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Why is Canadian English unique?

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Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#21

Post by thrusong »

dljsjr wrote: post #19
goodcanadian wrote: post #18

There are some errors in the article. May two four is a distinctly Eastern Canada slang. In western Canada, it is simply May long weekend. Two four to refer to 24 beer is also Eastern Canada. In western Canada, you call it a flat. Finally, as a Canadian who has lived outside of Canada for a long time, Canadians really do use eh a lot. It is just that it is a subconscious element of the language that we are not aware…

I'm from Manitoba and we say two-four all the time…

Same here. I don't think I've heard anyone ever call it a flat.

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#22

Post by acrooks »

notahacker wrote: post #17
branchless wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a Brit who moved to Canada and I find it _amazing_ that anyone here supports the queen. You moved to a new land where you were not serfs. Where you could live free and your children could escape a suffocating class structure. To a land where you elected your own leaders. Do you want oppression back?

I'm not convinced the Queen is doing much oppressing these days...

No, you're right, but I think branchless' comment was referring to the Queen in the context of her role, not the person herself. Her role is that of, among others, a high-profile figurehead for the upper class. And the prominence and cultural importance of the role is certainly a factor in the oppression.

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#23

Post by jordigh »

branchless wrote: post #16
pmelendez wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The queen is a total irrelevance in Canada. Maybe, but new Canadians still have to swear loyalty to the Queen in the citizenship ceremony.

I'm a Brit who moved to Canada and I find it _amazing_ that anyone here supports the queen. You moved to a new land where you were not serfs. Where you could live free and your children could escape a suffocating class structure. To a land where you elected your own leaders. Do you want oppression back?

> You moved to a new land where you were not serfs.

This MUH FREEDOM metanarrative belongs more to the US. For example, freedom of speech in Canada is very much unlike the US -- hate speech and similar things have never been protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

People did not come to Canada to escape English or French monarchic oppression. Even Quebeckers feel a historical sorrow to have been forgotten by France, but never staged any sort of revolt against France. They still use the same French Fleur de Lys as their symbol, just like the rose is used by Anglophone Canadians to symbolise their attachment to England.

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#25

Post by goodcanadian »

thrusong wrote: post #21
dljsjr wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from Manitoba and we say two-four all the time…

Same here. I don't think I've heard anyone ever call it a flat.

Manitoba is clearly part of Eastern Canada. :)

Perhaps, flat is more of an Alberta thing. It may also be a generational thing. As I said, I haven't lived in Canada for a few years.

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#26

Post by branchless »

acrooks wrote: post #22
notahacker wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not convinced the Queen is doing much oppressing these days...

No, you're right, but I think branchless' comment was referring to the Queen in the context of her role, not the person herself. Her role is that of, among others, a high-profile figurehead for the upper class. And the prominence and cultural importance of the role is certainly a factor in the oppression.

The UK is plenty oppressed. We still have all the same problems with economic rent extracted via land ownership.

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#27

Post by jordigh »

ZoeZoeBee wrote: post #24

Say what ever you want to say, but Eh is one of the best words out there. It allows you to create a question out of a sentence without having to change inflection.

It's not always a dangling question. It can be eh in the middle of an assertion for emphasis. I rather like that usage too.

One thing about Canadian vowel raising that I hear is that "bagel" is pronounced "baggle" (not really, there is still a diphthong, but it's so slight as to sound lost to my ears).

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#28

Post by pmelendez »

branchless wrote: post #16
pmelendez wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The queen is a total irrelevance in Canada. Maybe, but new Canadians still have to swear loyalty to the Queen in the citizenship ceremony.

I'm a Brit who moved to Canada and I find it _amazing_ that anyone here supports the queen. You moved to a new land where you were not serfs. Where you could live free and your children could escape a suffocating class structure. To a land where you elected your own leaders. Do you want oppression back?

I'm a bit puzzled about your comment so my apologies in advance if I missed your point.

> I find it _amazing_ that anyone here supports the queen.

I haven't seen too much opposition about the Queen, mostly indifference. What I have seen a lot though is underestimation and lack of understanding of Canadian-born citizens about the amount of power over Canada that the Queen holds (at least on paper).

> You moved to a new land where you were not serfs. Where you could live free and your children could escape a suffocating class structure. To a land where you elected your own leaders.

I am not clear if you are defending the constitutional system here because there are republics that are doing just fine (ie. USA, France, Germany, etc.). Also, I have seen "suffocating" class structures in both systems so I wouldn't say the lack of it is an advantage of either one.

> Do you want oppression back?

Oppresion from who?

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#29

Post by pmelendez »

ZoeZoeBee wrote: post #24

Say what ever you want to say, but Eh is one of the best words out there. It allows you to create a question out of a sentence without having to change inflection.

> Say what ever you want to say, but Eh is one of the best words out there. It allows you to create a question out of a sentence without having to change inflection.

I agree but I would argue that "huh" and "right" do the trick too :)

Re: Why is Canadian English unique?

#30

Post by georges_sand »

jordigh wrote: post #20
sandworm101 wrote: post #2

>> Though English-speaking Canadians remain loyal to the Queen, they aren’t truly interested in being British or sounding British; they’re just interested in using the British connection to assert their independence from the independent United States, which they left because they didn’t want to leave. What horrible highschool textbook is this from? When did Canada separate from the US? And to say english Canadians ar…

> The queen is a total irrelevance in Canada Not to everyone: http://www.monarchist.ca/ Although you are right that many people do not care for the Queen, there are still pockets here and there who do, and she's obviously acknowledged everywhere in government, as a tour of Parliament Hill will attest. Newspapers report the prosecution of a criminal trial as "the Crown", and land that belongs to the government is call…

I do not see what you speaking of...

https://iconicphotos.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/trudeaus-pirou...

;)

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