Toronto slang

[10][11][12] 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.

[16][17] 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.

[19] 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.

[21] 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.

[30][31][32][33] 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 amass millions of views and followers in the hundreds of thousands.

[34][35][36] 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.

[39][40] As in Standard Canadian English, this dialect features rhoticity, the Low Back Merger Shift, and GOOSE fronting (led by women speakers).

Such perceptions suggest that non-standard linguistic features are indicative of low intelligence or poor education; a perspective rooted in classism, racism, and xenophobia.

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.

[8] As a result, the accent's portrayal by individuals from these areas can sometimes appear inauthentic or caricatured, which heavily distorts its true character and contributes to a negative perception of its genuine use.