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Intro
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IntroductionCanadian English, for all its speakers, is an under-described variety of English. In popular dialectological literature it is often given little acknowledgement as a distinct and homogeneous variety, save for a paragraph or two dedicated to oddities of Canadian spelling and the fading use of British-sounding lexical items like chesterfield, serviette, and zed.
There is a small body of scholarly research that suggests that if there is such a thing as a Canadian English, all its unique characteristics are being lost. In fact, Lilles (2000) goes so far as to claim that there is no such thing as a distinct Canadian English, and argues that the notion of Canadian English is a myth, fabricated to reinforce a fragile Canadian identity. As evidence, he cites the lack of phonological and orthographic standardization for Canadian English, the paucity of distinct Canadian vocabulary, and the appearance of regionalisms associated with various parts of the United States.
Sutherland (2000) quickly rebuts by pointing out that Canadian English is more than a "network of regionalisms", and that a variety can be distinct by more than its vocabulary. We can add that orthographic standards tell us little about what makes a spoken variety unique. Further, as you have navigated the LSP site, you will have seen that although few linguistic features are unique to any dialect, the confluence of a particular set of features is what makes a dialect unique. This is certainly true of Canadian English: no other dialect has all the same features.
Other research suggests that the few unique traits of Canadian English are disappearing in favour of American forms. Clarke (1993) and Chambers (1998) point to the loss of certain lexical items, like chesterfield and serviette, and the loss of certain phonological traits, like voiceless wh of which and [yu] in news and student. These are seen as a signal of the impending convergence of Canadian and American English. Indeed, Woods (1993) identifies eight phonological variables as characteristically Canadian, and argues that most of them are disappearing.
To the contrary, this site's discussion of Canadian phonology identifies at least four other characteristics not included in Woods' study, all of which remain robust in Canadian speech. The other sections offer further insight into the character of Canadian English. The Table of Contents below provides an overview of the organization of this area of the LSP website.
Table of Contents
in merry and marry
© 2001 The Language Samples Project