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Why Canadian English is considered "dirty" and what does Keanu Reeves have to do with it?

Today we will talk about the dialect of English, which is spoken by over 17 million people.

The historical formation of the English language in Canada, the neighborhood with the United States and French as a second state language created a dialect with its own characteristics and interesting features.

And the Canadian one is an object of constant jokes both of the British and the Americans, for whom for some reason this dialect seems very funny. Many even call it a "dirty version of the British." Why is that? Let's figure it out.



A brief historical excursion


The Canadian dialect of English began to form after the settlement of the territory of modern Canada by the British and French in the 18th century. Both the French and British empires wanted to seize this piece of land overseas for personal use, so the influx of immigrants from both nations was significant.

The close contact between British English and French, as well as indigenous languages, has gradually transformed classic British English. A similar process took place in the United States, but they went in parallel.

In 1857, the British suddenly realized that Canadian English is kind of like English, but not quite the one they speak. But the process was unstoppable.

The influence of the French language in Canada increased after the promotion of bilingualism. The position of the French language was significantly strengthened, and in 1969 it became the second state language.

Around this time, American English also began to influence Canadian English. In many ways, this is a consequence of the cultural expansion of the United States in the form of cinema and music.

Many Britons and Americans are lenient with the Canadian dialect. It is not for nothing that for more than a century there has been a thought that Canadian is only a polluted British. Yes, and now many British snobs think so. Actually, it is from here that the legs of most "very funny" jokes grow.

We turn directly to the language and its distinctive features.

"About" or "A boot"


The most important flat joke that has plagued all Canadians.

The fact is that the Canadians pronounce the diphthong [aʊ] as [oʊ]. Therefore, words such as “down”, “cow”, “about” will sound a bit unusual.

And given that very often in Canadian English, many do not quite correctly articulate vowels, mixing short and long into one pile, then the British and Americans like this pronunciation seems very clumsy.

In the animated series South Park, this topic was also addressed.


The "joke" itself starts at 00:36. Yes, she is very exaggerated, but in general reflects the attitude of the British and Americans towards such pronunciation.

In fact, the pronunciation of the word “about” among Canadians resembles not “a boot”, but “a boat”. But the joke has long become a classic.

Today, the general pronunciation of words in Canadian English is more like an American dialect. But at the same time, some grammar features remain British.

Americans write "neighbor", "color", "defense". In Canada, the British spelling is widespread - "neighbor", "color", "defense".

"Eh!" as a universal interjection


The first thing that catches the eye of a newcomer is the interjection "Eh", which in fact has become a symbol of Canadians.

Depending on the intonation and place in the sentence, it can mean “what”, “isn't it”, “yes”, “hey” - there are a lot of options.

Very often "Eh!" posed in disjunctive questions. Well, be alarmed, these are just questions that put “isn't it” or the like at the end.
The weather is nice, isn't it? - Good weather, isn't it?
He works as a designer, doesn't he? - He works as a designer, right?

Instead of the second part of the question, Canadians simply use “Eh?” with interrogative intonation.
The weather is nice, eh? — , ?
He works as a designer, eh? — , ?

"Eh?" can easily be used with a “What?” value. For example, if you did not hear what the other person said and you need to ask again.

Or "Eh!" Fits well when you need to express approval - as a synonym for “Nice” or “Well done”.

In general, almost any emotion can be expressed with this interjection.

Just do not recommend using it too often in your speech. Many Canadians believe that such an “Eh!” from the lips of a foreigner sounds like a mockery. And since today it is used mainly by villagers, the city dweller may perceive this as an insult to the fact that he is selyuk.

Today is "Eh!" - This is a stereotype that the Canadian tourism industry supports to attract tourists. In any case, just a huge number of souvenirs are produced with it.

Vowel migration


Canadian vowel shift is an extremely popular topic for modern linguists.

For proper articulation of the front row vowels [æ] (trap), [ɛ] (dress), [ɪ] (kit), the tongue should be as close to the palate as possible. Canadians, when articulating, omit it, because of which the sounds of the front row become similar to the sounds of the middle row.

For example, bit is heard as bet, and bet becomes like bat.



Here is an example “map” of vowel migration. Interestingly, this process began to be studied not so long ago - only 25 years ago.

It is also interesting that the extent of vowel migration varies in different regions of Canada. For example, in Vancouver, Winnipeg and Halifax, the pronunciation of vowels will be slightly different.

By the way, among celebrities it’s quite difficult to find those who continue to use the Canadian accent. Michael Jay Fox, Jim Carrey, James Cameron, Ryan Reynolds - they are Canadians, but they speak American English.

The thing is that they all specially learned to speak American English and devoted a lot of time to articulate vowels. An actor who continues to speak the Canadian dialect will find it extremely difficult to go to a big movie. So you have to adapt.
But there are excellent examples when the Canadian accent has become a kind of actor chip. A great example of this is Keanu Reeves. Everyone loves him, but at the same time he has a classic Canadian accent, albeit a little smoothed out due to life in the USA.

Cyberpunk 2077. «».

, «project». — [ˈprɑːdʒekt], , , «dark» «garden». [ˈprɒdʒekt], «box» «got».

«Hello, Los Angeles». , - , .

. [æ], [ɛ], [ɪ] — .



For a very long time, French in Canada was a "second-rate language", but despite this, it managed to influence the Canadian dialect quite strongly.

For example, a large number of words of French origin are pronounced according to the rules of the French language.

Today in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary there are about 2,000 so-called "canadisms." They are either unique and are not used in other dialects, or have any value that differs from the generally accepted one.

The most famous canadism can be considered the name of a one-dollar coin or banknote of Canada - "loonie". The Canadian dollar received this name because it depicts a loon bird, which in Canada is called "loon".


Here are some of the most common distinctive words that Canadians use:
Toque —
Pop —
Washroom —
Runners —
Klick —
Beauty — ,

True, studying them separately does not make sense. Canadians will understand if, instead of “Where is the washroom?” you ask "Where is the toilet?" or "Where is the bathroom?".

***

A standard Canadian accent is a rather vague thing. Because formally it is, but in fact in each individual region of Canada there are small features. Moreover, in large cities they are practically not felt.

Linguists distinguish 7 varieties of Canadian English. But they are of interest only to researchers. Because there is no need to learn Canadian English separately. Just learn English - British or American. And you will be understood anyway.

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