A Dialectological Study

Research Paper # 102002

Canadian Studies > History, Culture
Communication > Language and Speech
Linguistics

This paper is a dialectological study of the Peel Region, Southern Ontario, a mainly suburban area of Toronto with many new Canadians from around the world.

1,010 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that a dialectological study of the Peel region first seemed impossible due to the high ethnic diversity of the region; however, the research revealed that Peel does feature an idiom different from that of Toronto. The author points out that some verification was possible when contrasting what was heard of the English spoken by diverse Torontonians on public transit as compared to the English that new Canadians acquired if they both lived and worked in Peel. The paper stresses that this research underscores that it is not true that globalization has created a world of uniform speakers of American-English. The author concludes that this preliminary research produced the thesis that the rise of local economies that absorb people who might otherwise commute to work elsewhere promises a degree of insularity to encourage certain forms of expression. It also seemed that the first language spoken mattered less than the kind of English one learned or adopted in Canada.

Table of Contents:
Telling Remarks
Discussion
Concluding Remarks

From the Paper:

"A man born in Punjab, a Canadian for 25 years, stated that there could be no Peel dialect due to a diverse population and the influence of TV that had made North American accents quite similar. At the same time, he used to syllable of "eh" and also happened to use another bit of rural jargon in referring to having gone "down" to Kingston recently when most certainly he meant across. A total of 10 subjects agreed with his opinion that there was no Peel accent or dialect but said that they found the English spoken in Toronto very halting, as if it was assumed that no stranger had English as the first language or a good command of it."

Sample of Sources Used:

Heeringa, W. and J. Nerbonne. (2001). "Dialect Access and Dialect Continua" in D. Sankoff, W. Labov and A. Kroch. Eds. Language Variation and Change. New York: Cambridge University Press, 375-401.
Region of Peel. (2001). Beyond 2000 - Directions for Peel's Future - the Region's Strategic Plan. Brampton - Peel Regional Council.
Statistics Canada. (2001). Census - Figures by Region - Ontario. Ottawa: Statistics Canada.
Trudgill, Peter. (2004). New Dialect Formation - the Inevitability of Colonial Englishes. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.