Despite what many spell checking programs assume,
Canadian English is neither
American nor
British. Indeed, it is a mixture of both forms, with some random additional colour. Canadian English is not static and the modern tendancy is a slow drift from British-style use to "Americanized" English.
Spelling
Some examples of Canadian spellings:
- Centre (not Center)
- Colour (not Color)
- Defence (not Defense)
- Cheque (not Check)
- Realize (not Realise)
- Grey (not Gray)
- Curb (not Kerb)
- Doughnut (not donut)
Pronunciations
Canadians also pronounce words in a British way, and differently than Americans do. American influence means this is not always the case. Here are some words which are nominally pronounced differently in Canada than in American English:
- Schedule (pronounced with no hard "K" sound)
- Lieutenant (pronounced lef-tenant)
- The letter "Zed" (not "Zee")
- House (not "hoose" or "howse")
- Vase ("voz", not "vayse")
Many Americans think they can say the OU sound in "about" like a Canadian can.
They can't. Honest, there is a difference, and it is acutely painful for Canadians to hear it mispronounced.
Specific Words
Canadian English uses certain words that are different from American English. For example,
- Chesterfield (or couch)
- Homo milk (homogenized milk)
- Loonie (a dollar coin)
- Riding (a political district)
- Pop (versus soda, although some states say "pop" too)
- Toque (a hat)
- Serviette (not napkin)
See also:
Canadian Slang.
(Please /msg me with any suggestions or additions)