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BBC – Culture – Why is Canadian English unique?

America’s neighbour resisted annexation by the US and its people remained subjects of the British monarch. But Canada’s English isn’t British or American, writes James Harbeck.

Source: BBC – Culture – Why is Canadian English unique?

Happy Canada Day! I was happy to see this article that is appropriate for this day, and see that it’s addressed. Americans often don’t realize how much Canada directly affects much of our culture. Some of our favorite actors, actresses, comedians, and musicians come from Canada. I swear that most of the HGTV channel’s programming comes from Canada! And there are a LOT of Canadian members of the STC, including our immediate past president, Bernard Aschwanden.

Canadian is a unique form of English. As the article says, it’s not quite British or American, yet there are elements of both. Perhaps the North American standard should not be US American, but Canadian as a bow to both of the main two dialects usually taught? Great article.

What do you think of this article? Include your comments below.

–TechCommGeekMom

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“Lucy, you have some ‘splanin’ to do!”: Considering your ESL Customers

Lucille-Ball-Desi-ArnazContent Rules Inc. was kind enough to extend their invitation to have me blog for them again. This time, it’s on a subject that’s near and dear to their hearts as well as mine.

This article talks about my own personal experiences in trying to use standardized language. Whether you use standardized language in your personal or professional life, it’s something that one needs to keep in mind as a writer, especially when writing for a global audience, and even more so if you are writing for a digital format that is easily accessed through the Internet. It’s not easy to do, but it’s something that should be tucked in the back of every writer’s brain.

Read the article for more:
“Lucy, you have some ‘splanin’ to do!”: Considering your ESL Customers

Many thanks again to Val Swisher and the gang at Content Rules, Inc. for the opportunity!

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No wonder (verbal) English is Confusing–Part 5

20140706-152033-55233503.jpgI often enjoy reading the blog/website Anglotopia, as it is written by a person who loves England and UK stuff as much as I do (if not more) and is making a living doing it (lucky!). This latest article that was posted there is yet another example about localized English, and in this case, translation. We talk about standardizing English for easier translation, whether it’s for machine translation or localization purposes, and this article is a perfect example of how even an American like me would need a translation of the “Yorkshire” English first, but fortunately I understand enough French that I can figure out the translation of the expressions from the French instead. This had to be a little bit complicated to do, but it’s an excellent exercise!

Read the article here:
Le Tour Yorkshire: Translating French into Yorkshire English For the Tour de France in Yorkshire – Are You Watching?

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No wonder (verbal) English is confusing – Part 4

Evidently, Siobhan Thompson is back, and BBC’s Anglophenia must be doing a series on the difference between British English and American English.  Here’s another gem on British colloquialisms–some you may have heard before, and some that, well, my British friends will have heard more often than we Yanks….

As I find more, I will continue to post these! I find these fascinating!

If you have suggestions for articles or videos you’ve seen for other versions of English for comparison as well, email me and let me know so we can share with everyone! For example, I’d love to see a video comparing Canadian English and American English, or even Canadian English and British English. Or Australian English, Indian English, or South African English, for that matter. 🙂

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No wonder (verbal) English is confusing, Part 3

uk-mapIt seems these kinds of articles are coming out nonstop these days. While this one doesn’t have a video (awwwww), it’s short and to the point, and is another example of why spoken English can be rather confusing. We have pronunciation confusion here in the States with certain towns and such, some due to the same issue mentioned in this article from the names of towns that we took from Mother England, but also incorporating other languages like Native American, Spanish, and French just to name a few.

Read this and enjoy:

Dispatches from England: How to Sound (A Little) Less Like a Tourist When Visiting the UK