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slave trade. This meant that America provided a contact point for
English and many other languages, both European and African. Two
further factors made the linguistic situation even more complex. The
first was that the migrants from Britain brought with them many
different varieties of British English and, as we saw in the previous
topic, these varied significantly from each other and included the
varieties of the poorly educated. By and large, it is not the powerful
and rich who migrate, it is the oppressed and the poor who do. The
second factor was that the indigenous American population spoke
several different American languages. The presence of so many
languages gave rise to American Indian Pidgin English (AIPE) and
AIPE was an important lingua franca in the days of early settlement
and also during the move west across the United States.
It was not this type of pidgin, however, that people were
referring to when deriding the new English of America, but rather
the varieties spoken by the settlers.
When America achieved independence from Britain in 1776,
an American academic Noah Webster, saw the political
independence provided an opportunity for linguistic independence
and compiled the famous “Webster’s” dictionary. Among other
things, he attempted to rationalize English and to make it more
systematic. He proposed new spellings, some of which have now
become standard American spellings. Examples included the
dropping of what he felt were unnecessary vowels to give “flavor”,
“armor”, “smolder”, “anemic”, “catalog” and “program” as
opposed to the British “flavour”, “armour”, “smoulder”,
“anaemic”, “catalogue” and “programme”, spellings influenced by
contact with European languages. Webster certainly made the
stomach complaint “diarrhoea”, if not easier to cure, at least easier
to spell, “diarrhea”. However, he was not entirely successful in
these attempts, as spllings with ‘unnecessary vowels such as
“feather” and “definite” stubbornly remained. Webster’s attempt to
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establish independence for American English was not welcomed by
all Americans, and he was attacked by many.
Along with Webster, Mencken is perhaps the name most
associated with the promotion of the American language. In his work
“The American Language”, he felt that it would increasingly diverge
from British English. By 1965, he had changed his mind. He began
to argue that American English was now influencing British English.
This was causing the varieties to converge rather than diverge
because of increasing American influence and the sheer numbers of
those who speak American varieties of English.
America has certainly seen a levelling of social class,
especially when compared to Britain, and, in the early days of
settlement, a particular dialect was not necessarily associated with
prestige.
What are some of the differences between the standard British
and American dialects? As with all varieties, the most noticeable
difference between them is in their different pronunciations. One
difference is that the /j/ glide after certain consonants does not occur
in American English. Thus a “duke” is a /dju:k/ in conservative RP,
but is a /du:k/ in American English, although /ʤu:k/ is also common
in Britain. Stress patterns on words also differ. A British
“laboratory” has four syllables with the main stress on the second, an
American “laboratory” has five syllables with more or less equal
stress on each. “Extraordinary” has four syllables with the main
stress on the second syllable in British English, but six syllables and
main stress on the first and third syllables in American English.
“Fertile” is /’fɜːtail/ in British English and /’fɜːtəl/ in American.
Similarly, a “missile” is a /’misail/ in British and a /’misəl/ in
American. The American pronunciations are not necessarily newer
than the British ones. For example, the American pronunciations of
“fertile” and “missile” retain the original English pronunciations of
these two words.
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There are also many differences in vocabulary. In England,
cars have bonnets, boots, gear levers, number plates, tires and
windscreens. In America, they have hoods, trunks, stick shifts,
license plates, tires and windshields. In England, drivers stop at
pedestrian or zebra crossings and at traffic lights. They go round
roundabouts and avoid driving on the pavement. They drive on
motorways and ring roads, they pull off at junctions and pull up on
the hard shoulder. In America, drivers stop at crosswalks and stop
lights. They go round traffic circles and avoid driving on the
sidewalk. They drive on interstates and beltways and exit at exits and
pull off at pull offs.
There are also grammatical differences. In certain contexts, an
American can use the past simple tense when a British speaker
would use the present perfect. For example, “Did you buy your car
yet?” is possible in American English but, in British English, a
speaker would say “Have you bought your car yet?”
Differences also exist in the way people speak to each other.
For example, when greeting and leave talking the British may say
“How are you?” and “Goodbye”, while Americans may say “How
are you doing?” and “Have a nice day”.
Variation in American Englishes
Although there are differences between the standard
languages, the variation increases further when regional and social
varieties are considered. The manner in which they differ has been
the subject of much controversy. In particular the differences
between African American Vernacular English (AAVEs) and White
American English Vernacular(s) (WAEVs) have been explained by
language contact theory. It states that both these varieties developed
as a result of language contact and that the differences between them
can be explained by a number of variables, including the different
typological features of African and European languages.
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A variety of different acronyms and terms are used to describe
certain varieties of American English. For example, the variety
spoken by Black Americans has been variously described as Black
English Vernacular (BEV), African English Vernacular (AEV),
African American English (AAE), African American Vernacular
English (AAVE) and Ebonics. ‘Ebonics’ was a term originally
created to indicate that Black American English was actually a
variety of African languages rather than a variety of English.
Similarly, ‘standard’ American has been referred to as Standard
American English (SAE), White American English Vernaculars(s)
(WAEV), General American (GA) and Mainstream US English
(MUSE).
African American Vernacular English (AAVE)
In the early days no one American accent or variety was
considered to be more prestigious that another, but this has changed
in more recent time. A prime example of a current American variety
that attracts negative prejudice is AAVE. A speaker of AAVE is
likely to be pigeon-holed as being capable of only certain types of
work. For example, an AAVE speaker can be successful in the sports
and entertainment industries but not in others.
In the context of cultural identity that the Black American
writer and poet June Jordan has compiled a list of guidelines for the
writing of Black English that includes 19 “rules”.
1. Minimal number of words for every idea.
2. Clarity.
3. Eliminate the use of the verb “to be” whenever possible.
4. Use “be” or ‘been’ only when you want to describe a
chronic, ongoing state of things.
5. Zero copula (eliminate the verb “to be” whenever it would
combine with other verbs).
6. Eliminate “do”.
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7. Try to formulate really positive ideas by using emphatic
negative structures.
8. Use double or triple negatives for dramatic emphasis.
9. Never use the -ed suffix to indicate the past tense of a verb
(if this is used in ‘standard’ English).
10. Only use the third person singular, present, indicative.
11. Observe a minimal inflection of verbs.
12. Never use as apostrophe (‘s) construction. (The possessive
case scarcely ever appears in Black English.)
13. If the modifier indicates plurality, then the noun remains in
the singular case.
14. Listen for or invent special Black English forms of the past
tense (“losted”, etc.).
15. Do not hesitate to play with words, even invent them.
16. Stay in the present tense unless you want to underscore the
past tense.
17. Never use the suffix -ly form of an adverb.
18. Never use the indefinite article “an”.
19. Invariant syntax: it is possible to formulate an imperative,
interrogative, and declarative with the same syntax.
What is certain is that AAVE possesses a complex and
systematic grammar, which differs from General American in
significant ways, but which shares some features with other varieties
of English. It also possesses distinct lexical items and phonological
features. Many of the lexical items come, as would be expected,
from other languages, particularly African ones.
AAVE also has a wide range of distinctive phonological
features. These include the non-use of consonant clusters, especially
in final position. An example of this was provided earlier with the
use of “an” for “and”. Other examples include “wes” for “west” and
“boyfren” for “boyfriend”. As is the case with many varieties, the
sound /θ/ and /ð/ do not occur so that “the”, “this” and “that” become
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“de” and “dis” and “dat”, and “nothing” and “south” are sounded
“nufing” and “souf”.
Southern American English (SAE)
Southern American English has occasioned more debate and
research than probably any other variety. The South is an area that is
not easy to define, either geographically or culturally. It comprises
the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and
Louisiana.
SAE has developed in response to three major influences. The
first is an “English core”, the second and the third are Scots-Irish and
African languages respectively. The phonological feature most
associated with Southern English is the so called “southern drawl”.
This is realized by the prolongation of certain vowel sounds and the
“breaking of vowels and dipthongs into tripthongs”.For example,
“there” can be pronounced /ðajæ/ and “bad” /bæeɛd/.Upgliding
dipthongs occur in “pass”, “bath” and “after” to give the vowel
sound /æɛ/ or /æy/.
Another distinctive characteristics of Southern English is the
merging of the vowel sounds /i/ and /e/ as in the words “pin” and
“pen”.
To turn to the syntax of SAE, below is a list of distinctive
features of Southern English syntax.
Feature
Example
verb-ing
he left a-running
plural verb-s
folks sits there
perfective “done”
she’s done left
you-all, yall
we saw yall
fixin’ to
I am fixin; to eat
multiple modals
we might can make it
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past simple “dove”
they dove in
past simple “drug”
he drug it
Increasing metropolitanisation of America is causing
significant and rapid change to varieties of American English. Cities
are developing distinctive varieties, but the phenomenon of
increasing migration and immigration to the cities makes for an
extremely complex situation. This many mean that the notion of a
variety of General American is becoming ever more an idealization
that a reality.
Canadian English (CE): background
To understand how Canadian English has evolved, it is useful
to consider something of how Canada has been settled over the last
500 years. In 1497 John Cabot sighted Newfoundland and claimed it
for England. The next date to highlight is 1534, when French
explorer Jacques Cartier landed at Gaspe. The pattern continues with
Englishman Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s 1583 settlement in St. John’s,
followed by the first permanent French settlement at Quebec City in
1608. This brief chronology reveals that the early roots of CE are in
British English, but the historical involvement of French has also had
a major impact on this variety of English. In the late 1700s there was
a major influx of “United Empire Loyalists” after the American
Revolutionary War. Then during the 1800s hundreds of thousands of
immigrants from Britain settled in Ontario and the Maritime
provinces. After Confederation of major European immigration to
Canada, most of which settled in the west. The fourth wave, after
World War II, came mostly from Europe again but also included
some immigrants from Asia. Since 1970s Canada has received what
might be called a fifth wave of diverse immigration from all over the
world. This last wave has more recently transformed Canadian cities,
bringing various cultural and linguistic influences to bear on CE, not
only with large populations of ESL speakers, but also through the
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arrival of English speakers from the Carribean and other places, such
as Hong Kong, where English has been an official or important
language. In sum, then, like Canada itself, CE was first established in
the eastern and central parts of the country. Furthermore, beyond its
early British roots and French influences, English in Canada has
developed with the input of English-speakers from the U.S. and other
places, as well as of other languages and ESL speakers both within
and from outside Canada.
Canadian English refers to the variety of English generally
spoken and written by educated anglophones in Canada, particularly
in urban settings and west of Newfoundland. CE is distinct in that it
has language features found only in CE, as well as other
characteristics typically found in either British English or American
English, or both. Canadian English is noted both for great variety and
variation within it. Despite its early British roots, however, CE is
clearly a North American variety of English, and this is how it has
been viewed in the past and is currently classified by linguists such
as Chambers and Crystal.
A Canadianism has been defined as ‘a word, expression, or
meaning which is native to Canada or which is distinctly
characteristic of Canadian usage though not necessarily exclusive to
Canada. For example, “winnipeg couch” (a couch with no arms or
back that converts into a double bed), is an expression native to
Canada, while “chesterfield” (any couch or sofa), though not native
to Canada, is nonetheless typical of CE usage. Both are classified as
Canadianisms.
Vocabulary features of Canadian English. The anglophone
ancestors in Canada encountered new plants, animals, and
landscapes, thus creating new CE words, and the process has been
taking place ever since. As with all varieties of English, there are
generally three popular ways of generating new CE vocabulary. The
first is to extend or change the meaning of words already in the
English language. Examples here include political words such as
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“Confederation” (the Canadian federation in 1867) or a “riding”
(electoral district), as well as personal terms like “Canuck”
(Canadian) or “grit” (liberal) and metaphor names such as
“Bluenosers” (Nova Scotians), a “brown cow” (the drink).
The second major way that CE vocabulary has expanded is
through borrowing new words from other languages. Loan words
from aboriginal languages include “caribou” (both the animal/meat
and a Quebec drink of wine/whysky), “chipmunk” (from Ojibwa).
Popular French words borrowed into CE include “lacrosse”
(originally an Indian game), “prairie(s)”, “to sashay” (walk
nonchalantly), “toque” or “tuque” (the hat), “tourtiere” (meat pie),
and “voyageur”, reflecting a large French influence on CE.
A third way that CE vocabulary has grown is by creating
words from the resources of English. Compound examples that come
to mind are First Nations, Nanaimo bar, new Canadians, and
Separate school. Blends involve “medicare” (medical+care),
permafrost, Petrocan, and splake. Shortenings in CE include words
like “Expo” (from exposition), “hydro”, and “Mountie”. Popular CE
coinages, often describing new inventions, are reflected in blueberry
buckle, dew-worm, eavestrough, humidex, insulin, kerosene, Loonie,
ski-doo, and Velcro. While not all of these Canadianisms may form
part of one’s everyday vocabulary, anglophone Canadians are at least
familiar with and even use many of them.
Grammar features of Canadian English. As English
grammar is rather standard across the board, there are not as many
specific CE grammatical features. The first is that CE
speakers/writers can and do use either the -t or -ed form, or both, for
the English past tense and /or past participle in some verbs, as in
knelt/kneeled, leapt/leaped, learnt/learned, etc. CE dictionaries list
both -t and -ed forms, but no study has been carried out to date on the
frequency of each, especially in speech.
A second grammatical feature of CE that is obvious is the way
that the word “Canada” is used. On the one hand, this noun is often
40
used as an adjective, as in the Canada Council or Canada Cycle
Corporation. On the other hand “Canada” is also often used in CE
with French syntax in the names of government organizations
(Statistics Canada, Parks Canada), business (Air Canada, Petro
Canada, Bell Canada), and magazine titles (Nature Canada, Ski
Canada).
Spelling features of Canadian English. There are two large
division features of Canadian English spelling. First are the mostly
invariable forms that people typically use, such as -ize in verbs
endings (nationalize, publicize, synthesize), -re in noun endings (as in
the theatre, centre, fibre, metre, etc.) although center is no longer
infrequent, and standard English spellings for some individuals
words (i.e., axe, catalogue, cheque, dialogue, plough, etc.), while
some other individual words follow usual British spellings (syrup,
pyjamas) and still others use the typical American spelling (jail, tire).
Second, beyond these largely invariable forms are other more
variable ones which change with individuals or regions, as in -ourvs,
-or (colour, honour, neighbour, armour, etc.) in most of Canada but
the -or ending is more popular in the west (i.e., Alberta). Similarly,
there is variety in how Canadians deal with doubling of the final ‘l’
in words such as enroll, enthrall, fulfill, traveller, etc. To complicate
the matter, Canadians (particularly abroad) frequently refer to nonCanadian reference works or use word processing spell checks based
largely on American dictionaries.
Pronounciation/speaking features of Canadian English. CE
speaking is perhaps the clearest indication that someone received
their English education in Canada. Various examples of typical CE
speech are evident. First, for CE speakers pronunciation of some
words can follow either the American or British model, or both, as in
interesting (interesting vs. inTRESting), laboratory (laboratory vs.
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