"Pioneers! O Pioneers!" (pp. 251-292) Coursepack Flashcards
Who wrote the American Declaration of Independence?
Thomas Jefferson.
What was Noah Webster’s contribution to the development of American English? What were his main works on language and when were they published?
The publication of “An Americana Dictionary of the English Language” (1828). Today it is referred to as simply “Webster’s”. He also wrote “Dissertations on the English Language” (1789). He also published between 1783 and 1785 three elementary books on English (a speller, a grammar and a reader) known as “A Grammatical Institute of the English Language”.
What are the main characteristics of American speech in the eastern, southern and western regions?
Eastern: usually clipped and tended to elide the “r”.
Southern: speech is clipped, softened and broadened by the Negro admixture, also Southerners tend to retain traditional some aspects of ‘traditional’ English.
Western: speech became broader, stepping high and wide.
What type of English is referred to as General Canadian? What makes it different from other regional variants of North American English? Hos is it perceived by the British and by the Americans?
Based on the English spoken by the Loyalists, specifically those who settled west of Quebec and who dominated the making of modern Canada. It is an urban middleclass speech and not a rural variant. It differs from other regional variants of North American English in that it spans almost the whole continent instead of occupying only one area. The British perceive Canadian English has very Americanized while Americans perceive it as being rather British.
What is Canadian Raising?
Distinctive, systematic difference in “ou” sounds. Canadians have two different pronunciations as in “house” vs “houses” and “lout” vs “loud”.
