Canadian English facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Canadian English |
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| Region | Canada | |||
| Native speakers | 19.4 million in Canada (2011 census) about 15 million, c. 7 million of which with French as the L1 |
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| Language family |
Indo-European
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| Writing system | Latin (English alphabet) Unified English Braille |
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Canadian English is the type of English that is used by Canadians. It is like American English in terms of vocabulary, but its grammar is like that of British English.
Canadian English is generally taught in schools using British ways of spelling, such as colour, flavour, and so on. However, the word themselves are usually American, in part because Canadians watch a lot of American TV shows and listen to a lot of American pop music. Rarely, the British form of words may be replaced with American forms, such as plow, program, and so on.
The main exception to this rule is terms related to cars and the auto industry. Because Canada's auto industry has always been dominated by American firms, Canadians use American words and spelling for such terms. Canadians and Americans spell the outer rubber portion of a wheel as tire instead of tyre, put gasoline or gas in their vehicles instead of petrol, store items in the trunk instead of the boot, and may drive a truck instead of a lorry.
Canadian English is different from other forms of English in its spoken form also. The dialects vary from sounding overtly English to an indistinguishable form very similar to those spoken in the northern states.
Related pages
Images for kids
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Based on Labov et al.; averaged F1/F2 means for speakers from N.S., N.B., N.L.
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Canadian passport stamp from Queenston Bridge, showing the date 8 June 2014
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A Canadian-built Curtiss JN-4C "Canuck" training biplane of 1918, with a differing vertical tail to the original US version
See also
In Spanish: Inglés canadiense para niños
