Canadian English and American English
カナダ英語とアメリカ英語

その国の言葉はその国の文化。カナダ英語とアメリカ英語にはほとんど差がないものの、カナダ特有の単語や言い回しもたくさんある！

　

Jack: Yoshi! Come by my house later and check out my new chesterfield!

Yoshi: What is a chesterfield?

Jack: You don’t know what a couch is?

Yoshi: I know what a couch is, but I have never heard it described as a chesterfield. They never call a couch a chesterfield in America.

Jack: I see. You studied English in America. However, Canadian English is different from American English. We have different phrases and terms, and the history of our language is very diverse and complicated.

Yoshi: What is the history of the Canadian English language?

Jack: Since Canada’s beginnings, people have come here from all over the world. Once here, they helped to shape the way Canadians talk by bringing their own languages and pronunciations. You may have noticed that here on the West coast, people talk very differently from those on the East coast.

Yoshi: Yes, I have. People in the Atlantic Provinces seem to speak with an accent closer to that of the Irish.

Jack: That is because a large number of Irish settlers came and stayed in the Maritime region. As time passed, much of their way of pronouncing words has remained.

Yoshi: What about in Quebec? Do people there usually speak French?

Jack: Many people speak only French in Quebec. The French were one of the earliest settlers in Canada, and the Quebecois culture and way of life is an important part of Canada. That is why Canada has two official languages: French and English.

Yoshi: What about here in Western Canada? What settlers influenced the pronunciations and language?

Jack: In Western Canada, there were a large number of Ukrainian immigrants, and a significant population of Metis and First Nations peoples who also helped to shape the English language used here.

Yoshi: How so?

Jack: Well, the province of Saskatchewan got its name from the Cree Nation. Many words are special to the Canadian language. Moreover, you yourself are helping to further shape the Canadian language, as more and more people come to Canada and bring with them their languages and different ways of pronouncing words.

Yoshi: Cool!

Jack: Well, I must be off. I’ve got to pick up an order of poutine before I swing by Tim Hortons for some butter tarts, and hopefully my beater won’t run out of gas before I even get off the laneway, because all I have on me is a toonie and three loonies.

Yoshi: And I am going to get myself a Canadian Oxford dictionary, eh!

　

Come by my house：うちにおいでよ
check out：見てごらん
chesterfield：ソファー
phrases and terms：慣用句と用語
diverse and complicated：多面的で複雑
Once here：ここに来て以来、
helped to shape：形成することに貢献した
As time passed：時が経つにつれて
Quebecois：ケベック人
made a lot of effort：とても努力した。
Metis：フランス系カナダ人と先住民族の混血児
How so?：どうやって？
jambuster?：ドーナツの一種
Cool!：いい感じ！
I must be off：もう行かなくっちゃ
Poutine：グレービーソースがかかったフライドポテト料理
Tim Hortons：有名なドーナツチェーン店
butter tarts：菓子の一種
beater：ポンコツ車
laneway：裏道
toonie and loonies：2ドルコインと1ドルコイン
eh!：・・・だね！（カナダ人が文の終わりによく使う言い回し）