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Canadian English and Canadian Culture in Alberta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2017

M. H. Scargill
M. H. Scargill*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
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Extract

What is a Canadian? Have we who call ourselves Canadians a distinctive culture, a distinctive way of life and thought? Or are we “American” or “British”? Or are we perhaps in the unhappy position of being nothing but reflections of two great, yet different, nations? These questions are exercising the minds of a great many people today, and not just within our own borders. To be sure, the historian and the geographer have their answers: the economist has his. And the ethnologist has yet another. But none of them are quite satisfactory. Perhaps the best answer will soon be provided by another scholar—the linguist. And his will embrace those of other scholars and be better than theirs because it will be based on better evidence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue canadienne de linguistique , Volume 1 , Issue R1 , March 1955 , pp. 26 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Linguistic Association. 1955

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References

1 Unless otherwise stated Canadian in this article, because of the linguistic evidence, refers only to the English-speaking Canadian who is not bilingual.

2 I should say here that I intended to let varieties of pronunciation finally form my regions for me. But in the end I found nothing to be gained by that.

3 All the informants were questioned by Miss Claire Heiman, who then gave her findings to me. The University of Alberta gave financial assistance to the project.

4 Table of Teat Words, allowing Accepted American and Brttlah Pronunciations. (Evidence for the pronunciations is drawn mainly from Daniel Jones. An English Pronouncing Dictionary, and J. S. Kenyon and T. S. Knott. A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English.)

5 For an interesting comment on American influence on Canadian culture see W. Kirkonnell. Canadian Toponymy and the Cultural Stratification of Canada, Onomastica 7.