Title: Canadian English usage : focus on syntax
Source document: The Central European journal of Canadian studies. 2005, vol. 5, iss. [1], pp. [31]-55
Extent
[31]-55
-
ISSN1213-7715 (print)2336-4556 (online)
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/116007
Type: Article
Language
License: Not specified license
Notice: These citations are automatically created and might not follow citation rules properly.
Abstract(s)
Canadian English can be called as such on political grounds. Linguistically, however, it is included in the North American English continuum and, more precisely, shares a number of regional features with the northem diaslect of US speech. What about usage preferences among Canadian Anglophones? As in previous papers (Albu 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005) I have tried to answer this question, this time focusing on the syntactic compartment, by processing and interpreting the results of a sociolinguistic questionnaire administered in urban Ontario in 2000. The data analysed in this paper are divided into three groups: (1) verba, that is, verb phrase structures and related clause patterns; (2) nomina, that is, noun phrase structures (3) instrumenta, that is, the choice of prepositions and conjunctions in particular phrases. Just as in the spelling, pronunciation and vocabulary compartments, the "American" options are occasionally complemented by "British" preferences. In terms of subjective evaluation, the idea of a link to British English rather than American English is present with a considerable number of respondents.
L'anglais canadien peut être nommé ainsi en invoquant des raisons politiques. Du point de vue linguistique, il est inclus dans le continuum de l'anglais nordamericain. Mais que peut-on dire des préféerences des anglophones canadiens? Comme dans les ouvrages anterieurs (v. Albu 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005), nous avons essayé de répondre à cette question en nous axant cette fois-ci sur la syntaxe par l'interprétation des résultats d'une anquête sociolinguistique fite dans la zone urbaine d'Ontario en 2000. Les données analysées dans cet étude sont divisées en trois groupes: (1) verba - les structures des expressions verbales et des patterns propositionels; (2) nomina - les structures des expressions nominales; et (3) instrumenta - le choix des prépositions et dess conjunctions dans certains expressions. Tout comme dans le domain de la prononciation et du vocabulaire, aux options "americaines" s'associent occasionellement des préférences "britanniques". Quant à 1'évaluation subjective, l'idée de la prédominance de l'anglais britannique se retrouve chez un nombre important d'informateurs.
References
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[2] Albu, Rodica."Representations of Language and Identity. Focus on Canadian English Lexis". Central European Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue d'études canadiennes en Europe Centrale. Volume II. Bmo, 2002: 37-44.
[3] Albu, Rodica. "Representations of Language and Identity. Focus on Canadian English pronunciation". Living in between and on Borders, Iasi: Universitas, 2003: 8-16 .
[4] Albu, Rodica. "On some verb forms in North American English. Focus on Canada", In Tradition, Modernity and Postmodernity, Iasi: Universitas XXI, 2005: 239-250.
[5] Brinton, Laurel J. and Margery Fee. "Canadian English", in The Cambridge History of the English Language, vol. VI: English in North America edited by John Algeo, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001: 422-440.
[6] The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, edited by Katherine Barber, Toronto-Oxford-NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1998.
[7] Chambers, J. K., English in Canada (unpublished ms.), forthcoming in Rodica Albu, English in Canada. Representations of Language and Identity, Iasi: Demiurg, 2006.
[8] Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
[9] Halford, Brigitte. "Canadian English: Linguistic identity in the Pacific North West", in Hans Lindquist et al. (eds.), The Major Varieties of English (MAVEN1997), Växjö University, Humanities No. 1 1998: 125-137.
[10] Mair, Christian. English in the World Today, Iasi: Ars Longa, 1995.
[11] McCrum, Robert et al. "Canadian English", in The Story of English, London: Faber & Faber, 1987: 244-248.
[12] MEDAL = Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Oxford: Macmillan, 2002.
[13] Miller, Jim. "The grammar of Scottish English", in James Milroy and Lesley Milroy (eds.), Real English. The Grammar of English Dialects in the British Isles, London and New York: Longman, 1993: 99-138.
[14] Poplack, Shana. "Contrasting Patterns of Code-switching in Two Communities", in Aspects of Multilingualism, ed. E. Mande et al, Proceedings from the Fourth Nordic Symposium on Bilingualism, 1984. Uppsala 1987: 51-77.
[15] Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah. International English. A Guide to Varieties of Standard English, Edward Arnold, 1994 (first edition 1982, second edition 1985).
[2] Albu, Rodica."Representations of Language and Identity. Focus on Canadian English Lexis". Central European Journal of Canadian Studies / Revue d'études canadiennes en Europe Centrale. Volume II. Bmo, 2002: 37-44.
[3] Albu, Rodica. "Representations of Language and Identity. Focus on Canadian English pronunciation". Living in between and on Borders, Iasi: Universitas, 2003: 8-16 .
[4] Albu, Rodica. "On some verb forms in North American English. Focus on Canada", In Tradition, Modernity and Postmodernity, Iasi: Universitas XXI, 2005: 239-250.
[5] Brinton, Laurel J. and Margery Fee. "Canadian English", in The Cambridge History of the English Language, vol. VI: English in North America edited by John Algeo, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001: 422-440.
[6] The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, edited by Katherine Barber, Toronto-Oxford-NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1998.
[7] Chambers, J. K., English in Canada (unpublished ms.), forthcoming in Rodica Albu, English in Canada. Representations of Language and Identity, Iasi: Demiurg, 2006.
[8] Crystal, David. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
[9] Halford, Brigitte. "Canadian English: Linguistic identity in the Pacific North West", in Hans Lindquist et al. (eds.), The Major Varieties of English (MAVEN1997), Växjö University, Humanities No. 1 1998: 125-137.
[10] Mair, Christian. English in the World Today, Iasi: Ars Longa, 1995.
[11] McCrum, Robert et al. "Canadian English", in The Story of English, London: Faber & Faber, 1987: 244-248.
[12] MEDAL = Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, Oxford: Macmillan, 2002.
[13] Miller, Jim. "The grammar of Scottish English", in James Milroy and Lesley Milroy (eds.), Real English. The Grammar of English Dialects in the British Isles, London and New York: Longman, 1993: 99-138.
[14] Poplack, Shana. "Contrasting Patterns of Code-switching in Two Communities", in Aspects of Multilingualism, ed. E. Mande et al, Proceedings from the Fourth Nordic Symposium on Bilingualism, 1984. Uppsala 1987: 51-77.
[15] Trudgill, Peter and Jean Hannah. International English. A Guide to Varieties of Standard English, Edward Arnold, 1994 (first edition 1982, second edition 1985).