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Australia was mostly settled by people from South East England and Ireland, America mostly by people from the West Country, East Anglia, and Northern Ireland, New Zealand roughly equally from England and Scotland.
Where did the British Isles component of Canada's population mostly come from? Their accents seem to suggest they mostly came from Scotland and North East England but I'm not totally sure.
Sorry, but didn't we answer this question relatively recently in another thread you started? Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems awfully familiar. Anyhow, English Canadians (excluding Newfoundlanders) basically came from a few main sources. The first to come were men from the British military, recruited from all over. They founded Halifax as a garrison town, and a steady stream of military men came to settle after each war. A big number came after the war of 1812 and settled all throughout Quebec and Ontario, and the British military presence is the reason for Canada's large Sihk population (a small minority in India). They were the foot soldiers of the British Raj and the first settled in BC in the late 19th century after visiting it during the services, which planted the seeds for the community to grow.
The other big wave was New England Yankees into the Maritimes and Quebec, first as troops and later as Loyalists, and Midlanders from around Pennsylvania into Ontario exclusively as Loyalists. I assume they were from the same English background as other proto-American English settlers.
Third, the Scots, mostly Highland Scots everywhere outside the cities, and as an important part of the local military establishment. The Hudson's Bay Company recruited from the Orkneys, so the accents and traditions of this small Scottish Archipelego had a big impact on Canada. They were the first to settle the West were a strong presence everywhere The Company founded settlements. Urban Scots were also huge in the merchant class in Montreal that basically ran the country and accumulated all the wealth and power. Men like MacDonald, McGill, Redpath and Strathcona. These were usually men from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and made up the early elite along with some enterprising Yankee loyalists. Finally, there came the Highland Clearances, an event that devastated Scotland and sent vast numbers of Highlanders into exile in Canada, so many that Canada at one point almost had as many Gaelic speakers as Scotland itself, and a local Gaelic dialect evolved. This was considered uncouth, however, and people readilly abandoned the language for English when they had the opportunity to learn the language. Damn shame, if you ask me, but so it goes. They overwhelmingly settled on Cape Breton, PEI, and Northern Nova Scotia and are largely responsible for the local accents. Many of them moved west over time.
Fourth came the Irish Catholics of the Potato famine. They ended up everywhere, although they were most welcomed into Catholic French Canadian areas. Many assimilated into French Canadian culture, but a good number also became English Canadian. Much smaller influence in English Canada then in New England and Australia. Biggest lasting influence seems to be in the Ottawa valley, where the neighbours were few, and mostly Catholic, so they were able to really thrive.
The Prairies was a big mix of mostly Ontarians, people from all over the Austro-Hungarian empire, some Americans from neighbouring parts of the West, and some other non-British immigrants (Mennonites, French Canadians, Icelanders, Russian Doukhobours etc.) So basically the English who went there were those from the existing mix in Ontario, joined by a few ethnic English Americans, and a bunch of immigrants. With its land good for ranching, lots of oil, and far West location, southern Alberta attracted the most Americans, who had the unique skills needed for the area that Europeans didn't have. The Prairie farmers could be from anywhere, the skills needed were more common, so thus some ethnic differences. Not to imply it was all American immigration, there was a strong Ontarian contingent including all the mentioned peoples, which is why "Calgary" is the name of some obscure ancient fort on an island in the Hebrides.
The early English of Vancouver Island I know were mostly people from England, but I don't know from where. They seem to have floated in from all over the Empire, the first governor even being a black Carribean gentleman. Lots of military people, followed by people from the Prairies, Americans from the pre-partition Columbia territory and gold rush, and some more English settlers from England herself.
Newfoundland was I believe a mix of Irish Catholic and West Coast fishermen, the West Coasters outnumbering the Irish, especially away from th avalon peninsula.
What sticks out about Canada to me is how profoundly Celtic its European heritage is. Even the Quebecois came in part from Brittany, didn't they?
More Normandy than Brittany for the most part, with the Normans being the most Scandinavian of the French peoples. The Orkney Islanders to are a Scandinavian/Celtic mix. Worth keeping in mind that about half of Quebecois also came from Paris, and that many of the Loyalists were not culturally very Celtic. I'd say it's a random mix of pseudo-Scandinavian, Celtic, French, and English. The biggest Celtic influence on Quebec culture has been the Irish, which is why so much Quebecois folk music is Irish influenced.
I think this sort of Pan Canadian Celtic heritage comes through great here in this video fromt he Vancouver Olympics, displaying our country's fiddling traditions:
More Normandy than Brittany for the most part, with the Normans being the most Scandinavian of the French peoples. The Orkney Islanders to are a Scandinavian/Celtic mix. Worth keeping in mind that about half of Quebecois also came from Paris, and that many of the Loyalists were not culturally very Celtic. I'd say it's a random mix of pseudo-Scandinavian, Celtic, French, and English. The biggest Celtic influence on Quebec culture has been the Irish, which is why so much Quebecois folk music is Irish influenced.
I think this sort of Pan Canadian Celtic heritage comes through great here in this video fromt he Vancouver Olympics, displaying our country's fiddling traditions:
Good stuff!
I was thinking how some of the vowel sounds in Geordie remind me of some of the stronger examples of a Canadian accent, especially the way certain people in British Columbia sound. If you took the stereotypical Canadian features to an extreme it probably would sound kinda like a Newcastle accent, which also has a Celto-Scandinavian sort of sound to it.
There was large amounts of Scottish settlers in New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the US. A lot of the "Northern Irish" settlers in the US were in fact Scottish, large numbers of Scottish people settled in Northern Ireland around that time, then subsequently moved to the US.
There was large amounts of Scottish settlers in New Zealand, Canada, Australia and the US. A lot of the "Northern Irish" settlers in the US were in fact Scottish, large numbers of Scottish people settled in Northern Ireland around that time, then subsequently moved to the US.
True. Actually even though I find Scottish and Northern English accents harder to understand, I'd say American English shares more sounds with them (and Irish) than it does with South East England, as different as they are. South East England and Australian are pretty much as far away from so-called General American as you can get!
The West Country probably is the most like an American accent, though. A Tidewater or Newfoundland accent for example is very much like how Bristolians talk, especially among the old timers.
More Normandy than Brittany for the most part, with the Normans being the most Scandinavian of the French peoples. The Orkney Islanders to are a Scandinavian/Celtic mix. Worth keeping in mind that about half of Quebecois also came from Paris, and that many of the Loyalists were not culturally very Celtic.
Interesting - Paris alone or more just the Ile-De-France?
There was an awesome tv series on this but it's main focus was on the history of the English language. The Story Of English...I believe the episodes are on YT.
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