Canadian English

Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) is the variety of English spoken in Canada. According to the 2011 census, English was the first language of approximately 19 million Canadians, or 57% of the population; the remainder of the population were native speakers of French (22%) or other languages (allophones, 21%). A larger number, 28 million people, reported using English as their dominant language. 82% of Canadians outside Quebec reported speaking English natively, but within Quebec the figure was just 7.7% as most of its residents are native speakers of Quebec French.

Canadian English contains elements of British English and American English, as well as many Canadianisms. A challenging issue is the identification of characteristic usage patterns in CanE, patterns that need not be "unique" in an absolute sense in order to qualify a Canadianism. Work in that area is complex yet is becoming more and more available (see, e.g. here for an account on the "uniqueness fallacy" in CanE). In some contexts, the term "Canadianism" refers to features in the areas of phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax, but more generally the term's use is preferred in the lexicon, i.e. vocabulary. While on a general level "the English spoken in Canada is most closely related to the variety recognised around the world as 'General American'.", work since Avis (1954) has shown that characteristics of CanE are clearly identifiable in relation to AmE varieties. The Canadian and American Great Lakes regions have dialect similarities, in particular, North Central U.S. speech having extensive cultural and economic ties with Ontario; meanwhile, the sound system of a bi-national Pacific Northwest dialect is shared between the Northwestern United States and British Columbia.

Trousers

Trousers (pants in North America) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and dresses).

In the UK the word "pants" generally means underwear and not trousers.Shorts are similar to trousers, but with legs that come down only to around the area of the knee, higher or lower depending on the style of the garment. To distinguish them from shorts, trousers may be called "long trousers" in certain contexts such as school uniform, where tailored shorts may be called "short trousers", especially in the UK.

In most of the Western world, trousers have been worn since ancient times and throughout the Medieval period, becoming the most common form of lower-body clothing for adult males in the modern world, although shorts are also widely worn, and kilts and other garments may be worn in various regions and cultures. Breeches were worn instead of trousers in early modern Europe by some men in higher classes of society. Since the mid-20th century, trousers have increasingly been worn by women as well. Jeans, made of denim, are a form of trousers for casual wear, now widely worn all over the world by both sexes. Shorts are often preferred in hot weather or for some sports and also often by children and teenagers. Trousers are worn on the hips or waist and may be held up by their own fastenings, a belt or suspenders (braces). Leggings are form-fitting trousers, of a clingy material, often knitted cotton and spandex (elastane).

Irish people

The Irish people (Irish: Muintir na hÉireann or Na hÉireannaigh) are a Celtic nation and ethnic group who originate from the island of Ireland and its associated islands. Ireland has been inhabited for about 9,000 years according to archaeological studies (see Prehistoric Ireland). For most of Ireland's recorded history, the Irish have been primarily a Gaelic people (see Gaelic Ireland). Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland in the 12th century, while England's 16th/17th century (re)conquest and colonization of Ireland brought a large number of English and Lowland Scots to parts of the island, most notably Northern Ireland, where they form a separate and distinct ethnic group.

There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. The 6th-century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the "fathers of Europe", followed by Kilian of Würzburg and Vergilius of Salzburg. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the "father of chemistry". Famous Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Robert McClure, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides; and an Irishman was the first European to set foot on American soil in Columbus' expedition of 1492.

Canadian (train)

The Canadian (Le Canadien) is a Canadian transcontinental passenger train operated by Via Rail Canada with service between Union Station in Toronto, Ontario, and Pacific Central Station in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Before 1955 the Canadian was a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) train between Toronto and Chicago. In 1955 CPR renamed its transcontinental route between Montreal/Toronto and Vancouver the Canadian, with new streamlined trains. Via Rail took over in 1978, and in 1990 reduced the Canadian to Toronto - Vancouver service primarily along Canadian National tracks.

Canadian Pacific