CANADIAN ENGLISH

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Canadian English is the form of English used in Canada,
spoken as a first or second language by over 25 million
Canadians. Canadian English spelling is a mixture of
American and British. Pronunciation of the English language
in this country is overall very similar to American
pronunciation, which is especially true for Central and
Western Canadians. The Eastern provinces of Newfoundland
and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island have a
accent which overall sounds more similar to Irish
pronunciation than American. There is also some French
influence in pronunciation for some English-speaking
Canadians who live near, and especially work with French-
Canadians.
Canadian and American English may sound very similar, but
the spellings used in each version of English vary
considerably. Canadian English does not specifically follow
the spellings listed here. Often both forms of spelling are
used, but the spellings below are the most-used forms that
you find in each language.

-Or and -Our

In Canadian English, people spell words with the -our
ending such as colour, labour or favour. American English
spells these words color, labor and favor.
 One L or Two
Canadian English uses fulfil whereas American English uses fulfill. However,
Canadian English will use cancelled, and American English spells it
canceled.
-Er and -Re
American English spells words with an -er ending like center or centered
and theater, but Canadian English uses the -re version of centre or centred
and theatre.
-Que and -Gue
In Canadian English, words generally use the -que and -gue spellings.
Canadian English spells words like catalogue and cheque. However,
American English uses catalog or check.

In other cases, Canadians and Americans differ from British spelling, such
as in the case of nouns like tire and curb, which in British English are
spelled tyre and kerb.
Considerations
While Canadian English favors the more traditional British spellings, some
British rules are not used in Canada, such as the -ise ending in Britain
rather than an -ize ending.
One of the most interesting characteristics of Canadian English is the
pattern that linguists call "Canadian Raising". In the general English has
three phonemic diphthongs. Two of these have low vowels as their
nucleus: as in ride and as in loud. In Canadian English, both these
diphthongs have variants whose occurrence is obligatory under certain
phonological conditions. These variants are called raised or centralized
diphthongs, because their nucleus is no longer a low vowel.

Loud,lout
 Pre-rhotic vowels
Another characteristic of Canadian vowels is in the distribution of pre-
rhotic (before-r) vowels. A notable aspect of Canadian pre-rhotic vowels
is their resistance to the emergent pattern in American English of
substituting [a] for [o] before inter-vocalic [r]. In a number of highly
frequent words, such as sorry, tomorrow, borrow, sorrow, and Laura,
this pattern has become obligatory in American English. The pattern is
also variably evident in a few more words, such as Florida, orange,
oracle, Norwich, adorable, and thesaurus.

The current variability in the pattern suggests that American English is

losing [o] before intervocalic [r], but Canadian English maintains [o] in
all of these forms. The result is a contrast between the American
pronunciations, like [sari] and [baro], and the Canadian pronunciations,
[sori] and [boro]. To our knowledge, this feature is not discussed in any
published discussion of Canadian dialectology, but we propose that it is
a definitive marker of Canadian English.
"Sorry, I left my oranges and chocolate in the forest"
 Borrowings with low vowels

A final, curious property of Canadian English is in

its foreign /a/ nativization. This is the way the
dialect pronounces borrowed words with low
vowels, such as pasta, Mazda, drama, and taco.
There is a strong tendency for Canadians to
pronounce these words with a front , while
Americans tend to use [a].
Many Americans regard eh as characteristic of Canadian English.
Like Canadian raising, eh is used by some citizens of southern
Ontario.

interrogative
"You like it, eh?"

narrative

"We had pizza, eh, and beer"

traditional greeting

"How's it going, eh?"

Where Canadian English shares vocabulary with other English dialects, it
tends to share most with American English. Many terms are shared with
Britain, but not with the majority of American speakers. In some cases
British and the American terms coexist in Canadian English to various
extents; a classic example is holiday, often used interchangeably with
vacation, distinguishing the two between a trip elsewhere and general
time off work respectively. In addition, the vocabulary of Canadian
English also features words that are seldom (if ever) found elsewhere.
Allophone A resident of Quebec who speaks a first language other
than English or French
Anglophone Someone who speaks English as a first language.
Biffy An outdoor toilet usually located over pit or a septic tank
Click Slang for kilometer.
Francophone Someone who speaks French as a first language
Joe job A lower-class, low-paying job
Runners Running shoes; sneakers
Sook or suck A crybaby.
Ski-Doo A brand name now used generically to refer to any
snowmobile. Can also be used as a verb
Sniggler Someone who takes the parking spot you wanted, or who
otherwise does something perfectly legitimate, but which
nonetheless inconveniences or annoys you.
Canadianisms : words which are
native to Canada or words which have
meanings native to Canada
RCMP : A member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
transfer payment: A payment from the government to another level of
government
murderball : A game in which players in opposing teams attempt to hit
their opponents with a large inflated ball
Participation : A private, nonprofit organization that promotes fitness
Stanley Cup, Grey Cup, Briar, Queen’s Plate: Championships in hockey,
(Canadian) football, curling and horse-racing
all dressed : A hamburger with all the usual condiments on it
drink(ing) box : A small plasticized cardboard carton of juice
Nanaimo bar : An unbaked square iced with chocolate
screech : A potent dark rum of Newfoundland
bursary : A financial award to a university student (also Scottish and
English)
French immersion : An educational program in which anglophone
students are taught entirely in French
reading week : A week usually halfway through the university term
when no classes are held
residence or res : A university dormitory
Other words have different meanings in Canada, the United States and Britain.

Examples include:

Canadian English American English British English

bachelor efficiency bedsit

apartment
Billion - a Billion - a Billion - a million
thousand thousand million
million million (1,000,000,000,0
(1,000,000,000) (1,000,000,000) 00).
bus depot bus station coach station
driver’s permit driver’s license driving licence
Elevator Elevator Lift
fire hall firehouse fire station
flat tire flat flat tyre,
puncture
Canadian English American English British English

Gas Gas petrol

main floor first floor ground floor
phone, call (v) call phone

Railways Railroads Railways

University college university

Vacation Vacation Holiday
washroom ladies’ room, Ladies, Gents
men’s
room

Z - pronounced Z - pronounced Z - pronounced

zed zee zed
Thank you for your attention