Versacom Canadian English: A Unique Variety That Matters for Your Business
Versacom Canadian English: A Unique Variety That Matters for Your Business examines what sets Canadian English apart from the British and American varieties, and why that difference matters to a company writing for Canadian readers. Versacom is a Canadian language services firm, and the article works through spelling, vocabulary and measurement before turning to the question of which reference to follow.
100% Free (unlimited): The full article is on the page for any reader, every section and every example, with no account and no sign-up. The site is published in English and in French, and the same article can be read in either language.
How It Helps Your Business English
Three sections. Spelling: Canadian English mixes British forms such as colour and centre with American ones such as judgment and aluminum, and leaves fulfil and enrol open either way. Vocabulary: to table a bill means close to the opposite in Canada and the United States, and a lake house is a cottage, chalet, camp or cabin by region. Measurement: where imperial holds and where metric does.
You can treat the examples as a checklist the next time you write for a Canadian reader: settle on one spelling of enrol or fulfil and hold to it, check that a word such as table carries the meaning you want on this side of the border, and give an oven temperature in Fahrenheit and the weather in Celsius. The closing section explains why no single authority settles these questions, which is worth knowing before you go looking for one.
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