Speech pattern and typographical variations across Canada

[Hackslack]

Cheque or check?... I 100% use cheque, check to me just seams wrong.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by rousseau

Honestly, Doug...is this all an act? Never have I seen someone (on an internet forum or social media) display such obvious grounding in and adoration of Atlas Shrugged. Virtually every post you make essentially appears to be an extended commentary on the central tenet of your philosophy, summed up so neatly by Thatcher: "And, you know, there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women and there are families."

Seems to me that Canadian English evolved slightly differently than American English did, though both variations were indeed at times either preserved or changed by diktat by various figures of cultural authority. Still, the idea that our unique spelling conventions are a government plot is, uh, a bit wacky. Even for you.

I've never read Ayn Rand but know enough Thatcher to realize you don't understand the context of that quote.

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Pinus

We are also not the US either, so maybe you should accept that there are different way of spelling from both the Poms and the Yanks.

Your beloved Yanks decided to change the English language to a degree because they wanted to show themselves as being different from England. Why did they do that? Talk about acting self-righteous and bombastic. And it wasn't just in spelling. Why did they refuse to adopt the metric system when most of the rest of the world did? Why are they allowed to be so special and unique? If you find it okay for them to have done so, why shouldn't Canada want to differentiate ourselves from the Yanks?

Talk about being not just an idiot, but a hypocrite as well.

You do realize that no matter what standards the USA adopts, they will likely go global simply due to the size and reach of the American economy. The US probably represents the majority of the English speaking population and GDP.

Didn't American spellings arise from a particular locale in southern England which provided a large number of the original settlers to New England?

[niwell]

Originally Posted by Doug

I've never read Ayn Rand but know enough Thatcher to realize you don't understand the context of that quote.

No, he does. You are a caricature.

[MolsonExport]

Originally Posted by acottawa

uR rit; spelllung roulss Я stoupid&

so erudite

[lio45]

Originally Posted by niwell

It's fascinating to me that the majority of people opposed to Canadian English spellings are from Alberta. Being from Alberta it isn't surprising at all, though.

In practice though, I expect most of the Canadians who are (default-)spelling their English the way the internet and the books spell it, are Québécois not Albertans.

I recall earlier on this forum some guy from Vancouver was puzzled at FrAnKs spelling his stuff the American way. The fact that he was spelling things the American way was news to FrAnKs.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by lio45

In practice though, I expect most of the Canadians who are (default-)spelling their English the way the internet and the books spell it, are Québécois not Albertans.

I recall earlier on this forum some guy from Vancouver was puzzled at FrAnKs spelling his stuff the American way. The fact that he was spelling things the American way was news to FrAnKs.

British English spellings would be taught in far more English-speaking countries than American English spellings would, so I’m not sure which part of the Internet FrAnKs (why does he do that capitalization thing!?) is hanging out in. Hopefully he has mended his traitorous ways....

[VANRIDERFAN]

Two things I cannot stand.
Reporters saying and writing “The HMCS ........” and Canadians pronounceing z as “zee” instead of “zed”.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by VANRIDERFAN

Two things I cannot stand.
Reporters saying and writing “The HMCS ........” and Canadians pronounceing z as “zee” instead of “zed”.

Yes, it's reached the point that I'm surprised when one of the young people at the office says "zed". As much as I supported free trade in 1988, I kind of knew this was going to happen. John Turner wasn't so far off, in retrospect, with his campaign ad that showed a pencil grasped by "Mulroney" industriously erasing the border on a map.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by Andy6

... so I’m not sure which part of the Internet FrAnKs (why does he do that capitalization thing!?) is hanging out in.

The (near-)entirety of it.

Go to any major website (majour website to you?), say wikipedia, do Ctrl+F, try "centre" or "colour", then do the same for "center" or "color".

That's the internet for us.

Also, as pointed out already by others (in previous instances of this exact discussion), there's a natural tendency to assume that things in foreign languages will be different. So "centre" becomes, in English, "center", and "zed" becomes, in English, "zee". You have to make a conscious effort to fight this. Many don't. (Or don't even know about the difference.)

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by Andy6

Hopefully he has mended his traitorous ways....

Cause I'm a badass !

No seriously, as far as I remember (At least where I grew up in the Northern suburbs of Montréal), we learned American English at school.

Center, color, realize, neighbor, are all part of my English vocabulary.

I assumed most Francophones did aswell ...

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by lio45

The (near-)entirety of it.

Go to any major website (majour website to you?), say wikipedia, do Ctrl+F, try "centre" or "colour", then do the same for "center" or "color".

That's the internet for us.

Also, as pointed out already by others (in previous instances of this exact discussion), there's a natural tendency to assume that things in foreign languages will be different. So "centre" becomes, in English, "center", and "zed" becomes, in English, "zee". You have to make a conscious effort to fight this. Many don't. (Or don't even know about the difference.)

Major is never spelled with a u, even in the UK.

And I'm making a conscious effort to make sure my daughter sticks with Canadian spellings and pronunciations, which is difficult because here in China the spoken English taught definitely tends towards the American pronunciations and the writing tends to be a mix of American and British.

[sonysnob]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Cause I'm a badass !

No seriously, as far as I remember (At least where I grew up in the Northern suburbs of Montréal), we learned American English at school.

Center, color, realize, neighbor, are all part of my English vocabulary.

I assumed most Francophones did aswell ...

Lol, Sometimes I think Montreal English is it's own language entirely. Sometimes I wonder if Montrealers choose their English vernacular just to remind everyone whomever they are speaking too that they are indeed French, even when speaking English.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by sonysnob

Lol, Sometimes I think Montreal English is it's own language entirely. Sometimes I wonder if Montrealers choose their English vernacular just to remind everyone whomever they are speaking too that they are indeed French, even when speaking English.

Molson Export can answer that question.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Doug

You do realize that no matter what standards the USA adopts, they will likely go global simply due to the size and reach of the American economy. The US probably represents the majority of the English speaking population and GDP.

Didn't American spellings arise from a particular locale in southern England which provided a large number of the original settlers to New England?

I've never heard that before. I thought Webster was trying to create a simplified, uniquely American form of spelling.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by Hackslack

Cheque or check?... I 100% use cheque, check to me just seams wrong.

Cheque (never to be used in a Canadian restaurant when you are asking for the bill).

[kool maudit]

As the lost Nordic country, I think Canada should move in a new, Scandinavian direction.

Colør, anyone?

Lake Åntario.

[begratto]

Originally Posted by FrAnKs

Cause I'm a badass !

No seriously, as far as I remember (At least where I grew up in the Northern suburbs of Montréal), we learned American English at school.

Center, color, realize, neighbor, are all part of my English vocabulary.

I assumed most Francophones did aswell ...

We learned Canadian English spelling at my (French language) school in Montreal. Our ESL teachers were anglophones, maybe FrAnKS were not?

[FrAnKs]

Originally Posted by begratto

We learned Canadian English spelling at my (French language) school in Montreal. Our ESL teachers were anglophones, maybe FrAnKS were not?

Mes profs étaient tous Francophones au secondaire si je me rappelles bien, sauf une au primaire que j'ai eu pendant plusieurs années. J'ai fait mon primaire à Laval et à St-Eustache et mon secondaire à St-Eustache et Deux-Montagnes.

[lio45]

Originally Posted by kool maudit

As the lost Nordic country, I think Canada should move in a new, Scandinavian direction.

Colør, anyone?

Lake Åntario.

I know you're joking, but å is actually a great way to represent a traditional Montreal-accented 'a'.

i.e.
French French: "Donne-moi ça!"
Québécois: "Donne-moé çå!"