The roots of Canadian English can be found in the events which followed the American revolution of 1776.
加拿大英语的起源可以追溯到1776年美国大革命以后。
Those who had supported Britain found themselves unable to stay in the new United States, and most went to Canada.
那些原先支持英国的人发现他们难以在新成立的美国继续住下去了,于是他们中的大多数人去到了加拿大。
They were soon followed by many thousands who were attracted by the cheapness of land.
后来成千上百的人被那里低廉的地价吸引,也跟随他们移居加拿大。
Within 50 years, the population of upper Canada had reached 100 thousand, mainly people from the United States.
五十年内,上加拿大的人口达到了十万之多,大部分都来自美国。
In the east, the Atlantic provinces had been settled with English speakers as early as the 15th century,
加拿大东部的滨大西洋诸省早在15世纪就被以英语为母语的殖民者占据,
but even today, these areas contain less than ten percent of the population, so that they have only a limited role in the development of Canadian English.
但时至今日,这些省份的人口总数还未达到加拿大人口总数的十分之一,所以这些省对加拿大英语的发展作用不大。
In Quebec, the majority of people use French as a mother tongue.
魁北克绝大多数的人以法语为母语。
Here English and French exist together but uneasily.
在那里,英语和法语艰难地共存着。
Because of its origins, Canadian English has a great deal in common with the rest of the English spoken in North America, and is often difficult to distinguish for people who live outside the region.
由于其特殊的起源,加拿大英语与北美洲其它英语有许多共同之处,因此对于非此地区的人来说,要把它们区分开来并不容易。
To British people, Canadians may sound American; to Americans, they may sound British.
对于英国人来说,加拿大人的口音听起来可能像美国人的口音;对于美国人来说,加拿大人的口音可能又有英式英语的感觉。
Canadians themselves insist on not being identified with either, and certainly, there is a great deal of evidence in support of this view.
但加拿大人坚持不想和英国人的英语或美国人的英语划归为一类,当然很多证据也证明了这一点。