Why Canada Isn't Part of the US

Other peeps, hating on how American phrases are becoming normal, straight up dissed Canadian English by saying it's like "a messed up way of talking that's spreading among our peeps, and it's slowly getting into our lit, until it's about to become a language that's nothing like our awesome mother tongue, kinda like negro patua or Chinese pidgeon English" (Reverend A. Constable Geike 1857, quoted in Orkin 1970: 9). Geike totally roasted the invasion of those Americanisms like "guess for think [or] betterments for improvements to new land" (qtd. in Orkin 1970: 9). He like totally hated on words that he obviously thought were Canadianisms, even though they were actually American borrowings: first class meaning 'able, great, capable', loaned instead

There are like so many types of English, ya know? 

Some are like totally legit and recognized everywhere, while others are kinda sus and not as well-known. They're like part of the more established ones, you feel me? The ones that are like super clear and defined. Canadian variety of English is like, totally representing the latter case: OMG, this language has been associated with either British or American English (BrE, AmE), but like, its unique vibes have been totally slept on and not everyone even knows it exists. SMH. The goal of this thesis is to show that Canadian English (CanE) is, like, a totally unique variety that deserves its own recognition, even though some linguists are like, "Nah, it's not a thing." The vibes of the English language in Canada are like totally shown by the diffz between CanE and the varieties that have the most influence on it (like British and American), by the lit features only found in CanE, and by how it's actually used, ya know? The thesis starts by flexin' on how the whole idea of CanE evolved, how Canadians were vibin' with the variety they spoke and what factors influenced Canadians' views of AmE and BrE which were hella noticeable in their speech. And they were also like "why are they saying 'wagon' and 'lot' instead of something cooler?" This was all happening way back in the 1830s, can you believe it? (Orkin 1970: 8)

There will also be hella linguists' theories suggesting the non-existence of the distinct Canadian variety of English, fam. 

The following four chapters gonna try and debunk those ideas by pointing out how Canadian vocab, grammar, and spelling are totally unique, and by focusing on the features from Canadian French that have fully become part of CanE and aren't like any other English variety. The chapter on vocab is all about the deets on Canadian vocab and how it's divided up by region. It's all about how British and American words have evolved in Canada, and it also talks about which words are more popular in either British or American English. So, like, we're gonna talk about the cool words people use in different places and then wrap it up with a section on Canadian slang, ya know? The next chapter - 'Grammar' - is all about Canadian vibes when it comes to prepositional phrases, verbs and adverbials. And of course, it wraps up with the section called 'Canadian Eh', talking about that super popular interjection Canadians love to use. The next chapter on Canadian spelling is like, all about how the spelling in Canada came to be, and then it like, goes through all the different spelling stuff and talks about each one. It's like, totally reflecting on how consistent these three types of English are used: CanE, BrE, and AmE. Finally, the 'French Influence on Canadian English' gives us a peek into the vibes of CanE that come from the mix of both languages. The chapter is all about the vibes of CanE and how it's different from Canadian French, ya know? OMG, like Quebec English gets mad attention because it's, like, a minority in the French speaking province, ya know?

The Evolution of the Views of Canadian English and of the Attitudes towards It, fam

To like, get why there haven't been many studies on English in Canada and why Canadians didn't really care about making CanE a thing (Orkin 1970: 3-5), you gotta think about how Canada was influenced by Great Britain and the United States, ya know? OMG, Canadians totally stan their mother country, like, traditionally they're all about Britons, which means CanE is like, totally identified with BrE. OMG, CanE went from being lowkey its own thing to straight up being called American English. Like, no way! Yo, like, the French Canadians were all about flexing their cultural and language rights, so they made the Anglophone majority look all confident and powerful with their language skills. Obviously, that didn't exactly motivate the Anglo-Canadians to, like, really dive into the language they spoke. They were like, "Nah, we gotta keep it real with that OG British slang, ya know? BrE is the way to go, fam." However, this conviction did not stop them from lowkey flexin' American slang and making it part of their 'language'. OMG, like the OG British peeps who went to Canada were totally like "eww, these Americans are bringing in unwanted non-British vibes." They were all like "OMG, the Canadians are using 'would' and 'should' like the Americans, so cringe!"