Canadian English in Saskatchewan: A Sociolinguistic Survey of Four Selected Regions by Judith Anne Nylvek B.A., University of Victoria, 1982 M.A., University of Victoria, 1984 ACCEPTE.D A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY .>,« 1,^ , I . I l » ' / DEAN in the Department of Linguistics o ate y " /-''-' A > ' We accept this dissertation as conforming to the required standard Xjx. BarbarSTj|JlA^-fiVSu^rvisor (Department of Linguistics) Dr. Joseph F. Kess, Departmental Member (Department of Linguistics) CD t. Herijy J, WgrKentyne, Departmental Member (Department of Linguistics) _________________________ Dr. Victor A. 'fiJeufeldt, Outside Member (Department of English) _____________________________________________ Dr. Pajtricia E. Ro/, Additional Member (Department of History) Dr. Lois Stanford, External Examiner (University of Alberta) © JUDITH ANNE NYLVEK, 1992 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This dissertation may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or other means, without the permission of the author. Supervisor: Dr. Barbara P. Harris ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to provide detailed information regarding Canadian English as it is spoken by English-speaking Canadians who were born and raised in Saskatchewan and who still reside in this province. A data base has also been established which will allow real time comparison in future studies. Linguistic variables studied include the pronunciation of several individual lexical items, the use of lexical variants, and some aspects of phonological variation. Social variables deemed important include age, sex, urbanlrural, generation in Saskatchewan, education, ethnicity, and multilingualism. The study was carried out using statistical methodology which provided the framework for confirmation of previous findings and exploration of unknown relationships. Before data collection, 17 a priori hypotheses were formulated and comprise the confirmatory aspect of the study. Two thousand postal questionnaires were distributed to residents in two urban (Saskatoon and Regina) and two rural (west of Saskatoon and east of Regina) areas primarily through high schools and senior citizen organizations. Of those returned, a total of 661 were included in this Ill study. In addition, 75 residents were directly interviewed and tape recorded. The data were subjected to statistical analyses using a loglinear procedure which detects, in association with the dependent variable, the existence of main effects or interactions related to one or more independent variables. The resulting information was then examined in order to determine whether the data confirmed the assertions of the various a priori hypotheses and to identify any potentially significant but unhypothesized relationships. The analyses confirmed 13 of the 17 hypotheses and provided marginal support for the other four. In all, age was found to be the most important social factor being associated with 80% of the linguistic variables. The following percentages indicate the portion of linguistic variables with which the other social factors were associated: urbanlrural 40%; sex 35%; education 20%; and generation 15%. No important associations were found to be related to ethnicity or multilingualism, a finding which in itself parallels results of other researchers. On the basis of the findings, 24 a posteriori hypotheses were formulated which may be subjected to confirmation in the future. IV Examiners: D/. Barbara,Pr4^rris, Supervisor (Department of Linguistics) Dr. Joseph F. Kess, Departmental Member (Department of Linguistics) Uf. HeniynJl Warkentyne, Departmental Member (Department of Linguistics) Dr. Victor A. Neûfeldt, Outside Member (Department of English) ______________________________________________________ Dr. ■f^atricia E. Roy, Additional Member (Department of History) Dr. Lois Stanford, External Examiner (University of Alberta) TABLE OF CONTENTS A b s tra c t.......................................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... ix List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. xi List of Graphs ............................................................................................................................. xii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. xxi Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 1.1 P u rp o se ..................................................................................................................... ] 1.2 Traditional versus Sociolinguistic Dialect Studies........................................... 2 1.3 Hypothesis Creating versus Hypothesis Testing .............................................. 7 1.4 Language Change: Real Time versus Apparent Time .............................. 9 1.5 General Canadian English .................................................................................... 12 1.5.1 P honology ................................................................................................. 13 1.5.2 Divided Usage -- American versus British ....................................... 18 1.6 C onclusion................................................................................................................ 19 VI Chapter 2: Review of L ite ra tu re ............................................................................................ 22 2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................ 22 2.2 The First Papers on English in Canada ......................................................... 22 2.3 Papers on the Historical Development of Canadian English ................... 30 2.4 Lexical Studies of Canadian English ............................................... 33 2.5 Phonological Studies of Canadian English .................................................... 34 2.6 Regional Studies .................................................................................................... 43 2.6.1 The Survey of Canadian English (1972) ............................................ 43 2.6.2 Newfoundland ......................................................................................... 47 2.6.3 The Maritime P rovinces ........................................................................ 54 2.6.3.1 New B runsw ick............................................................ 54 2.6.3.2 Nova Scotia ............................................................................ 56 2.6.3.3 Prince Edward Islan d ............................................................. 57 2.6.4 Quebec -- Montreal English ................................................................ 59 2.6.5 O n ta rio ........................................................................................... 60 2.6.6 British Columbia .................................................................................... 65 2.6.7 The Prairie Provinces ................................... 68 2.6.7.1 A lb e rta ...................................................................................... 70 2.6.7.2 Manitoba ................................................................................. 72 2.6.7.3 Saskatchewan .......................................................................... 72 2.7 C onclusion.................................................................................................... 74 Chapter 3: Settlement and Demographics........................................................................... 75 3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................. 75 3.2 General History ..................................................................................................... 76 3.3 Immigration to Saskatchewan ............................................................................ 80 3.3.1 Great Britain, the United States and Eastern Canada .................. 80 3.3.2 Western European Ethnic Groups ...................................................... 84 3.3.3 Northern European Ethnic G ro u p s .................................................... 89 3.3.4 Eastern European Ethnic G roups ...................................................... 92 3.4 Demographics ........................................................................................................ 100 3.5 C onclusion............................................................................................................... 101 Chapter 4: Methodology........................................................................................................... 115 4.1 Introduction............................................................................................................. 115 VII 4.2 The Linguistic Variables .................................................................................. 115 4.2.1 Phonological V ariab