Editing Canadian English (section)

== History ==
Canadian English as an academic field of inquiry solidified around the time of World War II. While early linguistic approaches date back to the second half of the 19th century, the first textbook to consider Canadian English in one form or another was not published until 1940.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Dollinger |first=Stefan |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108596862 |title=Creating Canadian English |date=2019-06-24 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-108-59686-2 |page=30 |doi=10.1017/9781108596862 |quote=So when to start this book's story? In 1940. In that year, Queen's University Professor of English Henry Alexander, an Oxford-educated man whom the next chapter we will call "the grandfather of Canadian English", published a textbook on the history of English. ... Unless you test it from cover to cover, you won't be able to appreciate that this book, read by many a student (a new edition war published in 1962) seems to be the first book that took Canadian English seriously, sprinkling interesting tidbits of information on it into the chapters on British and American English, here and there.}}</ref> [[Walter Spencer Avis|Walter S. Avis]] was its most forceful spokesperson after WWII until the 1970s. His team of lexicographers managed to date the term "Canadian English" to a speech by a Scottish Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Archibald Constable Geikie, in an address to the [[Canadian Institute]] in 1857 (see [http://www.dchp.ca/DCHP-1/ DCHP-1 Online], s.v. "Canadian English", Avis ''et al.,'' 1967).<ref>{{Cite book
| title     = A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles
| last      = Avis
| first     = Walter S.
| publisher = Gage Ltd.
| year      = 1967
| oclc      = 299968792
| at     = s.v. "Canadian English"
}}</ref> Geikie, a Scottish-born Canadian, reflected the Anglocentric attitude that would be prevalent in Canada for the next hundred years when he referred to the language as "a corrupt dialect", in comparison with what he considered the proper English spoken by immigrants from Britain.<ref name="dbmtyy">Chambers, p. xi.</ref>

One of the earliest influences on Canadian English was the French language, which was brought to Canada by the French colonists in the 17th century. French words and expressions were adopted into Canadian English, especially in the areas of cuisine, politics, and social life. For example, words like [[poutine]], and [[toque]] are uniquely Canadian French terms that have become part of the Canadian English lexicon.{{sfn|Boberg|2010|pp=55–105}}

An important influence on Canadian English was British English, which was brought to Canada by British settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries.{{sfn|Boberg|2010|pp=55–105}} Canadian English borrowed many words and expressions from British English, including words like lorry, flat, and lift. However, Canadian English also developed its own unique vocabulary, including words like tuque, chesterfield, and double-double. In the early 20th century, western Canada was largely populated by farmers from [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] who were not anglophones.<ref>Gagnon, Erica, Collections Researcher "[https://pier21.ca/research/immigration-history/settling-the-west-immigration-to-the-prairies-from-1867-to-1914 Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914]". ''Pier 21 Museum''.</ref> At the time, most anglophones there were re-settlers from Ontario or Quebec who had [[British Canadians|British]], [[Irish Canadians|Irish]], or [[United Empire Loyalist|Loyalist]] ancestry, or some mixture of these.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Administration of Dominion Lands, 1870&ndash;1930|last=Lambrecht|first=Kirk N|year=1991}}</ref> Throughout the 20th century, the prairies underwent [[anglicization]] and linguistic homogenization through education and exposure to Canadian and American media.

American English also had a significant impact on Canadian English's origins as well as again in the 20th century and since then as a result of increased cultural and economic ties between the two countries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chambers |first=J. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eylHPwAACAAJ |title=Sociolinguistic Theory |date=2008 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-1-4051-5246-4 |language=en}}</ref> American English terms like gasoline, truck, and apartment are commonly used in Canadian English.

The growth of Canadian media, including television, film, and literature, has also played a role in shaping Canadian English.  Chambers (1998) notes that Canadian media has helped to create new words and expressions that reflect Canadian culture and values.  Canadian institutions, such as the CBC and the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, have also played a role in promoting and defining Canadian English.

In addition to these influences, Canadian English has also been minorly shaped by Indigenous languages.{{sfn|Boberg|2010}}{{page needed|date=April 2023}} Indigenous words such as moose, toboggan, and moccasin have become part of the Canadian English lexicon.

Canadian English is the product of five waves of immigration and settlement over a period of more than two centuries.<ref name="Dillinger">{{Cite book |author=Dollinger |first=Stefan |title=Handbook of World Englishes |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=2020 |edition=2nd |chapter=English in Canada |access-date=19 Apr 2023 |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/14933782 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814190635/https://www.academia.edu/14933782 |archive-date=14 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> The first large wave of permanent English-speaking settlement in Canada, and linguistically the most important, was the influx of [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]] fleeing the [[American Revolution]], chiefly from the [[Mid-Atlantic States]]—as such, Canadian English is believed by some scholars to have derived from [[northern American English]].<ref>"[https://books.google.com/books?id=ia5tHVtQPn8C&pg=PA268 Canadian English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610162410/https://books.google.com/books?id=ia5tHVtQPn8C&pg=PA268 |date=2016-06-10 }}." Brinton, Laurel J., and Fee, Marjery, ed. (2005). Ch. 12. in ''The Cambridge history of the English language. Volume VI: English in North America.'', Algeo, John, ed., pp. 422–440. Cambridge University Press, 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-521-26479-2}}. On p. 422: "It is now generally agreed that Canadian English originated as a variant of northern American English (the speech of New England, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania)."</ref><ref>"Canadian English." McArthur, T., ed. (2005). ''Concise Oxford companion to the English language'', pp. 96–102. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-280637-8}}. On p. 97: "Because Canadian English and American English are so alike, some scholars have argued that in linguistic terms Canadian English is no more or less than a variety of (''Northern'') ''American English''.</ref> Canadian English has been developing features of its own since the early 19th century.<ref>Dollinger, Stefan. (2008)."New-Dialect Formation in Canada." Benjamins, 978 90 272 31068 6. p. 279."</ref><ref name="Labov, Ash 2006">"Labov, Ash, Boberg. 2006. ''The Atlas of North American English''. Mouton, ch. 15.</ref> The second wave from Britain and Ireland was encouraged to settle in Canada after the [[War of 1812]] by the [[governors of Canada]], who were worried about American dominance and influence among its citizens. Further waves of immigration from around the globe peaking in 1910, 1960, and at the present time had a lesser influence, but they did make Canada a [[Multiculturalism|multicultural]] country, ready to accept linguistic change from around the world during the current period of [[globalization]].<ref>Chambers, p. xi–xii.</ref>

The languages of [[Aboriginal peoples in Canada]] started to influence European languages used in Canada even before widespread settlement took place,<ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.askoxford.com/globalenglish/worldenglish/factors/?view=uk
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080514160430/http://www.askoxford.com/globalenglish/worldenglish/factors/?view=uk
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 14 May 2008
| title      = Factors which shaped the varieties of English
| website  = AskOxford.com
| access-date = 26 February 2011
}}</ref> and the [[Quebec French|French]] of [[Lower Canada]] provided vocabulary, with words such as ''tuque'' and ''portage'',<ref name=":1">{{cite web |date=17 August 2012 |title=Canadian English |work=Oxford English Dictionary |url=http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-use/canadian-english |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170821083957/http://public.oed.com/aspects-of-english/english-in-use/canadian-english/ |archive-date=21 August 2017 |access-date=20 August 2017 }}</ref> to the English of [[Upper Canada]].<ref name="dbmtyy" />

Overall, the history of Canadian English is a reflection of the country's diverse linguistic and cultural heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |date=2008-09-26 |title=Social Lives in Language – Sociolinguistics and multilingual speech communities: Celebrating the work of Gillian Sankoff |url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027290755 |access-date=2023-04-11 |series=IMPACT: Studies in Language and Society |volume=24 |doi=10.1075/impact.24 |isbn=978-90-272-1863-6 |language=en}}</ref> While Canadian English has borrowed many words and expressions from other languages, it has also developed its own unique vocabulary and pronunciation that reflects the country's distinct identity.