nuanced and difficult to generalize. Some Canadianisms remain in-tact, whereas others show some more convergence with American terms/English [9]
- ^ Boberg, Charles (2010). "The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis". Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Dollinger, Stefan (2015c). "How to write a historical dictionary: a sketch of The Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, Second Edition". Ozwards.
- ^ Allen, Harold (1959). "Canadian-American Speech Differences Along the Middle Border". Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue Canadienne de Linguistique. 5.
- ^ Walker, James (2015). "The Sociolinguistics of Canadian English". Routledge.
- ^ Walker, James (2015). "The Sociolinguistics of Canadian English". Routledge.
- ^ Walker, James (2015). "The Sociolinguistics of Canadian English". Routledge.
- ^ Boberg, Charles (2010). "The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis". Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Dollinger, Stefan (2019a). Creating Canadian English. Cambridge.
- ^ Boberg, Charles (2010). "The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis". Cambridge University Press.