Is Canadian English different from British English? Or is that just Americans?

Answer 1

I'm Canadian, and I'll agree with Caicos Turkey that we spell certain words with -our rather than -or, but not with the statement that we think we speak British English!

We tend to spell some other words more American, especially favouring -ize over -ise. I tend to double the "l" in travelling and such words (two syllables) but I can never remember if that's BrE or AmE of me. Catalogue and cheque we spell like the Brits.

Our accents (though Atlantic Canada is something of an exception) are much more likely to be mistaken for American than British.

Our vocabulary is somewhat more American than British (we say apartment, diaper, truck, trunk, soccer not flat, nappy, lorry, boot, football) but not exclusively so. Some words are uniquely Canadian (loonie, twoonie, doubledouble, chesterfield, touque) while some, most notably "shovel" and "hockey" mean rather different things to Canadians than to some or all non-Canadian English speakers.

Answer 2

Canadian English is indeed different from British English, just like any other variety of English is different from BE.
In official matters British English is preferred and even encouraged, as Canada is a Commonwealth country. But in reality, especially in spoken Canadian English, the resemblance to American English is greater.

Answer 3

Canadian English is an odd hybrid with both British and American influences and dialects vary greatly from region to region.

There was a great documentary on the subject which aired on CBC a few years ago... I think it was called "How to speak Canadian" (or something like that). I've looked for a link to it on imdb.com but I can't seem to find it.

It was a clever show that went into great detail about how the language developed slowly, especially in the areas where American and British colonies were intermixed and how the church was heavily involved in the way language was being taught in Canadian schools.

I'll keep poking around on the interweb and if I find anything I'll get back to you...


Found it!
http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/program/index.jsp?program=Talking+Canadian

http://www.videocanada.ca/catalogg/product_info.php/products_id/18688?osCsid=ac2e6116e8348fcad570

http://www.cbc.ca/canadianexperience/talkingcanadian/

It was called "Talking Canadian" and if you can track it down, it's quite fascinating.

Answer 4

Canadians pride themselves on spelling certain words in a British way (favour, labour, etc.) as opposed to an American way (favor, labor, etc) and are under the impression that they speak British English, but their speech patterns are in fact virtually indistinguishable from their neighbours across the border. I realise that this is a sweeping statement and that within the USA there are also different ways of speaking, but in general terms, Canadian English has more in common with US English than with British English. Canadians are, however, to be applauded on having adopted the metric and Celsius systems along with the rest of the world, unlike the USA.

Answer 5

Canadian English is more like American English.

Answer 6

Canadians, Australians, Americans and Brits all have different phrases and sayings, as well as accents. Canadian English is generally "closest" in pronounciation to American English.

Answer 7

It's not so much the Canada/England/USA, as much as it is regionalistic dialects. For example, people in the very North parts of the US speak like Canadians. Another example is the different ways people say pop/soda/coke in the US, depending on where you live.

Canada/USA are similar to each other, and more removed from England. So English use words like "lift" for "elevator" and things like that.

Answer 8

It is, they have a different accent, and say things in a different order than Americans do. I think it might actually be just Americans, because I think we are the only people that say things in the literal order. Hope this helps!

Answer 9

Should be the same English coz Canada its a Commonwealth country