Ice hockey is the national winter sport of which bilingual nation?

Canada is the world’s second largest country (based on surface area) and sits above the United States on the North American continent. To really understand this county, one should take a look at its history, during the late 15th century, both French and British folks explored and settled in Canada bringing their rich culture, customs and languages. Eventually, the French ceded to the British and Canada became part of the British Empire.  However the influences of the two cultures remain intact today, as the country is officially a bilingual nation. 

The two official languages are Canadian English and Canadian French.  

• Canadian English and Canadian French have equal status in federal courts and in all federal institutions
• Citizens have the right to receive federal government services in either English or French
• 98 percent of Canadians speak English or French: 
• 59% speak English only, 
• 22% speak French only, 
• and 17% speak both

• There are more than 85% of Canadian French in Quebec 
• Ontario has the largest Canadian French population outside Quebec
• New Brunswick, is the only officially bilingual province

So what is Canadian English and Canadian French?

Canadian English combines elements of British English and American English:

• For example, some words in American English end with -or and -er, such as color or center, but in Canada, they use the British spellings: colour, honour and centre 
• In other cases, Canadians and Americans differ from British spelling, such as for nouns like curb and tire, which in British English are spelled: kerb and tyre 
• Canadian spelling sometimes, but not always, follows the British way of doubling consonants when adding suffixes to words: travelled, counselling, and controllable  to the American traveled, counseling, and controllable 

Canadian French refers to the French varieties spoken in Canada, mostly Quebec, but also includes the other dialects spoken:

• Quebec French is spoken in Quebec, along with Magoua, Chaouin and Brayon French
• Acadian French is spoken in the Canadian Maritimes and is the ancestor of Cajun French. 
• Chiac is a dialect originating out of the Moncton area of New Brunswick, incorporating many English words, pronunciations and linguistic rules. 
• Métis French is one of the traditional languages of the Métis people.
• Newfoundland French is spoken by some people in Newfoundland. 
• Joual can be heard in Montreal. 

While there are several dialects of Canadian French, all represent the French language spoken in the region during the colonel period 17th and 18th century. Canadian French differs from European French in many aspects, just like American English differs from British English. The differences between the Canadian French and European French are related to terminology, spelling, and punctuation. For instance, French Canadians will write “Félicitations!", where French European will use “Félicitations !” with a space. French Canadian speakers generally use language with less English influence than the European French. [Read the Language Blog for more on the differences.]

The national winter sport in Canada is ice hockey. The national ice hockey team is among the best in the world - if you really want to run (or skate) with the pros - no matter which language you speak, when it comes to ice hockey in Canada – you’re Canadian, and if you can hit the puck and glide on ice, fellow Canadians will cheer you on in both languages.

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