Canadian English related category Category:Canadian English pronunciation
Phonology and phonetics
In terms of the major sound systems (phonologies) of English around the world, Canadian English aligns most closely to American English, though it does also possess certain elements of British English. Both Canadian and American English are grouped together under a common North American English sound system; the mainstream Canadian accent ("Standard Canadian") is often compared to the very similar and largely overlapping "General American" accent, an accent widely spoken throughout the United States and perceived there as being relatively lacking in any noticeable regional features.
Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) shows the largest dialect diversity. Northern Canada is, according to William Labov, a dialect region in formation where a homogeneous English dialect has not yet formed. A very homogeneous dialect exists in Western and Central Canada, a situation that is similar to that of the Western United States. Labov identifies an "Inland Canada" region that concentrates all of the defining features of the dialect centred on the Prairies (a region in Western Canada that mainly includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and is known for its grasslands and plains), with more variable patterns including the metropolitan areas of Vancouver and Toronto. This dialect forms a dialect continuum with Western US English, sharply differentiated from Inland Northern US English of the central and eastern Great Lakes region.
Canadian English raises the diphthong onsets of diphthongs /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ to /ə/ or /ʌ/ before voiceless segments.
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