This book introduces Canadian English from the perspective of sociolinguistics. It is both a dynamic introduction to Canadian English and a comprehensive introduction to the methods used in sociolinguistic approaches to the study of language. The book provides foundational information on the distinction between languages and dialects, regional and social conditions of linguistic variation, social motivations of language change, and the relation between language and social identity.
The book comprises seven chapters. Chapter 1 serves as an introduction, which explains what Canadian English means and why the author adopts a sociolinguistic approach and outlines the structure of the book. Chapter 2 provides interpretations of the terms and methods used in linguistics and sociolinguistics. The author explains the branches of general linguistics such as phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics with English examples, and introduces linguistic anthropology, the sociology of language, and language variation and change as three approaches to sociolinguistics.
Chapter 3 focuses on the origin and development of Canadian English. The author explains how historical, social, and demographic forces influence the spreading of English from a dialect to a worldwide lingua franca, and describes major historical events that influence the formation of Canadian English, including migrations to Canada, the American Revolution, the Arrival of the Loyalists, the War of 1812, Confederation, and the Westward Explanation.
Chapter 4 turns to variation in the lexicon of Canadian English. Walker defines the terms lexeme, word, and lexicon, and regards the English lexicon as a network of individual mental lexicons. He explains and illustrates the regional features of the English lexicon as a result of word borrowing, innovation, and semantic shift, and provides dialect topography as a dimension for the study of lexicon variation.
Chapter 5 shifts to the sound system of Canadian English. The author discusses the consonant and vowel features that distinguish the Canadian English accent from other English accents, and introduces regional phonetic and phonological variation within Canadian English. Chapter 6 focuses on the grammatical features of Canadian English. Walker discusses the morphological, syntactic, and discourse-pragmatic features of general English and the corresponding variations in Canadian English, and illustrates with two empirical studies the methodological differences between the study of phonetic and lexical variation and that of grammatical variation.
Chapter 7 examines ways in which social factors influence language change in Canadian English. Social class, sex, and ethnicity are mentioned as factors that may influence lexical, phonetic, phonological, and ethnolinguistic changes in language. The lexical, phonetic, phonological, and ethnolinguistic changes ongoing in Canadian English are explored in detail.
This book makes an important contribution to the sociolinguistic study of Canadian English. It provides a useful framework for researchers of Canadian English, and describes specific features of Canadian English with a representative sample of key and recent works. The book will provide valuable information for students, teachers, and researchers of Canadian English, English as foreign language, and sociolinguistic studies.
