Canadian raising
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Canadian raising (also sometimes known as English diphthong raising
In the U.S., aboot [əˈbut], an exaggerated version of the raised pronunciation of about [əˈbʌʊt], is a stereotype of Canadian English.[2]
Although the symbol ⟨ʌ⟩ is defined as an open-mid back unrounded vowel in the International Phonetic Alphabet, ⟨ʌɪ⟩ or ⟨ʌʊ⟩ may signify any raised vowel that contrasts with unraised /aɪ/ or /aʊ/, when the exact quality of the raised vowel is not important in the given context.
Description
Phonetic environment
In general, Canadian raising affects vowels before voiceless consonants like /f/, /θ/, /t/, and /s/. Vowels before voiced consonants like /v/, /ð/, /d/, and /z/ are usually not raised.
However, several studies indicate that this rule is not completely accurate, and have attempted to formulate different rules.
A study of three speakers in Meaford, Ontario, showed that pronunciation of the diphthong /aɪ/ fell on a continuum between raised and unraised. Raising is influenced by voicing of the following consonant, but it may also be influenced by the sound before the diphthong. Frequently the diphthong was raised when preceded by a coronal: in gigantic, dinosaur, and Siberia.[3]
Raising before /r/, as in wire, iris, and fire, has been documented in some American accents.[4]
Raising of /aɪ/ before certain voiced consonants is most prominent in the
Raising can apply to compound words. Hence, the first vowel in high school [ˈhʌɪskul] as a term meaning "a secondary school for students approximately 14–18 years old" may be raised, whereas high school [ˌhaɪ ˈskul] with the literal meaning of "a school that is high (e.g. in elevation)" is unaffected. (The two terms are also distinguished by the position of the stress accent, as shown.) The same is true of "high chair".[6]
However, frequently it does not. One study of speakers in Rochester, New York and Minnesota found a very inconsistent pattern of /aɪ/ raising before voiceless consonants in certain prefixes; for example, the numerical prefix bi- was raised in bicycle but not bisexual or bifocals. Likewise, the vowel was consistently kept low when used in a prefix in words like dichotomy and anti-Semitic. This pattern may have to do with stress or familiarity of the word to the speaker; however, these relations are still inconsistent.[7]
In most dialects of North American English, intervocalic /t/ and /d/ are pronounced as an
Result
The raised variant of /aɪ/ typically becomes [ɐɪ]. In most of Canada, the raised vowel is further front than /aɪ/,[9] and in traditional New York City English, /aɪ/ is backed towards [ɑɪ] except before voiceless consonants, resulting in a distinction based more on frontness,[citation needed] but in Philadelphia it may be more back.[5]
The raised variant of /aʊ/ varies by dialect, with [ɐʊ~ʌʊ] more common in Western Canada and a fronted variant [ɜʊ~ɛʊ] commonly heard in Central Canada.[2] In any case, the open vowel component of the diphthongs changes to a mid vowel ([ʌ], [ɐ], [ɛ] or [ə]).
Geographic distribution
Inside Canada
As its name implies, Canadian raising is found throughout most of Canada, though the exact phonetic quality of Canadian raising may differ throughout the country. In raised
Outside Canada
Canadian raising is not restricted to Canada. Raising of both
Raising of just
The raising of
See also
Notes
- ^ a b Swan, Julia Thomas (January 1, 2021). "Same PRICE Different HOUSE". Swan.
- ^ a b Boberg 2004, p. 360.
- ^ Hall 2005, pp. 194–5.
- ^ Vance 1987, p. 200.
- ^ a b c Fruehwald 2007.
- ^ Vance 1987, pp. 197–8.
- ^ Vance 1987.
- ^ Vance 1987, p. 202.
- ^ Boberg, Charles. "Boberg (2008) JENGL paper on Regional Phonetic Differentiation in Canadian English".
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(help) - ^ Boberg, Charles (2008). "Regional Phonetic Differentiation in Standard Canadian English". Journal of English Linguistics, 36(2), 129–154, p. 140-141. https://doi.org/10.1177/0075424208316648
- ^ a b c Labov, Ash & Boberg 2005, p. 203.
- ^ a b Boberg 2010, p. 156.
- ^ "The Rise of Canadian Raising of au in New Orleans". pubs.aip.org. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
- ^ Davis & Berkson 2021.
- ^ Kaye 2012.
- ^ Hickey 2007, p. 335.
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-3-11-017532-5.
- ISBN 978-0-521-87432-8.
- Britain, David (1997). "Dialect Contact and Phonological Reallocation: 'Canadian Raising' in the English Fens". Language in Society. 26 (1): 15–46. S2CID 145242765.
- S2CID 247196050.
- Dailey-O'Cain, Jennifer (1997). "Canadian Raising in a Midwestern U.S. City". Language Variation and Change. 9 (1): 107–120. S2CID 146637083.
- Davis, Stuart; Berkson, Kelly (2021). American Raising. Duke University Press.
- Fruehwald, Josef T. (2007). "The Spread of Raising: Opacity, lexicalization, and diffusion" (PDF). College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal. University of Pennsylvania.
- Hall, Kathleen Currie (2005). Alderete, John; Han, Chung-hye; Kochetov, Alexei (eds.). Defining Phonological Rules over Lexical Neighbourhoods: Evidence from Canadian Raising (PDF). West Coast Conference on Formal Linguistics. Somerville, Massachusetts: Cascadilla Proceedings Project. ISBN 978-1-57473-407-2.
- Hickey, Raymond (2007). Irish English: History and Present-day Forms. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-85299-9.
- Kaye, Jonathan (2012). "Canadian Raising, Eh?". In Cyran, Eugeniusz; Kardela, Henryk; Szymanek, Bogdan (eds.). Sound Structure and Sense: Studies in Memory of Edmund Gussmann. Lublin, Poland: Wydawnictwo KUL. pp. 321–352. ISBN 978-83-7702-381-5.
- ISBN 978-3-11-020683-8.
- ISSN 0043-7956.
- Rogers, Henry (2000). The Sounds of Language: An Introduction to Phonetics. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. ISBN 978-0-582-38182-7.
- Vance, Timothy J. (1987). "'Canadian Raising' in Some Dialects of the Northern United States". American Speech. 62 (3): 195–210. S2CID 1081730.
- Wells, John C. (1982). Accents of English. Cambridge University Press.