North American English

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the regional dialect in the northern United States, see Northern American English.

North American English
RegionNorthern America (United States, Canada)
Indo-European
  • Anglic
Early forms
DialectsAmerican English, Canadian English and their subdivisions
Latin (English alphabet)
Unified English Braille[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3–
Glottolognort3314
IETFen-021

North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety of the English language as spoken in the United States and Canada. Because of their related histories and cultures,[2] plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), vocabulary, and grammar of American English and Canadian English, the two spoken varieties are often grouped together under a single category.[3][4] Canadians are generally tolerant of both British and American spellings, with British spellings of certain words (e.g., colour) preferred in more formal settings and in Canadian print media; for some other words the American spelling prevails over the British (e.g., tire rather than tyre).[5]

Dialects of American English spoken by

better source needed] The list of divergent words becomes longer if considering regional Canadian dialects, especially as spoken in the Atlantic provinces and parts of Vancouver Island
where significant pockets of British culture still remain.

There are a considerable number of

dialect mixture that solidified by the mid-18th century.[8]

Dialects

The American English major regional dialects (in
General American
" accent that resists the marked features of their region. This map does not account for speakers of ethnic or racial dialects.
The Canadian English's major regional dialects (in
General American
" accent that resists the marked features of their region. This map does not account for speakers of ethnic or racial dialects.

American English

Main article: American English
  • General American

Ethnic American English

Regional American English

Canadian English

Main article: Canadian English

Table of accents

Below, several major North American English accents are defined by particular characteristics:

Accent name Most populous city Strong /aʊ/ fronting Strong /oʊ/ fronting Strong /u/ fronting Strong
/ɑr/ fronting		 Cot–caught merger
Pin–pen merger
/æ/ raising system
 Other defining criteria[11]
African-American Mixed No No No Mixed Yes[12] pre-nasal African-American Vowel Shift / Variable non-rhoticity / L-vocalization / Th-fronting
Atlantic Canadian Halifax Mixed No Yes Yes Yes No various Canadian raising
General American
 No No No No Mixed No pre-nasal
Inland Northern U.S.
 Chicago No No No Yes No No general
Northern Cities Vowel Shift
Midland U.S. Indianapolis Yes Yes Yes No Mixed Mixed pre-nasal
New Orleans New Orleans Yes Yes Yes No No No split Mid-Atlantic Back Vowel Shift / Non-rhoticity /
horse-hoarse distinction
/ Canadian Raising / L-vocalization
New York City New York City Yes No No[13] No No No split Mid-Atlantic Back Vowel Shift / Variable non-rhoticity / L-vocalization / Th-stopping / Variable Father-bother distinction / Northeastern /-ɒr-/
North-Central (Upper Midwestern) U.S. Minneapolis No No No Yes Yes No pre-nasal & pre-velar
Northeastern New England Boston No No No Yes Yes No pre-nasal Variable non-rhoticity / Canadian raising / Father-bother distinction / Northeastern /-ɒr-/
Philadelphia Philadelphia Yes Yes Yes No No No split Mid-Atlantic Back Vowel Shift / L-vocalization / Northeastern /-ɒr-/ / Merry–Murray merger
Rhode Island Providence No No No No No No pre-nasal Mid-Atlantic Back Vowel Shift / Variable non-rhoticity / Canadian raising / Northeastern /-ɒr-/
Southern U.S. San Antonio Yes Yes Yes No Mixed Yes pre-nasal
wine-whine distinction
Standard Canadian Toronto No No Yes No Yes No pre-nasal & pre-velar Canadian raising /
Low Back Merger Shift
Western U.S. Los Angeles No Mixed Yes No Yes No pre-nasal
Low Back Merger Shift
Western Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Yes Yes Yes No Yes Mixed pre-nasal /aʊ/ glide weakening / L-vocalization
Accent name Most populous city Strong /aʊ/ fronting Strong /oʊ/ fronting Strong /u/ fronting Strong
/ɑr/ fronting		 Cot–caught merger Pin–pen merger /æ/ raising system Other defining criteria[14]

Phonology

Main article: American English § Phonology

A majority of North American English (for example, in contrast to British English) includes phonological features that concern consonants, such as

yod-dropping
(with tuesday pronounced /ˈtuzdeɪ/, not /ˈtjuzdeɪ/). The last item is more advanced in American English than Canadian English.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Unified English Braille (UEB)". Braille Authority of North America (BANA). 2 November 2016. Archived from the original on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  2. ^ Chambers, J.K. (1998). "Canadian English: 250 Years in the Making". The Canadian Oxford Dictionary (2nd ed.). p. xi.
  3. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006)
  4. ISBN 0-340-80834-9
    .
  5. ISBN 0-920009-32-8
    , p. 308.
  6. ^ M.H. Scargill. (1957). "Sources of Canadian English", The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, 56.4, pp. 610–614.
  7. ^ John Woitkowitz (2012). "Arctic Sovereignty and the Cold War: Asymmetry, Interdependence, and Ambiguity". Retrieved 2012-03-13.
  8. ^ Longmore, Paul K. (2007). "'Good English without Idiom or Tone': The Colonial Origins of American Speech". The Journal of Interdisciplinary History. MIT. 37 (4): 513–542.
  9. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006:148)
  10. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006:148)
  11. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006:146)
  12. ^ Labov (1972), p. 19.
  13. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006:101, 103)
  14. ^ Labov, Ash & Boberg (2006:146)

Bibliography

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