Ottawa Valley English

Last updated

Ottawa Valley English is Canadian English of the Ottawa Valley, particularly in reference to the historical local varieties of the area, now largely in decline. [1] The accents of such traditional varieties are commonly referred to as an Ottawa Valley twang or brogue. The Ottawa Valley historically extends along the Ottawa River from northwest of Montreal through the city of Ottawa and north of Algonquin Park. The Atlas of North American English identifies an Ottawa Valley traditional dialect enclave in Arnprior, which lacks the Canadian raising of /aʊ/ and strongly fronts /ɑ/ before /r/, but neither feature is documented in the City of Ottawa itself or in other nearby urban areas, which speak Standard Canadian English. [2] [3] : 325 

Contents

In the 1980s, linguist Ian Pringle and colleagues claimed that there was a huge variation in dialect features throughout the thinly-populated Ottawa Valley, notably with large Hiberno-English influence; however, the nature of such variation has never been thoroughly described. [4] At a general phonetic level, the Ottawa Valley twang of Irish-descended people is characterized by raising of /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ in all contexts, as opposed to the Canadian English's more typical "Canadian raising", which is context-dependent. [5] In terms of syntax, the twang features the use of "for to" in place of the "to" initiative. [6] : 279  Additionally, various regions of the Ottawa Valley may possess their own vocabularies (lexical features) as well.

History

While the French were among the first to settle in the Ottawa Valley during the early-19th-century fur trade, they were later joined by the Irish and Scottish and they became the major cultural groups in the region. Work and trade opportunities and access to cheap land all made settlement in the Ottawa Valley attractive. [7] The valley's population peaked in the years following 1891.

Although joined by Belgian, Swiss, Italian, German, Polish, and Loyalist settlers, those cultures managed to remain fairly distinct from one another. [8] Concentrating in certain areas and preserving heritage languages and religions, the cultural pockets were what eventually led to the formation of the valley's townships. While the characteristics of the Ottawa Valley twang are evident throughout the Glengarry, Lanark, Renfrew, Grenville, Dundas, Stormont, Prescott, and Russell Counties, for example, each area also has its unique vocabulary and phonological traits as well. [3] : 325 

Irish influence

The Irish were undoubtedly the most significant group of settlers in the Ottawa Valley in terms of numbers, as such they had the largest influence on the accents spoken there. In some townships, as many as 95% of the population claimed to be of Irish ethnicity in 1941. While much of Irish immigration can be attributed to the 19th-century famines, the Irish were also drawn to the Ottawa Valley for work opportunities, examples being in the thriving timber industry at the time as well as infrastructure projects. [7]

Scottish influence

Following the Napoleonic Wars, Scottish groups settled primarily in the Glengarry, Lanark, and Renfrew Counties. Soldiers who had served the British Crown during the wars were offered free land grants throughout Upper Canada, particularly in the area known today as the Ottawa Valley. Over-represented in the British armed forces, Scottish men and their families received grants and ended up settling in the valley. [9] Those who settled in Glengarry County were mostly Gaelic-speakers arriving from the Scottish Highlands, who eventually learned English from the neighbouring Loyalists to the west and the south. Many of Lanark County's residents, however, originated from the Scottish Lowlands. While Renfrew County was also a Scottish Highland settlement, many of its original settlers seemed to have already known English upon their arrival.

Phonological features

The fronting of /ɑ/ before /r/ and the consistent raising of /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ in any context, all of which is reminiscent of Irish and Scottish English, have been reported in traditional speakers of the Ottawa Valley. The north shore of the St. Lawrence Valley is home to Loyalist dialect pockets from the United States, including a dominant trend of the absence of the cot-caught merger, [3] : 326  unlike most speakers of Standard Canadian English.

Lexical features

English in Glengarry features occasional borrowing from Gaelic words, an example being "gruamach" to describe a gloomy and overcast day. Some phonological features are also transferred from Gaelic, such as the marked devoicing of final voiced consonants as well as the alteration of consonant clusters. [3] : 327 

Many residents of Lanark County originated from the Scottish Lowlands, bringing vocabulary elements of their heritage dialects as well. The term "ben," for example, is used to refer to what most Canadians would call a "living room" or what Ottawa Valley inhabitants would call a "parlour." "Rones" is used in place of "eavestroughs" and "gutters." [3] : 327 

Phonologically, the English of Renfrew County is influenced by Polish-speakers in the region but also by a greater contact with Irish populations. [3] : 327 

One of the strongest Irish influences on Ottawa Valley twang and the English of the area, in general, is the introduction of "for to." That is a syntactic feature where "for" is added to the "to" infinitive before verbs. The use of "for to" is an important characteristic of Belfast English, a prominent dialect spoken in Northern Ireland. [6] : 279  While that is Irish-influenced, there has also been evidence of its use in Early English. Until around the 1600s, citizens of the poorer and lower classes have been known to use "for to" in their speech and dialogues. [6] : 281  The following are common uses of the phrase: It can be used in statements of purpose[ clarification needed ] ("I went to the shop for to get the cheese"), [6] : 280  in exclamations ("For to tell her like that!"),[ clarification needed ] [6] : 282  and sentences where the infinitive is featured as the subject ("For to stay here would just be as expensive"). [6] : 283  This trait can also be found in another variety of Canadian English, namely Newfoundland English, as shown in popular Newfoundland folk songs such as Grey Foggy Day and The Prisoner of Newfoundland, with the former expressing that the singer would "come home for to stay" and the latter expressing that the singer was "consigned to Harvey's wharf a cargo for to land".

Current state

Although home to a large, diverse collection of heritages and cultures, the distinctive traits of the Ottawa Valley Twang are arguably in decline. Years ago in 1975, Chambers observed, "Little of this twang can be found today as most of the surrounding area and all the city have assimilated to General English." [1] As a result, there is also a lack of literature in this subject. The study by Ian Pringle and Enoch Padolsky is among the only research entirely focused on Ottawa Valley and its linguistic features and characteristics. [3]

Even though it is one of the most recognizable traits of the Ottawa Valley twang, the data available in regards to the use of "for to" is limited and susceptible to skewing. While speakers have historically used that syntactic feature, many sentences containing it are considered grammatically incorrect in today's Standard Canadian English. As a result, the use of "for to" may be underreported or even further denounced by what is sometimes referred to as "negative over reporting." [6] : 282 

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian English</span> Set of varieties of the English language native to Canada

Canadian English encompasses the varieties of English used in Canada. According to the 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke French (20.8%) or other languages (21.1%). In the Canadian province of Quebec, only 7.5% of the population are mother tongue anglophone, as most of Quebec's residents are native speakers of Quebec French.

North American English is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), vocabulary, and grammar of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken varieties are often grouped together under a single category. Canadians are generally tolerant of both British and American spellings, with British spellings of certain words preferred in more formal settings and in Canadian print media; for some other words the American spelling prevails over the British.

Spoken English shows great variation across regions where it is the predominant language. The United Kingdom has a wide variety of accents, and no single "British accent" exists. This article provides an overview of the numerous identifiable variations in pronunciation. Such distinctions usually derive from the phonetic inventory of local dialects, as well as from broader differences in the Standard English of different primary-speaking populations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian raising</span> Allophonic rule of vowels prominent in Canada, also found in N. American English dialects

Canadian raising is an allophonic rule of phonology in many varieties of North American English that changes the pronunciation of diphthongs with open-vowel starting points. Most commonly, the shift affects or, or both, when they are pronounced before voiceless consonants. In North American English, and usually begin in an open vowel [~], but through raising they shift to, or. Canadian English often has raising in words with both and, while a number of American English varieties have this feature in but not. It is thought to have originated in Canada in the late 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfrew County</span> County in Ontario, Canada

Renfrew County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It straddles the west bank of the Ottawa River. There are 17 municipalities in the county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanark County</span> County in Ontario, Canada

Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816 and was known as a social and political capital before being over shadowed by what we now know as Ottawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Ontario</span> Secondary region in Ontario, Canada

Eastern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies a wedge-shaped area bounded by the Ottawa River and Quebec to the northeast and east, the St. Lawrence River and New York to the south, and Northern Ontario and Central Ontario to the west and northwest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glengarry County, Ontario</span> Place in Ontario, Canada

Glengarry County, an area covering 288,688 acres (1,168 km2), is a county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is historically known for its settlement of Scottish Highlanders. Glengarry County consists of the townships of North Glengarry and South Glengarry. It borders the Saint Lawrence River to the south, the county of Stormont and City of Cornwall to the west, the province of Quebec to the east, and the United Counties of Prescott-Russell to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ulster English</span> Variety of English spoken in Northern Ireland

Ulster English, also called Northern Hiberno-English or Northern Irish English, is the variety of English spoken mostly around the Irish province of Ulster and throughout Northern Ireland. The dialect has been influenced by the local Ulster dialect of the Scots language, brought over by Scottish settlers during the Plantation of Ulster and subsequent settlements throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It also coexists alongside the Ulster dialect of the Irish (Gaelic) language.

North-Central American English is an American English dialect, or dialect in formation, native to the Upper Midwestern United States, an area that somewhat overlaps with speakers of the separate Inland Northern dialect situated more in the eastern Great Lakes region. In the United States, it is also known as the Upper Midwestern or North-Central dialect and stereotypically recognized as a Minnesota accent or sometimes Wisconsin accent. It is considered to have developed in a residual dialect region from the neighboring Western, Inland Northern, and Canadian dialect regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Gaelic</span> Scottish Gaelic dialects of eastern Canada

Canadian Gaelic or Cape Breton Gaelic, often known in Canadian English simply as Gaelic, is a collective term for the dialects of Scottish Gaelic spoken in Atlantic Canada.

North American English regional phonology is the study of variations in the pronunciation of spoken North American English —what are commonly known simply as "regional accents". Though studies of regional dialects can be based on multiple characteristics, often including characteristics that are phonemic, phonetic, lexical (vocabulary-based), and syntactic (grammar-based), this article focuses only on the former two items. North American English includes American English, which has several highly developed and distinct regional varieties, along with the closely related Canadian English, which is more homogeneous geographically. American English and Canadian English have more in common with each other than with varieties of English outside North America.

High Tider, Hoi Toider, or Hoi Toide English is a family or continuum of American English dialects spoken in very limited communities of the South Atlantic United States, particularly several small islands and coastal townships. The exact areas include the rural "Down East" region of North Carolina, which encompasses the Outer Banks and Pamlico Sound—specifically Ocracoke, Atlantic, Davis, Sea Level, and Harkers Island in eastern Carteret County, and the village of Wanchese—plus the Chesapeake Bay, such as Smith Island in Maryland, as well as Guinea Neck and Tangier Island in Virginia. The High Tider sound has been observed as far west as Bertie County, North Carolina; the term is also a local nickname for any native-speaking resident of the relevant North Carolina region.

Pacific Northwest English is a variety of North American English spoken in the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, sometimes also including Idaho and the Canadian province of British Columbia. Due to the internal diversity within Pacific Northwest English, current studies remain inconclusive about whether it is best regarded as a dialect of its own, separate from Western American English or even California English or Standard Canadian English, with which it shares its major phonological features. The dialect region contains a highly diverse and mobile population, which is reflected in the historical and continuing development of the variety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic Canadian English</span> Dialects of Canadian English

Atlantic Canadian English is a class of Canadian English dialects spoken in Atlantic Canada that is notably distinct from Standard Canadian English. It is composed of Maritime English and Newfoundland English. It was mostly influenced by British and Irish English, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and some Acadian French. Atlantic Canada is the easternmost region of Canada, comprising four provinces located on the Atlantic coast: Newfoundland and Labrador, plus the three Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Regions such as Miramichi and Cape Breton have a wide variety of phrases and words not spoken outside of their respective regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English language</span> West Germanic language

English is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, whose speakers, called Anglophones, originated in early medieval England on the island of Great Britain. The namesake of the language is the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to Britain. It is the most spoken language in the world, primarily due to the global influences of the former British Empire and the United States. English is the third-most spoken native language, after Standard Chinese and Spanish; it is also the most widely learned second language in the world, with more second-language speakers than native speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Macanese Portuguese</span> Form of Portuguese language used in Macau

Macanese Portuguese is a Portuguese dialect spoken in Macau, where Portuguese is co-official with Cantonese. Macanese Portuguese is spoken, to some degree either natively or as a second language, by roughly 2.3% of the population of Macau. It should not be confused with Macanese language, a distinct Portuguese creole that developed in Macau during the Portuguese rule.

Older Southern American English is a diverse set of American English dialects of the Southern United States spoken most widely up until the American Civil War of the 1860s, before gradually transforming among its White speakers, first, by the turn of the 20th century, and, again, following the Great Depression, World War II, and, finally, the Civil Rights Movement. By the mid-20th century, among White Southerners, these local dialects had largely consolidated into, or been replaced by, a more regionally unified Southern American English. Meanwhile, among Black Southerners, these dialects transformed into a fairly stable African-American Vernacular English, now spoken nationwide among Black people. Certain features unique to older Southern U.S. English persist today, like non-rhoticity, though typically only among Black speakers or among very localized White speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midland American English</span> Variety of English spoken in the United States

Midland American English is a regional dialect or super-dialect of American English, geographically lying between the traditionally-defined Northern and Southern United States. The boundaries of Midland American English are not entirely clear, being revised and reduced by linguists due to definitional changes and several Midland sub-regions undergoing rapid and diverging pronunciation shifts since the early-middle 20th century onwards.

References

  1. 1 2 Cheshire, Jenny. (ed.) 1991. English Around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives. New York: Cambridge University Press, 134.
  2. ↑ Labov, William; Sharon Ash; Charles Boberg (2006). The Atlas of North American English . Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp.  217, 221. ISBN   3-11-016746-8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Padolsky, Enoch and Ian Pringle. 1983. The Linguistic Survey of the Ottawa Valley. American Speech 12, 325–327.
  4. ↑ Chambers, J. K. "Canada". In: Cheshire, Jenny (1991). English Around the World: Sociolinguistic Perspectives . Cambridge University Press. p. 97.
  5. ↑ Trudgill, Peter. 2006. Dialect Mixture versus Monogenesis in Colonial Varieties: The Inevitability of Canadian English. The Canadian Journal of Linguistics 51. p. 182.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Henry, Alison. 1992. Infinitives in a For-To Dialect. Natural Language & Linguistic Theory 2, 279–283.
  7. 1 2 Vineberg, Robert. 2010. The Role of Immigration in Ottawa’s Historic Growth and Development: A Multi-City Comparative Analysis of Census and Immigration Data. Ontario: Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP), p. 9.
  8. ↑ The Valley’s Diverse Cultures. http://www.ottawavalleyculture.ca/ottawa-valley-stories/culture-and-hertiage/the-valley-s-diverse-cultures-4337.html. (2014).
  9. ↑ Vance, Michael E.. 2012. Imperial Immigrants : The Scottish Settlers in the Upper Ottawa Valley, 1815–1840. Toronto: Dundurn, 53.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.