Реферат: Canadian English

Canadian slang as a variation of substandard speech is obvious nowadays. The lexical constituent of Anglo-Canadian slang is very dissimilar. There can be singled out the following units:

Units that are common for American and Canadian Languages, North-Americanisms;

Units, that appeared and are used in USA, but that gradually get into Canadian language;

Units that appeared and are used in Canada, but can be met in American language;

Units that appeared and are used exceptionally in Canada.

1. North-Americanisms:

These units appeared in the slang in XIX-XX centuries. They are different in their origin but are gut assimilated by Canadian and American languages.

1.1. Units that were registered first in USA and then in Canada:

- Nouns denoting living beings:

buff (enthusiast) AE 1930; CdnE 1940; floozie (prostitute) AE 1935, CdnE 1940; ripstaker (a conceited person)AE, CdnE 1833

- Nouns denoting inanimate objects:

jitney (a cheap taxi) AE 1915, CdnE 1924; beanie (a freshman's cloth cap) AE 1945, CdnE 1946; dump (a pub, a bar) AE 1903, CdnE 1904.

- Nouns denoting process:

bend (outdoor party, feast) AE 1903, CdnE 1904; shellacking (defeat) AE 1919, CdnE 1938

- Nouns of material:

lightning (cheap whisky) AE 1858, CdnE 1959; weeno (wine).

- Collective Nouns:

bull (idle talk) AE 1915, CndE 1916; guff (nonsense, lies) AE 1888, CdnE 1890.

1.2. Units that were first registered in Canada and then in USA:

- Nouns denoting living beings:

boomer (seasonal worker) CndE 1910, AE 1926; flannel-mouth (smb who is fond of backbiting) CdnE 1910, AE 1912.

- Nouns denoting inanimate objects:

bug (a small automobile) CdnE 1919, AE 1920; jolt (a mouthful of alcohol drink) CdnE 1900, AE 1920.

- Nouns denoting process:

hush-hush (confidential talk) CdnE 1940, AE 1950; fakery(insincere behavior) CdnE 1912, AE 1925.

- Collective Nouns:

bushwa(h) (nonsense, rubbish) CdnE 1916, AE 1924.

It should be mentioned that the nouns with expressive meaning are easier borrowed from American into Canadian and vice versa:

gunsel (murderer) CdnE 1950, AE 1951; split (sharing of the profit) AE 1917, CdnE 1919.