La Survivance

Ever since the British took control of Canada, the main concern of Quebecois has been La Survivance - the survival of their French culture and language. Je me souviens (I will remember) is their motto.

The French spoken by the Quebecois is unique. Words, grammar and even pronunciation still have connections with seventeenth-century French. Holding on to their distinct culture has given French Canadians a joie de vivre unknown to their Anglophone neighbours.

Feeling different has also encouraged many of them to vote for independence from the rest of Canada. Some believe that Quebec could stand alone as a sovereign country, but others are not convinced.

The referendum held in 1995 was very close with 50.5 per cent voting against separatism. A lot of Canadians believe that in the next vote Quebec will become a separate country. Whether Canadians are for or against separatism, they realise that it could be the beginning of the breakup of their country. Some people are angry with the Quebecois for causing so much trouble.

Task XI. Speak on the aboriginal population of Canada. Which words from their speech have entered the dictionary of Canadianisms?

Nunavut

French Canadians have succeeded is showing that they are a distinct society within Canada. The Native peoples have also managed to recover some of their independence. They lost their lands and were almost wiped out by disease and starvation during the European invasion.

There is now an Assembly of First Nations, which campaigns for land and human rights for the indigenous peoples. In 1999, one-fifth of the area of Canada was officially returned to the Inuit people. The name Nunavut was chosen for this new territory. This makes the Inuit the largest private landowners in the world. They only have mineral rights to about ten per cent of the land. However Nunavut are still administered by the federal government. This is not independence, but it is a beginning.

Task XII. What are specific features of Canadian English in pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary?

1. Give Canadian and American variants of the following British words: angry, anywhere, barrister, biscuit, chips, crisps, pants, mad, jeans, estate agent.

2. Compare the spelling of the following British words with the ones in American and Canadian English. Write down their Canadian and American equivalents first.

British American Canadian

travelled

catalogue

all right

doughnut

tyre

kerb

3. Try to make your own dictionary of Canadianisms.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16