Canadian Forces Recruitment "Center"

[bush_cheney2004]

Wikipedia makes me think it is the Canadian Oxford Dictionary.

Errr...OK...but I have cars older than that (1998).

Is there no other definitive Canadian work before this recent date? Is there a senior French Canadian language reference?

Edited July 7, 2010 by bush_cheney2004

[Guest American Woman]

- If Canada has a spelling reform, that is cool, but until that day, mispelling " centre " as " center " in formal contexts should be no more acceptable than mispelling " dog " as " dawg " .

I fail to see your example as relevant since "dawg" is not the correct spelling of "dog" in either British or American forms of English.

I have to say, I've seen "theater" spelled "theatre" and "center" spelled as "centre" in the U.S., and never would I have thought for one second to be upset about it. A bombing of such a place, on the other hand, would have me upset.

[M.Dancer]

Does Canada have a reference standard for such things, that is an equivalent to (dare I say), the works of American Noah Webster or derivative dictionaries? What is the published Canadian standard?

Style books

Globe and Mail and the Canasdian Press are the two most common. Canada has an amalgam of spellings, some from the UK, some from the US. In the US and Canada, the z is often used instead of the s (aplogize-apologise...while in the UK and sometimes in Canada the ae is used in learned words, while in the US it is only the e (Caesarian- Cesarian) As well, the re or er sometimes baffles...(theatre or theater--fibre or fiber, metre or meter).

Myself, I was taught in the PSBGM in Montreal where at the time the frowned on airplane, prefering aeroplane....although aerodrome never caught on, we still had aeroports. And in the US you have railroads, while we had railways...

I occasionally write words without thinking in the British style (customise, phantasy) even though they are not koin here...

[M.Dancer]

http://www.mcclelland.com/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780771056857

http://www.thecanadianpress.com/products_and_services.aspx?id=86

[bush_cheney2004]

Style books

Certainly good references, but I consider these to be derivative works for a specific purpose. I assume that a teacher in Halifax would not use such a standard.

Globe and Mail and the Canasdian Press are the two most common. Canada has an amalgam of spellings, some from the UK, some from the US. In the US and Canada, the z is often used instead of the s (aplogize-apologise...while in the UK and sometimes in Canada the ae is used in learned words, while in the US it is only the e (Caesarian- Cesarian) As well, the re or er sometimes baffles...(theatre or theater--fibre or fiber, metre or meter).

As has been discussed before, the Americans purposely sought to differentiate themselves from the "King's English".

Myself, I was taught in the PSBGM in Montreal where at the time the frowned on airplane, prefering aeroplane....although aerodrome never caught on, we still had aeroports. And in the US you have railroads, while we had railways...

Ahhh...so Canada is literally at the crossroads of English language and usage.

I occasionally write words without thinking in the British style (customise, phantasy) even though they are not koin here...

The British style seems appropriate and natural for British sources...but if one is to define a Canadian "style", does it stand alone?

[Remiel]

I fail to see your example as relevant since "dawg" is not the correct spelling of "dog" in either British or American forms of English.

I have to say, I've seen "theater" spelled "theatre" and "center" spelled as "centre" in the U.S., and never would I have thought for one second to be upset about it. A bombing of such a place, on the other hand, would have me upset.

What does it matter if anyone else spells it in some other way? I assume that the existence and history of the Oxford Dictionary does not count as a reason for most Americans to discard Webster. The only spelling that counts is the one in the society where you are. In some ways it is like money: I can choose to accept Canadian and American dollars as suitable equivalents, but that does not change the fact that only the Canadian dollar counts as legal tender in this country.

Also, I did actually start a thread on the bombing the day it happened. But it got sidetracked before it could become a debate. I may have been involved in this sidetracking.

[M.Dancer]

The British style seems appropriate and natural for British sources...but if one is to define a Canadian "style", does it stand alone?

Probably not...the further east you go the closer you are to traditional spellings...the further west (victoria excluded) the more american....

...sort of like asking for the definitive american accent (or british).

Edited July 7, 2010 by M.Dancer

[William Ashley]

The British spellings are absurd, preserving Anglo-Norman spellings that haven't been pronounced that way since Chaucer's time. I know the written form of any language is highly conserved, but do we really need to spell "colour" with a "u"? And if that's what Canadians need to make themselves feel proud, then wow, we're pretty damned low.

Yeah but Canada is British not American. Canadians spell the British way, not the American way.

Perhaps this is just who they are trying to appeal to, Americans fighting American wars.

Edited July 7, 2010 by William Ashley

[bush_cheney2004]

Yeah but Canada is British not American. Canadians spell the British way, not the American way.

Let me check with Quebec on that....nope!

Perhaps this is just who they are trying to appeal to, Americans fighting American wars.

Seems fair to me...like Americans fighting British wars.

[William Ashley]

Let me check with Quebec on that....nope!

Quebec was given to Britain in the French and Indian war. Sorry try again.

Canada has two official languages yes, but the English one is British.

Seems fair to me...like Americans fighting British wars.

When was this? WWI lusitainia after many years doing nothing but making money off our deaths. WWII same deal

what war are you refering to?

[ToadBrother]

Probably not...the further east you go the closer you are to traditional spellings...the further west (victoria excluded) the more american....

...sort of like asking for the definitive american accent (or british).

Language is ever the bane of nationalists, because it is not a static thing. The written forms of a language will tend to be more conserved than the spoken, but at the end of the day, fixed English spellings didn't really come into existence until the spread of public education in the 19th century. American spellings were fixed during this period, much as British were, Canada falling somewhat into the British sphere, but as you observe, with some preservation of regional norms. At the end of the day, like French nationalists seeking to keep a "pure" French (a laughable notion to anyone who knows the history of the language, or of pretty much every language), Canadian Anglophone nationalists getting their bun in knot over someone daring to spell color without the anachronistic "u" are simply trying to stop the tide. It's only normal that Canada, with its close proximity to a much larger English-speaking nation, would gravitate towards those spellings and pronunciations, much as most English dialects in England have gone by the wayside, dominated by the southern dialects stemming mainly from the Wessex varieties.

[Guest American Woman]

What does it matter if anyone else spells it in some other way? I assume that the existence and history of the Oxford Dictionary does not count as a reason for most Americans to discard Webster. The only spelling that counts is the one in the society where you are. In some ways it is like money: I can choose to accept Canadian and American dollars as suitable equivalents, but that does not change the fact that only the Canadian dollar counts as legal tender in this country.

The Canadian dollar will get you what you can't get everywhere in Canada with other currencies, but spelling is just that: spelling. A Recruitment Center will get you nothing more or less than a Recruitment Centre will. So to be upset that there's "US spelling" at one, and for that to be a bigger deal to more Canadians than a Recruitment Center/Centre being bombed, is just rather incredible to some of us who are outside looking in.

Also, I did actually start a thread on the bombing the day it happened. But it got sidetracked before it could become a debate. I may have been involved in this sidetracking.

The thing is, anyone who was interested could have picked up on that thread and responded, sidetracked or not, but it only got ten responses total compared to 60 responses in this thread thus far as I write this post.

I'm just saying, it seems rather odd. I just can't imagine getting bent out of shape over spelling. Must be a Canadian thing.

[Remiel]

I'm just saying, it seems rather odd. I just can't imagine getting bent out of shape over spelling. Must be a Canadian thing.

Hardly. There would be no such discussion here if Max Webster had not gotten bent out of shape over spelling... It is not just a Canadian thing.

[Guest American Woman]

Hardly. There would be no such discussion here if Max Webster had not gotten bent out of shape over spelling... It is not just a Canadian thing.

Ok. Let me clarify. It must be a Canadian thing to get bent out of shape over "US spelling" being used instead of "British spelling," especially to get more upset over the "US spelling" than the actual bombing of the agency in question. Which is quite different from Max Webster's concern over spelling.

[Smallc]

I don't care how people spell things.

[M.Dancer]

I don't care how people spell things.

shure ewe dew...

[Smallc]

[Remiel]

Ok. Let me clarify. It must be a Canadian thing to get bent out of shape over "US spelling" being used instead of "British spelling," especially to get more upset over the "US spelling" than the actual bombing of the agency in question. Which is quite different from Max Webster's concern over spelling.

Forums are not troves of good discussion on things that really matter. This thread was started because a person noticed that the name was spelled incorrectly; but so what? If they had noticed instead that some other government building had been spelled incorrectly and started the thread, no one would be saying, " There was a recruitment centre bombing we should be talking about instead of spelling! "

You're right that it is kind of odd very little has been said about the bombing, but in terms of how forums work, a bombing is not a reason not to have a discussion on national spelling traditions.

[canadiantothecore]

THe original poster is 100% correct. The signage on any governmental institutions should utilize the correct spelling of words in Canadian(or Queen's or w/e) English. The views of others concerning the current utility of respective strands of English are not really relevant to the issue at hand. Just because one can discover a few private organizations that also do not spell the word correctly(in the canadian setting) does not mean that this is not the case.

[M.Dancer]

Forums are not troves of good discussion on things that really matter. This thread was started because a person noticed that the name was spelled incorrectly; but so what? If they had noticed instead that some other government building had been spelled incorrectly and started the thread, no one would be saying, " There was a recruitment centre bombing we should be talking about instead of spelling! "

DING DING DING

WE HAVE A winner....

[M.Dancer]

THe original poster is 100% correct. The signage on any governmental institutions should utilize the correct spelling of words in Canadian(or Queen's or w/e) English. The views of others concerning the current utility of respective strands of English are not really relevant to the issue at hand. Just because one can discover a few private organizations that also do not spell the word correctly(in the canadian setting) does not mean that this is not the case.

Utilize is an american variant of utilise....

[kimmy]

I'm finding it interesting how the "US English spelling" of a Recruitment Center in Canada is apparently of more concern than a Canadian recruitment center/centre being bombed.

Not to most.

Ok. Let me clarify. It must be a Canadian thing to get bent out of shape over "US spelling" being used instead of "British spelling," especially to get more upset over the "US spelling" than the actual bombing of the agency in question. Which is quite different from Max Webster's concern over spelling.

For those insecure about the "Canadian identity" (or lack thereof) clinging to archaic spellings is one inane symbol they can point to as a means of saying we're different from Americans. Other examples include the fictitious Canadian politeness and fictitious Canadian tolerance.

The only practical reason to prefer one over the other is if you're doing a bilingual sign and want to save some space: "Shopping Centre D'Achat"

Or, of course, as a cheesy attempt to add "class" to a new suburb. People might be willing to pay more money to live in "Centrepointe" than in "Centerpoint".

-k

[Guest American Woman]

Forums are not troves of good discussion on things that really matter. This thread was started because a person noticed that the name was spelled incorrectly; but so what? If they had noticed instead that some other government building had been spelled incorrectly and started the thread, no one would be saying, " There was a recruitment centre bombing we should be talking about instead of spelling! "

Huh? If the word in question, the word spelled *gasp* the "US way" instead of the "British way," happened to be an agency that was bombed, and the discussion over the spelling generated more concern than the actual bombing, I don't care what it was, I would find it odd.

You're right that it is kind of odd very little has been said about the bombing, but in terms of how forums work, a bombing is not a reason not to have a discussion on national spelling traditions.

I never said it wasn't. I said I found it odd that the spelling generated more interest/concern than a bombing would. I also said it must be a Canadian thing. Evidently you have a problem with that observation, but I stand by it. And my stating that observation is also how forums work.

[Guest American Woman]

Not to most.

Point taken. I should clarify that I was referring to 'most on this board,' which likely should be clarified further to 'most in this thread.' Which would make it more of a 'MLW thing' than a "Canadian thing."

As for the rest of your post, I agree. And I think the "theatres" and "centres" I've seen in the U.S. are supposed to be classier than their counterparts, too.

[Machjo]

Yeah but Canada is British not American. Canadians spell the British way, not the American way.

Perhaps this is just who they are trying to appeal to, Americans fighting American wars.

Correction. Canada spells the Canadian way. For instance, the British causative suffix -ise and its derivatives (e.g. civilise, civilisation, etc.) are considered misspellings in Canada, as 'programme' would be.

Canadian spelling follows its own rules interdependent from British or American norms. Now my personal spelling style is British, but that does not change the fact that when at work, I put my own spelling habits aside and spell the Canadian way. If I worked for the US government, I can guarantee that even if I'm a Canadian, that at work I'd spell according to the US government's spelling standard. Each organization has its own standards, and its members are expected to abide by those standards.