Canadian English Pronunciation

Today, July 1st, is Canada Day - our birthday. I thought this might be of interest to those who enjoy the sound and study of Canadian English.

Canadian English (CanE, en-CA) is the variety of English used in Canada. More than 26 million Canadians (85% of the population) have some knowledge of English (2006 census). Approximately 17 million speak English as their native language. Outside Quebec, 76% of Canadians speak English natively. Canadian English contains elements of British English in its vocabulary, as well as several distinctive “Canadianisms”. In many areas, speech is influenced by French, and there are notable local variations. However, Canada has very little dialect diversity compared to the United States. The phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, and lexicon for most of Canada are similar to that of the Western and Midland regions of the United States, while the phonological system of western Canadian English is identical to that of the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and the phonetics are similar. As such, Canadian English and American English are sometimes grouped together as North American English. Canadian English spelling is a blend of British and American conventions. (source: Wikipedia)

I would also like to add my two-cents to this. I was born in a small town and now live and work in Toronto. I personally hear different English dialects here in Canada. I hear the standard “mid-west” accent that Hollywood and the media love to use, although it is split up into 2 accents. One is the ‘professional’ accent which you will hear in the big cities and in professional circles. The vowels are tighter, proper grammar rules are adhered to and the vocabulary is richer.

The other accent is the ‘relaxed’ English, which you can hear in small towns and in manual labour or “blue collar” circles. In this dialect, the people do not mind purposefully breaking some grammar rules, have a variety of rich and colourful slang and favourite expressions used, and sound more “American” in their pronunciation of longer, stretched out vowels.

There is also the distinctive French-Canadian or “Quebecois” accent (Think Georges St.Pierre from the UFC) which is quite different from accents from other French speaking countries. There is the distinctive “East-Coaster” accent, due to the previous immigrants from Ireland and Scotland (hence Nova Scotia – New Scotland) and finally there is the native/Inuit/aboriginal accent.

A few resources to study Canadian English Pronunciation:

http://www.accentoncanadianenglish.com/
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/3vc-accent-reduction-program-description/7349543
http://voicetoword.ca/index.html
http://www.voiceandspeech.com/
http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/britishcanadianamericanvocabcanadianpron.html
http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/Canadian/canphon3.html
http://www.esl-guide.com/links/search.cgi?Country=Canada

I apologize that most of these resources are Ontario-based. Please do a local search to see what in-house or online resources are available to you. Find a good teacher, tutor, coach or trainer with experience and references, and for goodness sake - ask if he or she was born in Canada!

Happy Canada Day!

Acronyms for Crime and Policing

To continue from my last blog, here are some popular acronyms that you may hear on cop shows or cop films. Plus, if you apply to become a police officer, you should be aware of these acronyms. Having English as a second language should not stop you from enjoying dramatic shows or applying to serve your community!

E.T.A. - Estimated Time of Arrival
D.O.A. - Dead On Arrival
M.O. - Modus Operandi - latin for mode or style of operation or the way a perp performs crimes. The pattern s/he follows.
C.O.P. - Citizen or Constable On Patrol - cop is the common nickname for a police officer.
D.U.I. - Driving Under the Influence (of drugs or alcohol)
B & E - Break and Enter - burglary
P.I. - Private Investigator
C.I. - Confidential Informer/Informant - someone the police use to get inside info from the streets or criminal gangs.
B.O.L.O. - Be On the LookOut for - notice to all officers to search for or be aware of a particular person.
A.P.B. - All Points Bulletin - also known as a citywide - same as BOLO.
C.Y.A. - Cover Your Ass - Do the job right, by the book, and document everything to prove that you did everything correctly.
S.W.A.T. - Special Weapons And Tactics team/squad - highly trained paramilitary officers, used in hostage situations and other dangerous events. On TV and in film, they are always dressed completely in black.

That should be enough to give you a better English base for policing.
Memorize them and then incorporate them.
Enjoy!

Coach RIc

Cop Talk - Learning the Idioms and Slang of the Police

Do you enjoy watching police TV shows (like COPS, CSI, Law & Order...)and films in English? There are lots to choose from for sure. Or perhaps you want to apply to become a police officer? You NEED to learn a lot of idioms and slang. You need to know a lot of 'everyday idioms' like "It's pouring rain" (raining really hard - do not use the old idiom 'raining cats and dogs'), it came from "out of the blue" (surprising, unexpected) and "The real McCoy" (genuine, the real deal, not a fake) but you also need to learn more industry-specific slang and idioms to do with policing and crime. For example:

There's a "wino" in the alley - Wino means stereotypical alcoholic homeless person.

"Reefer. Blunt. Chronic. Mary J. Grass. Weed" - These all refer to Marijuana. There are many more too!

"Cuff him and stuff him" - handcuff the perp (perpetrator or suspect) and put him in the back of the squad car.

"Something's going down right now!" - means some illegal action like a drug trade is happening right now.

"Hooker, Pro, Lady of the night, Streetwalker" - all refer to a woman who is a prostitute.

"I smell bacon" - bad guys say this when cops are around - refers to old nickname of calling the police 'Pigs'.

There are literally hundreds more, and I will add a few acronyms for you next entry.

If you want to improve your English in police slang in order to apply to be a constable or just to further enjoy your favourite TV shows and movies, take a little time to improve your Cop Talk first!

Coach Ric

PS - Need to improve your everyday English idioms quickly and simply? Check out this ebook:
http://www.lulu.com/content/e-book/everyday-english-idioms/2558817

Thank you!

Hire an Immigrant

Here is an excellent resource for immigrants who are job-hunting and also for companies, large or small, who want to take advantage of overseas training but are not quite familiar how to do it professionally. This website has excellent free training videos, with actors going over scenarios on the resume, interview and hiring process. The Canadian employees review and discuss the immigrant's CV and communication skills. They show you two videos - the wrong way and the right way!

ANyway I thought that these videos were well done and the website has a lot more information on how human resources can sucessfully screen and hire immigrants. Enjoy!

http://www.hireimmigrants.ca/

Here is a 'blurb' from their own website that I have copied here, introducing their free online videos:

Cultural Competence Videos

These cultural competence videos are intended to increase your company's capacity for recruiting, selecting and integrating skilled immigrants. There are currently videos on screening and interviewing, with more to come in the future. Each video contains several sub-topic chapters to highlight specific issues. The chapter shows a questionable episode, then preferred, followed by a few suggested discussion questions.

The videos have been posted online to support anyone with human resources responsibilities who would like to build on their own level of cultural competence and create an inclusive work environment. Organizations can also use the videos for internal training purposes.

For more go here: http://www.hireimmigrants.ca/tools/4



Coach Ric

Links to Study English - Twitter too!

Study ESL English on Twitter
http://twitter.com/StudyESLEnglish

Recent Twitter Updates features definitions, examples and links.

Welcome to Study ESL English - ESL stands for English as a Second Language - this includes speaking writing listening and reading

ESL students usually study and practice English as a language for communication and to improve their active abilities to use the language.

EFL stands for English as a Foreign Language - Many students study EFL as an academic subject & not for using English for communication

Introduction to descriptions definitions explanations: ESL EFL ISL ESOL ELT L1 L2 Go to: http://www.eslincanada.com/esl.html

English Conversation Lessons and Classes Explanations Definitions Examples: http://www.eslincanada.com/englishconversationclass.html

English Language Conversation Skills require language ability + content + (social + non-verbal communication skills) + culture knowledge.

Link to Learn English Blog - http://learn-english-blog.blogspot.com/ - features English language education articles

Study English as a Second Language Plan - Blog Article - go to: http://bit.ly/1bB6Gh

FREE ESL English Education Article Links - Go to: http://www.eslincanada.com/articles.html


Phrases are considered as the 2nd level of classification as they tend to be larger than individual words, but are smaller than sentences.

We refer to the central element in a phrase as the head of the phrase. If the head is a noun then the phrase is called a noun phrase

There are 9 accepted classifications for English language phrases generally based on the headword or construction of the phrase.

In the English language noun phrases may serve as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, or objects of prepositions.

Remember Study ESL English is free on Twitter

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Sign up today !!!
(Original Post from J.R.M. of ESL in Canada)

GG Ate Some Seal - So What??? Connect with Cultures

There has been a lot of talk about Canadian Governor-General Michaelle Jean partaking of some seal's heart on her trip to the North Inuit culture. Some people feel that she is great, for honoring the unique and important Inuit culture. Others think it is animal cruelty, or that this act is clearly not an accident, in that it was a political stunt to show solidarity with the Inuits and the rest of Canada in the face of the European Union ban on seal products recently.

I am not a politician, just a small-town Canadian man who has travelled a fair bit and who works with immigrants here in Toronto everyday. What do I think, dare you ask?

I say good for her. Whether it was political or not, she honored her guests with a very old tradition. To not partake of the meat would be offensive, unless you are a vegetarian.

When I lived in China for 2 years, I ate dog meat. More than once.

Will I do it again? probably not. I love dogs and grew up with them as pets. But when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I had been 'in-country' for at least 6 months, and i lived in a really small community (Tongren city, Guizhou province). I tried my best to fit in. I spoke Chinese, ate their food and followed their customs where possible. In turn, they learned about Canada from me. I was an unofficial ambassador!

When I was in Thailand I ate a flash-fried cockroach to win a bet. I got a free 'Leo' beer!

When I was in Japan I ate horse sashimi. Yup. Raw horse! Even though I love Japanese food, I think that will be the last time I eat horse sashimi. Not my cup of tea. The point is, I try. I follow my hosts and I learn about the culture. As Canadians we expect our visitors and immigrants to do the same for us, so why not do the same for them, especially when the culture is right inside Canada!

Here is an article about our brave GG. http://www.vancouversun.com/Technology/Canada+Governor+General+criticized+eating+seal+heart/1633528/story.html

At the bottom there lists some other 'politically-charged meals' for others.
Bon Appetit!

Care for a Bloody Canadian Drink?

Most people outside of Canada do not know nor understand the Canadian cocktail known as the (Bloody) Caesar. This is truly one of my favourite drinks, and I love making them at home. Whenever I travel I end up discussing drinks and this invariably comes up.

If you want to know or understand Canadians a bit better, or you want to fit in, try ordering a Caesar next time. You may be surprised and actually like it!!

Read the full article by clicking on the title above, to learn about the history and ingredients of this Canuck cocktail!

http://ca.lifestyle.yahoo.com/food-entertaining/articles/drinks-desserts/cp/home_family-a_caesar_celebration_saucy_canadian_cocktail_hits_the_big_4-0

The Agenda: Canadian Citizenship Debate

Re-writing Canada's Citizenship Book?

There was a hot debate on last night's local TV show The Agenda with Steve Paikin, over the definition and requirements for Canadian citizenship. Issues discussed were language proficiency (in either English or French), multiculturalism vs. integration, what history should be taught, melting pot vs. mozaic theory here and in the USA, LINC classes, etc. Excellent debate. Here is a related article on the subject. (Click this title to view the whole article).

Conservatives order rewrite of 'insipid' citizenship guidebook
By Bruce Cheadle, The Canadian Press

The current guidebook for Canadian newcomers includes two pages on environmental stewardship and barely a mention of the Canadian military - and that has Jason Kenney hopping mad.

Kenney, the Conservative minister of Citizenship and Immigration, has ordered an overhaul of the 12-year-old citizenship test and accompanying educational material.

It's part of a government push to foster greater integration of immigrants into the Canadian mosaic, Kenney told The Canadian Press in an interview.

The current 47-page immigrant booklet, entitled "A Look at Canada," dates from 1997, when the previous Liberal governments were just four years into their 13-year run.

As Kenney acerbically characterizes it, the booklet includes two pages "on recycling" - but "not one single sentence on Canadian military history."

And while the guidebook includes such national motifs as the Maple Leaf, the Peace Tower, Sir John A. Macdonald and the Constitution of 1982, Kenney noted that "nowhere does it indicate what the poppy represents as a Canadian symbol."

"This is ridiculous. This is indicative of a completely insipid view of Canada," said the minister.

"I don't think newcomers arrive here because they want to move into a hotel that happens to be called Canada...
(To continue reading this article, please click the title above.)

Where Did the English Language Come From?

What is this crazy language called English? What is the history of this internationally used 'milkshake' of a language?
I found this article very interesting on the history and development of the English language. Here is a start:

A short history of the origins and development of the English language

The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc from which the words England and English are derived. (to continue reading, follow link below)

Go to http://www.esldepot.com/index.php?a=CommCoach1
On top bar menu click on last one called "Free ESL Stuff". Second article down is called "What is English?". Continue reading this interesting article.

Enjoy the history lesson!

New Links to Improve English

Hello,

I have revised the tab on the right side of this blog to include a few new links to help you study ESL. Scroll down a bit and on your right you will see:

Links to Improve English

* Everyday English Idioms Ebook
* ESL in Canada Information Directory
* ESL Depot - Resources
* English (E.S.L.) Coaching - Toronto
* Communication Resource Centre

I hope you find them helpful.
Thanks,
Ric