Canadian English

Canadian English is the way people in Canada speak English. It is the most common language in Canada and is used from Central Canada to British Columbia. There are different types of Canadian English, such as Standard Canadian English, Atlantic Canadian English, and Quebec English.

Canadian English is very similar to the English spoken in the United States. Together, they are called North American English. But Canadian English also has some words and sounds from British English that make it special.

People from Canada and the United States often have trouble telling each other’s accents apart. This is because both accents have been changing in similar ways since the 1980s, a change called the Low-Back-Merger Shift.

History

Canadian English became a topic of study around the time of the Second World War. The first book about it was published in 1940. Walter S. Avis was a big supporter of studying Canadian English after the war. His team discovered that the term “Canadian English” was first used in 1857 by a Scottish minister in Canada.

Many influences shaped Canadian English. French words came from French settlers in the 1600s, like poutine and toque. British settlers brought words like lorry and flat. Canadian English also created its own words, such as double-double. American English influenced it too, with words like gasoline and truck being commonly used.

Indigenous languages added words like moose and toboggan. The history of Canadian English shows how many different cultures and languages have come together to create it.

Historical linguistics

Studies about how English developed in Canada are not very common. Before the 2000s, most writers looked at Canada’s social and political history to understand its English. One important book from 1967, the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles, helped by showing real examples of old words.

Since the 2000s, experts have started using old documents to study Canadian English. A big project called DCHP-1 is now free for everyone to read. One famous researcher, Dollinger, used old texts from Ontario between 1776 and 1849 to learn how English changed during that time.

Canadian dainty

In the past, some people in Canada spoke in a special way called “Canadian dainty.” This way of speaking, which used some British pronunciation, was seen as fancy in the 1800s and early 1900s. After World War II, this style became seen as too showy and is now very rare. Some famous Canadians like Governor General Vincent Massey, writer Peter Stursberg, and actors Lorne Greene and Christopher Plummer grew up speaking with this British-influenced accent.

Spelling

Canadian English spelling uses rules from both British and American English. Words like realise and organisation often use British styles, but American spellings with a z are also accepted because Canada is close to the United States. Both versions are listed in Canadian dictionaries.

Some words, like anaesthesia and gynecology, are usually spelled the American way. However, French-influenced words like colour and fibre keep British spellings. Canadian spelling sometimes doubles letters, like in cancelling, which is different from the American canceling. Canada’s history with American car companies explains why we use tire instead of the British tyre. Over time, many Canadian newspapers switched to British spelling, but some still use American spellings.

Standardization, codification and dictionaries

The first dictionaries for Canadian English were made by Gage Ltd. in 1960. Important books like the Beginner's Dictionary (1962), the Intermediate Dictionary (1964), and the Senior Dictionary (1967) helped decide how to write Canadian English words. In 1967, they also made A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP), with words special to Canada, like mukluk and Canuck.

These dictionaries were updated often. The Senior Dictionary was later called the Gage Canadian Dictionary. In 2017, a new online version called Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles 2 (DCHP-2) was made.

Oxford University Press also made a Canadian English dictionary in 1998, called The Oxford Canadian Dictionary. A second version, The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, came out in 2004.

Since 2022, the Editors' Association of Canada has been working with groups like the UBC Canadian English Lab and Queen's University's Strategy Language Unit to make a new Canadian English Dictionary.

Phonology and phonetics

Canadian English speakers often share certain sound features. One example is the cot-caught merger, where words like "cot" and "caught" sound the same. Another feature is Canadian raising, where sounds in words like "like" and "about" are said with a higher pitch in some cases.

Younger Canadians might change the sound of some vowels, similar to trends in parts of the U.S. Canadian English sounds a lot like American English, and experts often group them as North American English. The main Canadian accent, Standard Canadian, is seen as a middle-ground accent without strong regional marks.

Western Canada has the most variety in accents. Differences can be heard especially in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. Studies show similarities among speakers in cities like Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver. This area is called Inland Canada, centered around the Prairies, and it mixes features that differ from other English-speaking areas in the U.S.

Grammar

Canadians have special ways of speaking and writing English. For example, they might start a sentence with "As well," meaning "in addition." They also use phrases like "I am done my homework" to mean "I have finished my homework."

When writing dates and times, Canadians mix British and American styles. They might write a date as "July 1, 2017" or "1 July 2017." The government suggests using the format YYYY-MM-DD, like 2017-07-01, but many people still use other formats. Canadians also often use a special way of telling time called the 24-hour clock, especially in schedules and timers, though many still use the regular 12-hour clock when talking.

Main article: Date and time notation in Canada

Vocabulary

Canadian English uses many of the same words as American English but also has some special words from British English. For example, the word holiday (British) can mean the same as vacation (American). In Canada, vacation usually means a trip away from home, while holiday can mean any time off from work.

Canadian English also has words that are not used much elsewhere. For example, bunnyhug means a hooded sweatshirt, and it is mainly used in Saskatchewan. The words can change depending on the region; for example, in Atlantic Canada, people might say the works to describe a pizza with all toppings, while other places use words like deluxe or all-dressed.

Regional variation

Canadian English has different words in different places. For example, words for athletic shoes change: runners in Western Canada, running shoes in central Canada, and sneakers in Atlantic Canada. Words for a notebook also differ: notebook in most of Canada, scribbler in some areas, and cahier in Quebec.

Quebec

Quebec mainly speaks French, so English is not often used in public places. But in cities like Montreal, you can see English in ads and stores. The government is called the Gouvernement du Québec. Quebec English uses some French words, like garderie for daycare and SAQ for the Société des alcools du Québec.

Ontario

Ontario has special words shaped by its history and people. Words like concession roads (roads that go across a township) and dew-worm (an earthworm) are only used there. In Northern Ontario, French and English words are sometimes used together, and you might hear words like camp for a summer home.

Prairies (Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta)

The Prairies have words influenced by where people settled and Indigenous communities. For example, bunnyhug is a word for a hooded sweatshirt used in Saskatchewan. Other local words include biffed for falling and pickerel for the fish Walleye.

Atlantic Canada (New Brunswick & Nova Scotia, PEI, Newfoundland)

Atlantic Canada’s words come from its history and people from Europe. Newfoundland English has special words like screech rum (a local kind of rum) and mummering (a Christmas tradition). Nova Scotia calls a plastic grocery bag a Sobeys bag, after the local store chain Sobeys. Prince Edward Island uses words like angishore for a lazy fisherman.

Education

In Canada, the word college usually means a technical or vocational school, not a university. A college student studies at a community college, while a university student is working toward a bachelor’s degree. Schools are led by a principal, with an assistant called a vice-principal.

Canadian students write or take exams, and teachers who watch over the exams may be called invigilators or proctors.

School years are called grade one, grade two, and so on. The year before grade one is usually Kindergarten, except in Nova Scotia where it is called grade primary. High school grades are named by number, such as grade nine, instead of words like freshman or sophomore used in the United States.

Units of measurement

Canada mostly uses the metric system, but some U.S. units are still used. For example, many Canadians measure weight and height in pounds and feet/inches. Distances for golf are in yards, and cooking temperatures are often in Fahrenheit. However, weather is given in Celsius, and speed limits are in kilometres per hour.

Canadians sometimes say a place is thirty minutes away when talking about distance. Floor areas can be measured in square feet or square metres, and land area in acres or hectares. Fuel efficiency is often talked about in litres per 100 kilometres. The letter paper size of 8.5 inches by 11 inches is used, and beer cans are 355 mL.

Transport

Canadian English uses both railway and railroad, but railway is more common in official names like the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway. Words like highway, expressway, and freeway describe fast roads, with highway being the most general word. In Quebec, freeways and expressways are called autoroutes.

Other words for transport include level crossing for where a road meets a railway, and overpass or underpass for roads that go over or under others. In Quebec, metro is used for the subway in Montreal. The term Texas gate describes a type of metal grid known as a cattle guard in American English.

Politics

In Canada, the leader of the country is called the prime minister. Leaders of the areas called provinces are called premiers. A part of a place where people vote is called a riding. A person who supports the Conservative Party of Canada is called a Tory. People who belong to the Liberal Party are sometimes called Grits. Members of the New Democratic Party may be called dippers or New Democrats.

Law

In Canada, lawyers are called barristers and solicitors, except in Quebec, which has its own system. The equivalent of an American district attorney is called a crown attorney or crown counsel. A serious crime is called an indictable offence, while a less serious crime is a summary conviction offence. The term visible minority refers to people who are not of the majority race.

Places

Canadian English has many special words for places. For example, a bachelor apartment is a small apartment with one room and a bathroom, called a studio in American English. A bluff means a small group of trees in a prairie. In Northern Ontario, camp means a vacation home by water, called a cottage elsewhere. A fire hall is a fire station, and height of land means a drainage divide.

Daily life

Canadian English uses some words that are more common in other Commonwealth countries than in the United States. For example, tin can mean a can, especially for older speakers, and cutlery means silverware or flatware. Serviette is a word for a paper table napkin, used especially in Eastern Canada, and tap is more often used than faucet.

Words that are special to Canada include ABM or bank machine for an ATM, BFI bin for a dumpster, and chesterfield for any couch or sofa. Dart means a cigarette, mainly used by younger people, and dressing gown or housecoat means a bathrobe. Eavestrough means rain gutter, and flush can mean a toilet, mainly used by older speakers in the Maritimes. Garburator is a garbage disposal unit, and hydro is a common word for electrical service in several provinces.

Informal speech

Canadian English has special words people use when talking casually. The word eh is often used to check if someone agrees, like, "It's four kilometres away, eh?"

The word rubber can mean an eraser. The word bum can mean a homeless person. The word pissed can mean being very angry, with pissed off used for anger.

The term Canuck means Canadian and is not rude. The term hoser refers to someone who acts in an uncouth way, and Newf or Newfie refers to someone from Newfoundland and Labrador. In the Maritimes, Caper is used for someone from Cape Breton Island, Bluenoser for someone from Nova Scotia, and Islander for someone from Prince Edward Island.

Attitudes

In the late 1970s, people liked how Canadians spoke English. Special sounds and words made it unique. But in British Columbia, some people liked British or American English better.

By 2009, most people in Vancouver thought Canadian English was special. They believed it was important and should be taught in schools. However, many Canadians use American or British dictionaries because Canadian ones were hard to find.

By 2011, about 65% of Canadians mainly spoke English at home. English is spoken across Canada, except in Quebec, where French is the main language. Many people in Quebec can also speak English.

A study in 2002 asked people in Ontario and Alberta about Canadian English. They liked their own and British Columbia's English the most, but did not like Quebec's English as much. Even though Toronto and Ontario are very important economically, people thought British Columbia's English sounded the best.

Some people argue that there isn’t really a special “Canadian English.” They say features often thought of as uniquely Canadian are exaggerated. Others disagree and say these opinions are just personal views.