To coincide with Canada’s 150th anniversary, the Second Edition of A Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-2) has just been released. Congratulations to Stefan Dollinger and Margery Fee, DCHP-2’s co-editors and everyone involved with the project!
In 1967, on the occasion of the Canadian Centennial, the first historical dictionary of Canadian English, the Dictionary of Canadianisms (DCHP-1), was published (see www.dchp.ca/dchp1). Fifty years later, and on the occasion of Canada’s 150th year, DCHP-2 is ready. The revised and updated new edition is the work of a team of UBC linguists of English over 11 years and explains, for 1239 meanings for the first time, why a given meaning is Canadian (in 1103 cases) and why not (in 136 cases). Words such as garburator, parkade and eh are explained in accessible language based on precise data, such as newly discovered and less-‐widely known Canadianisms, e.g. idiot string, take up a test etc. or to table (legislation) etc. In addition to the 10,974 entries taken over from DCHP-1, DCHP-2 offers information on some 12,000 Canadian words, meanings and expressions, past to present. The Dictionary is available online at www.dchp.ca/dchp2.
Also see:
- A Delightful Dictionary for Canadian English (New Yorker)
- Interview with Margery Fee on CBC TV’s The National for March 12 (advance to 14:50)
- Canada at 50: a new historical dictionary for a maturing nation
- Dictionary of Canadianisms is ‘tabled’ and ‘all-dressed (Globe and Mail)
