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“So cool, right?”: Canadian English Entering the 21st Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2016

Sali A. Tagliamonte
Sali A. Tagliamonte*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Abstract

A socially stratified sample—the Toronto English Corpus—together with the construct of apparent time (with speakers aged 10–90 years) reveal that certain features are declining, including future will, deontic have got to, possessive have got, intensifier very, and the sentence tag you know. On the other hand, some features are on the rise, including future going to, deontic have to, possessive have, intensifiers really and so, and sentences tags such as whatever, so, and stuff like that. The younger generation is pushing these changes forward more rapidly. While some developments date back hundreds of years in the history of English, they are not particular to Canada, and are consistent with research on other English corpora. Other changes appear to be progressing in a unique way in Canada, including deontic and possessive have. I argue that the broader socio-historical context is a critical factor: geographic and economic mobility as well as changes in communication technology may explain the rapid acceleration of certain types of linguistic change.

Résumé

Résumé

Un échantillon avec stratification sociale—le Toronto English Corpus—en combinaison avec la notion de temps apparent (avec des locuteurs âgés entre 10 et 90 ans) révèlent que certains traits sont en déclin, dont le futur will, le have got to déontique, le have got possessif, l’intensifieur very et l’expression phrastique you know. Par contre, d’autre traits sont en croissance, dont le futur going to, le déontique have to, le possessif have, les intensifieurs really et so et les expressions phrastiques whatever, so et stuff like that. La generation plus jeune pousse ces changements de l’avant plus rapidement. Alors que certains de ces développements datent de plusieurs centaines d’années dans l’histoire de l’anglais, ils ne sont pas spécifique au Canada et apparaissent dans d’autres corpus de l’anglais. D’autres changements semblent progresser de façon unique au Canada, dont le have déontique et possessif. J’argumente ici que le contexte socio-historique est un facteur décisif: une mobilité géographique et économique ainsi que des changements dans la technologie de la communication peuvent expliquer l’accélération rapide de certains types de changements linguistiques.

Type
Language Change
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 51 , Issue 2-3: Canadian English in a Global Context , November 2006 , pp. 309 - 331
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association 2006

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