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Toronto slang

Multicultural Toronto English (MTE) is a multi-ethnic dialect of Canadian English used in the Greater Toronto Area, particularly among young non-white working-class speakers. Emerging in the early 1990s and first documented in linguistic research in the late 2010s and early 2020s, the dialect is popularly recognized by its phonology and lexicon, commonly known as the Toronto accent and Toronto slang, respectively. It is a byproduct of the city's multiculturalism, generally associated with Millennial and Gen Z populations in ethnically diverse districts of Toronto. It is spoken specifically within the Greater Toronto Area, Hamilton, Barrie, and Ottawa.

History

The origin of Toronto's slang and accent can be traced back to widespread migration from the Caribbean, East Africa, and the Middle East to Canada from the 1960s to the 1990s. During this period, a significant influx of immigrants from countries such as Jamaica, Trinidad, Guyana, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, and Ethiopia predominantly settled in Toronto and other parts of the Greater Toronto Area. With many of these immigrants fleeing war, conflict, and poor economic conditions, they were left with limited financial resources and, as a result, found homes in Toronto's lower-income communities. These neighbourhoods rapidly transformed into vibrant melting pots, filled with a diverse array of cultures and ethnic backgrounds. This cultural amalgamation played a crucial role in developing MTE, which is rooted in Toronto's multiculturalism and draws heavy influence from Caribbean, East African, and Middle Eastern languages. Towards the end of the 90s, native Toronto rapper Kardinal Offishall released his Billboard-charting single "BaKardi Slang" showcasing a variety of the cities slang throughout the lyrics and signaling the dialect was already significantly developed by this time.

The second-generation descendants of these immigrants significantly contributed to embedding Toronto's distinctive slang and accent into the city's culture. Faced with limited economic opportunities within their communities, these children of the initial immigrant influx turned to creative outlets like rap music, fashion, and athletics for both expression and livelihood. Their influence as in these areas helped shape the city's popular culture, especially among the youth in the Greater Toronto Area. Consequently, their unique manner of speaking, shaped by the aforementioned multiculturalism of their communities, gained widespread adoption throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, given their status as local tastemakers. 2006 marked the first mention of Toronto's slang or accent in any formal or academic research. The rise of blogging in during this time period played a pivotal role in documenting the use and development of MTE. One notable example is Jane-Finch.com, a community-driven archive dedicated to the Jane and Finch area that captured key examples of MTE's use throughout the decade. Furthermore, documentaries produced by local broadcasters such as CityTV and CBC served to spotlight the dialect's presence in the city. This linguistic evolution during this period not only reflected Toronto's multicultural heritage but also served as a unifying cultural element for the city.

The late 2000s and much of the 2010s marked a pivotal era of growth for MTE, significantly driven by the third-generation descendants of the original immigration wave. The brewing Toronto music scene, deeply rooted in the artistic expressions of Toronto’s lower-income and culturally diverse working-class communities, began receiving nationwide attention. The emergence of YouTube and streaming services revolutionized the music industry by dramatically reducing the barriers to music distribution, thus enabling local artists to reach vast audiences beyond the traditional mediums of CDs and mixtapes. Neighborhoods such as Regent Park, Jane and Finch, Lawrence Heights, Chester Lee, Alexandra Park, and Rexdale became hotbeds of cultural growth, producing Rap and R&B artists like Smoke Dawg, Robin Banks, Top5, Pengz, K Money, and Moula1st, to name a few. These artists had significant influence among the youth of the Greater Toronto Area; the use of MTE in their lyrics, a reflection of the dialect spoken within their communities, spread contagiously as they began to ammass millions of views and followers in the hundreds of thousands. Consequently, the dialect once confined to their lower-income communities began breaking ethnic and socioeconomic barriers, making its way into suburbs and highschools, transforming Toronto's linguistic landscape. The impact of this cultural and linguistic shift was further magnified by the advent of social media. Platforms such as 6ixBuzz and Waveroom put a spotlight on the culture brewing in these communities through short-form, easily digestible content, attracting millions of followers. This significantly contributed to the widespread adoption and normalization of MTE seen today.

Phonology

As in Standard Canadian English, this dialect features rhoticity, the Low Back Merger Shift, and GOOSE fronting (led by women speakers). Canadian raising also still exists, however, possibly less so than among Standard Canadian speakers.

The distinct accent features of Multicultural Toronto English include the TRAP vowel before a nasal consonant being unraised or only slightly raised and the GOAT vowel being monophthongal, both of which are "distinctly non-normative" in 21st-century Standard Canadian English and led by men in the Toronto area. Th-stopping is a variable feature, likely adopted from Patois, for instance with words like youth, thing, and them colloquially spelled as yute, ting, and dem.

Vocabulary

Here is a list of common vocabulary in Multicultural Toronto English:

Misconceptions

The increasing criticism of the Toronto accent as "fake" or indicative of a "ghetto" identity reflects a form of linguicism, akin to the discrimination encountered by speakers of African American Vernacular English in the United States. Such perceptions suggest that non-standard linguistic features are indicative of low intelligence or poor education; a perspective rooted in classism, racism, and xenophobia. Specifically, this xenophobia manifests as it associates multicultural expressions—which the dialect is an amalgamation and celebration of—with the negative stereotypes of being a non-contributing member of society. Additionally, the prevalent social media claim that "People don’t speak like this in Toronto" reinforces the belief that only speakers of "proper" English are fully functional members of society, while others should be subconsciously dismissed. By dismissing Toronto's diverse linguistic expression as merely "fake" or "ghetto," there is a failure to recognize it as a legitimate part of the city’s cultural identity.

This misconception often stems from the dialect’s incorrect adoption and use by outsiders, particularly in suburbs and cities outside Toronto, such as Hamilton, Barrie, and Brampton. These regions are significantly disconnected from the communities and localities where the culture and dialect organically developed. As a result, the accent’s portrayal by individuals from these areas can sometimes appear inauthentic or caricatured, which heavily distortes its true character and contributes to a negative perception of its genuine use.

Compounding this issue are broader misunderstandings regarding the development of MTE. Critics have accused it of mimicking Multicultural London English, However, this is not the case; Both dialects have evolved independently, sharing roots in similar immigration patterns, thus showcasing unique sociolinguistic developments reflective of their respective cities’ multicultural landscapes. Furthermore, the spotlight has often been placed on public figures such as Drake or PartyNextDoor, attributing the development and popularization of the slang to them. This overlooks the deeper, historical, and community-driven origins of the language. In reality, the dialect predates careers like Drake's by decades, something even he had acknowledged before adopting it himself.

Discussions around cultural appropriation have arisen in regards to MTE and its origins. Some have argued the possibility of its usage veering into the territory of cultural appropriation. Others argue the dialect serves as a fusion of diverse cultural elements, reflecting the appreciation and mutual understanding within Toronto's diverse communities.

In popular culture

From 2016 to 2019, Toronto-based comedy group 4YE in collaboration with Bell Media released a multi-part series featuring "Tyco" and "Judge Tyco," caricatures of the stereotypical Toronto man, set in the early 2000s.
In 2017, Drake was featured in a Toronto-based comedy skit "T-Dot Goon Scrap DVD 2" produced by 4YE, in which he made heavy use of Toronto's slang and accent.
In a Vanity Fair YouTube video, Shawn Mendes, a popular Canadian singer and songwriter, was featured, teaching about Canadian slang (primarily Toronto slang vocabulary).