出版社：Department of Linguistics, University of Toronto
摘要：Visitors to Upper Canada from Britain were surprised by the differences they discovered between the English language spoken here and in the mother country, and they were inclined to judge the differences as "lawless and vulgar innovations" on the Queen's English. Historically, we can see the differentness of Canadian English as the inevitable result of our settlement history (§l). However, the Victorians disapproved of the language they heard just as they did the economy and the society, and they berated all three equally (§2). As linguists, we are likely to be as impressed by the aspects of Canadian English which they overlooked as much as by what they singled out for comment (§3). For the features they did comment on, we can now trace a range of developments: some innovations which the Victorians complained about did not survive (§4.1); some remain marginal even today (§4.2); some are now accepted, but only in informal styles (§4.3); some have become established North Americanisms (§4.4); and some have become standard wherever English is spoken (§4.5). One recurring criticism by the Victorians fits none of these categories; this was their repugnance at what might be called the "vocabulary of modesty," the penchant for North Americans to avoid certain words as 'coarse' or 'immodest' (§5). The Victorian view provides a novel perspective on Canadian English (§6).
