Canadian English
What is Canadian English?
Why is the name of this site, That Other English, and what is Canadian English? Students who study English as an additional language learn American English or British English because those are the only traditionally available textbooks. English began in England; thereby, English is the language’s name. And, for some reason, the United States is a desired destination for immigrants and visitors from other countries, the “American dream”, etc.
But what’s so special about the English language in these two countries? Well, nothing, really. The reasons stated above have nothing to do with the quality of the language in either of the two countries. Okay, so what’s so special about Canadian English? Again, nothing, but Canadian English is every bit as representative of modern-day English as British English or American English.
Canadian History in Brief
There are six large-population countries where most of the population has English as its first language. In order of numbers, those countries are the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand.
So, that is our heritage. The U.S. quickly separated itself from that heritage, but Canada hung on. Canada didn’t even have its own flag until 1965 and finally brought home its constitution from the U.K. in 1982. As a point of interest, even today, the Queen of England is also the Queen of Canada.
Influence of American English
Canada is the second largest country in the world by area, slightly larger than the United States. However, the population is only about 10% of that of the U.S., most of which resides within 100 miles of the Canada/U.S. border. Canada has fewer accent variations than the U.S. or Britain. Our T.V. and other entertainment are almost exclusively American. Therefore, Canada’s so-called English “standard accent” is virtually identical to the U.S.
Influence of the United Kingdom
With the above history in mind, Canadian English is a unique blend of American and British English. For the most part, it has retained the traditional spelling of British English. However, the vocabulary and pronunciation are American English.
There are no strict rules that require Canadians to use either the American model or the British model. Therefore, it is up to each individual to use the English model they prefer as long as they are consistent. Grammar is mostly standard between the two models, while accents and dialects are the most significant differences.
Are Accents Important?
Do I have an accent? Of course, I do. Everyone has an accent in their native language. However, it is only relevant if you compare it with someone who speaks the same language from another area of your country or another country.
I tried my best to find a definition of standard English for a particular country. The best I could come up with is that it is the specific accent used in the country’s national radio or television broadcasts. It could be the language spoken on major television networks in the United States. In the United Kingdom, it’s the BBC; in Canada, it’s the CBC.
Accents for Non-Native Learners
However, the accent is significant for students learning English as another language. You want to know that other speakers of English will be able to understand you.
I was an EFL teacher in a famous Japanese English conversation school many years ago. There were teachers in the school from many native-English-speaking countries. For the first time, I met someone from New Zealand. It was very frustrating because I couldn’t understand anything he said.
I wondered how he could teach English to Japanese students when I, as a native-English speaker, couldn’t understand him. I later discovered that it wasn’t New Zealand English. It was just this one guy who spoke like he had a mouthful of marbles.
I used to teach EFL to multicultural homestay students in the Vancouver area. I found it very difficult to understand the students from Korea when they were speaking English. There was one young woman in particular whose English knowledge was excellent. However, her accent was so unusual I couldn’t understand her.
It was because all of her teachers up until then were Korean, and a person’s native language affects their accent when learning and speaking a new language. Therefore, she could only repeat what she had heard from her Korean teachers.
Native-English Speakers
As an aside, there is something more important than a native speaker’s country of origin. Remember that not just anyone can teach you English because they come from a country where English is the native language. For the most part, native speakers of any language are just that, speakers. People generally can only know the correct grammar, punctuation, etc., if they have formally studied the intricacies of their language. The teacher’s knowledge and training can be especially critical if you want to learn to write in a foreign language.
So Why Canadian English
With our “standard pronunciation and accent” and ability to choose from both American and British vocabulary and spelling, we are very proud of how Canadian English fits into the world of the English language. Canadian English is a reasonable alternative to British or American English for students learning English as a second or foreign language.
And Canada is a beautiful and safe country for homestay to study the language, for vacation, or even to consider as a country to relocate to.
