![]() Alternatively, there mightn’t have been any political reasoning behind it at all, and the name might simply have come to the forefront as American English was forced to adapt and simplify as more and more colonists-coming from ever more distant countries, and speaking an ever more varied array of languages-began arriving in the New World. ![]() One widely-held theory is that because zed, as the older of the two, was the most widespread variation amongst British English speakers, during the Revolutionary War American English speakers looking to distance themselves from anything even vaguely British simply adopted the zee version as their own to make a stand-no matter how small it might seem-against British control. But precisely how or why it became the predominant form in American English is unclear. The name zee itself is thought to have originated as nothing more than a dialect variation of zed, probably influenced by the regular bee, cee, dee, ee pattern of much of the rest of the alphabet. Zee, on the other hand, first appeared in print in a British language textbook- Thomas Lye’s New Spelling-book-in 1677. Zed first appeared in print in the early 1400s, in a Middle English document that fairly straightforwardly described it as “þe laste lettre of þe a b c”-which is considerably nicer than what William Shakespeare had to say about it. Of the two we’re talking about here, however, zed is by far the oldest, and takes its name via French and Latin from that of its Greek equivalent, zeta. Historically, both zed and zee were used pretty much interchangeably in both British and American English, alongside a whole host of other more outlandish names for the last ( or rather, second last) letter of the alphabet, like izzard, uzzard, zad, shard and, our personal favorite, ezod. We say ‘zed’ instead of ‘zee’ it distinguishes the Americans from the Canadian ‘snowbirds’ who go to the Southern US for the winter months, escaping Canada’s harsher climate.So zed is British and zee is American, yes? Well, that might be the case today, but once upon a time things were quite different. We like to distinguish ourselves from the Americans. Which one should you buy? Well, the Canadian Oxford Dictionary one of course! And if you really want to know about other idiosyncrasies Canadian English has, use the Canadian Translation Bureau’s guide to help you out.Ĭanadians are proud of their English. Remember a dictionary is a student’s best friend. And if you want to pick up on Canadian English, when in Canada, buy yourself a good dictionary. ![]() As I said at the beginning, as long as you have excellent writing skills, your assignments at university or college will be well received. We understand and accept both American and British English. Do International Students Need to Use Canadian English? We really have a mixed-up English language. And let’s not forget a Dutch cookie rather than the British biscuit. On the other hand, there are those Greek derived words, where Canadians switch to American spelling, words such as realize or recognize rather than the British realise or recognise. French immigrants are also part of Canada’s milieu, so we have French derived words that retain their British spelling like colour or centre. But if that doesn’t help you understand the uniqueness of Canadian English, it is now time to turn to other influencers. We retain British spelling for doubling consonants when adding suffixes such as travelled, counselling, etc. But in other areas we will write neighbour rather than neighbor, honour rather than honor. ![]() We say trunk of the car rather than the boot. International students find the Canadian accent easy to understand.Ī clear example of American influence is in the car industry. Expect for Atlantic Canada, Canadians generally speak clearly with each consonant clearly enunciated, no dropping of the last consonant or slurring words. ![]() There are exceptions such as the way Canadians use vowels and their enunciation. But Canada has the United States as its southern neighbour so American slang and word pronunciation falls inline with American English, sometimes. English-speaking Canada has been largely influenced by the British which explains why British English can be found in our schools, in our spelling and grammar. Why Is Canadian English Mixed-up?Ĭanada has been influenced by both the British and Americans. Therefore, whether you studied under the British Cambridge system or studied at an American School in Pakistan, which English you use in Canada doesn’t really matter, as long as you write well. If you are an international student from Pakistan, or another South Asian country who wants to study in Canada, you might wonder if Canadians use British or American English. ![]()
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