West/Central Canadian English Totally Explained

Everything about West Central Canadian English totally explained

The West/Central Canadian English dialect is one of the largest and most homogeneous dialect areas in North America. It forms a dialect continuum with the accent in the Western United States, and borders the dialect regions of North, Inland North, and North Central. While it's one of the most homogeneous in that the regional differences inside the dialect area are very small, it has few unique features. It is very similar to General American English.

Pronunciation

A table containing the consonant phonemes is given below

	Bilabial	Labio- dental	Labio- velar	Dental	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	p b				t d			k g
Affricate						tʃ dʒ
Nasal	m				n			ŋ
Fricative		f v		θ ð	s z	ʃ ʒ			h
Approximant			(ʍ) w		ɹ		j
Lateral approximant					l

The phoneme /ʍ/ is present only in older speakers who have not undergone the wine-whine merger.
The vowel phonemes are shown in the table below:

Monophthongs	Front	Central	Central rhotacized	Back
Close	i			u
Near-close	ɪ			ʊ
Close-mid	e			o
Mid		ə	ɚ
Open-mid	ɛ		ɝ	ʌ
Open	æ			ɑ

The diphthongs are shown in the next table:

Diphthongs	Closer component is front	Closer component is back
Opener component is unrounded	aɪ	aʊ
Opener component is rounded	ɔɪ

While the West/Central dialect is mutually intelligible with many dialects of English spoken in England, especially Received Pronunciation, in general it preserves more archaic features, that existed before the dialects split.

Unlike RP, the West/Central dialect is rhotic. This means it maintains the pronunciation of r before consonants. Rhoticity has been largely influenced by Hiberno-English, Scottish English, and West Country English. The sound corresponding to the letter "R" is a retroflex or alveolar approximant rather than a trill or a tap. The 'er' sound of (stressed) fur or (unstressed) butter, which is represented in IPA as stressed [ɝ] or unstressed [ɚ] is realized in Canadian English as a monophthongal r-colored vowel.
It has also not shifted [æ] to [ɑ] (the so-called "broad A") before [f], [s], [θ], [ð], [z], [v] alone or preceded by [n].

Both RP, and the West/Central dialect have gone through the following changes:

The horse-hoarse merger of the vowels [ɔ] and [oʊ] before 'r', making pairs like horse/hoarse, corps/core, for/four, morning/mourning etc. homophones.

The wine-whine merger making pairs like wine/whine, wet/whet, Wales/whales, wear/where etc. homophones, in most cases eliminating /ʍ/, the voiceless labiovelar fricative. This is preserved in some older speakers, as well as being an archaicism. The following changes are innovations, and don't occur in RP. It shares these changes with General American.

The, making father and bother rhyme.

The replacement of the lot vowel with the strut vowel in most utterances of the words was, of, from, what, everybody, nobody, somebody, anybody, and because.

Vowel merger before intervocalic /r/.

The merger of [ʊɹ] and [ɝ] after palatals in some words, so that cure, pure, mature and sure rhyme with fir in some speech registers for some speakers.

Some speakers have Dropping of [j] after alveolar consonants so that new, duke, Tuesday, suit, resume, lute are pronounced /nuː/, /duːk/, /tuːzdeɪ/, /suːt/, /ɹɪzuːm/, /luːt/.

Both intervocalic /nt/ and /n/ may be realized as [n] or [ɾ̃], making winter and winner homophones for some speakers. This doesn't occur when the second syllable is stressed, as in entail.

Laxing of /e/, /i/ and /u/ to /ɛ/, /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ before /ɹ/, causing pronunciations like [pɛɹ], [pɪɹ] and [pjʊɹ] for pair, peer and pure for some speakers.

The flapping of intervocalic /t/ and /d/ to alveolar tap [ɾ] before reduced vowels. The words ladder and latter are mostly or entirely homophonous, possibly distinguished only by the length of preceding vowel. For some speakers, the merger is incomplete and 't' before a reduced vowel is sometimes not tapped following [eɪ] or [ɪ] when it represents underlying 't'; thus greater and grader, and unbitten and unbidden are distinguished.

The vowels in words such as Mary, marry, merry are merged to the open-mid front unrounded vowel [ɛ], except in Quebec. The following changes are shared with the Western dialect in the US:

Traditionally diphthongal vowels such as [oʊ] as in boat and [eɪ], as in bait, have acquired qualities much closer to monophthongs in some speakers. However, the continuing presence of slight offglides (if less salient than those of, say, British Received Pronunciation) and convention in IPA transcription for English account for continuing use of [oʊ] and [eɪ].

The cot-caught merger exists. A notable exception occurs with some speakers over the age of 60, especially in rural areas in the Prairies, although the merger is the most widespread overall.

For most speakers, /ɛ/ is realized as [e] before g. This also occurs in Utah English.

The words origin, Florida, horrible, quarrel, warren, are all generally realized as [-ɔr-], rather than [-ɑr-].

/u/ is slightly fronted after coronals.

The /iŋ/ ending in words of more than two syllables is realized as [in], [ɪn], or [ɪŋ].

Milk is realized as [mɛlk] by some speakers, [mɪlk] by others, although words such as pillow are pronounced with [-ɪl-]. The following changes are shared with the Western dialect in the U.S., but to a lesser extent:
The Canadian Shift: The vowels in the words cot and caught merge to [ɒ]. The /æ/ of bat is retracted to [a] (except before nasals): indeed, /æ/ is lower in this variety than almost all other North American dialects; the retraction of /æ/ was independently observed in Vancouver and is more advanced for Ontarians and women than for people from the Prairies or Atlantic Canada and men. Then, /ɛ/ and /ɪ/ are lowered in the direction of [æ] and [ɛ] and/or retracted; studies actually disagree on the trajectory of the shift.
The following changes are shared with the Pacific Northwest English dialect, as well as other dialects:

æ-tensing /æ/ is tense before velar stops. This can cause words such as "bag" and "beg" to sound very similar, and some speakers pronounce both as [beg]. Some speakers, especially in Ontario have tense æ-tensing before nasals as well.

Tomorrow is generally pronounced as [-ɔr-], instead of [-ɑr-].

The following feature is most prominent in the Prairies, Ontario, and the Maritimes: "Canadian raising": diphthongs are "raised" before voiceless consonants (for example, [p], [t], [k], [s], [f]). For example, IPA /aɪ/ (the vowel of "eye") and /aʊ/ (the vowel of "loud") become [ʌɪ] and [ʌʊ], respectively, the /a/ component of the diphthong going from a low vowel to a mid vowel ([ʌ]). Note also that this phenomenon preserves the recoverability of the phoneme /t/ in "writer" despite the North American English process of flapping, which merges /t/ and /d/ into [ɾ] before unstressed vowels, so "writer" and "rider" can be distinguished from each other even though the t and d in those words are pronounced the same. The most noticeable feature is the raising of /aʊ/ to [ʌʊ] because [əʊ] is an allophone of /oʊ/ (as in "road") in many other dialects, so the (mainly Eastern) Canadian pronunciation of "about the house" may sound like *"a boat the hoas" to speakers of dialects without the raising, and in many cases is misheard or exaggerated to "aboot the hoose". Some stand-up and situation comedians, as well as television shows actually do exaggerate the pronunciation to *"aboot the hoos" for comic effect, for example in the American television series South Park. However, as it's untrue, this exaggeration can be considered offensive by some Canadians. In contrast to General American:

The /ɑ/ of foreign loan words in words such asdrama or Iraq are usually pronounced like the a in bat: [dɹæmə], [ɪɹæk].

Been is usually pronounced /bin/ rather than /bɪn/.

Words such as borrow, sorry, and sorrow are generally pronounced with [-ɔr-], instead of with [-ɑr-].

Americans sometimes claim to be able to recognize the Western/Central Canadian dialect instantly by their use of the word eh. However, only a certain usage of eh (detailed in the article) is peculiar to Canada. It is common in southern Ontario, the Maritimes and the Prairie provinces. eh is used quite frequently in the North Central dialect, so a Canadian accent is often detected in people from North Dakota, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

Canadian raising

Regional Variation

British Columbia

The dialect is very similar to the English spoken in the Prairies and Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. BC is home to a very diverse population. In parts of the Fraser Valley the intonation and cadence of Dutch and Mennonite German have influenced local English. British accents and a wide range of European and Asian second-language flavoured English have always been common, to the point of the British flavour being identifiably a hallmark of early 20th Century British Columbia, as has been English as spoken by First Nations peoples, which is distinct as an accent but also remains largely undocumented. Unlike in the prairies, Canadian raising (one of the most noticeable features of Canadian English), found in words such as "about" and "writer" is receding in BC, and many speakers don't raise /aɪ/ before voiceless consonants. Younger speakers in the Greater Vancouver area don't even raise /aʊ/, causing "about" to sound like "abowt". The "o" in such words as "holy," "goal," "load," "know," etc. is pronounced as a back and rounded [o], but not as rounded as in the Prairies where there's a strong Scandinavian, Slavic and German influence. The interrogative "eh" isn't used as frequently as in the rest of Canada. Listen to a sample of BC English

Chinook Jargon

Pacific Northwest English and British Columbian English have several words still in current use which are loanwords from the Chinook Jargon, which was widely spoken throughout British Columbia by all ethnicities well into the middle of the 20th Century. Skookum, potlatch, muckamuck, saltchuck, and other Chinook Jargon words are widely used by people who don't speak Chinook Jargon. These words tend to be shared with, but are not as common in, the states of Oregon, Washington, Alaska and, to a lesser degree, Idaho and western Montana.

Prairies

A strong Canadian raising exists in the prairie regions together with certain older usages such as chesterfield and front room also associated with the Maritimes. Aboriginal Canadians are a larger and more conspicuous population in prairie cities than elsewhere in the country and certain elements of aboriginal speech in English are sometimes to be heard. Similarly, the linguistic legacy, mostly intonation but also speech patterns and syntax, of the Scandinavian, Slavic and German settlers — who are far more numerous and historically important in the Prairies than in Ontario or the Maritimes — can be heard in the general milieu. Again, the large Métis population in Saskatchewan also carries with it certain linguistic traits inherited from French, aboriginal and Celtic forebears.
   The noun bluff (and the adjective bluffy) in reference to an aspen and willow grove typically surrounding a slough, appears to be unknown outside the Canadian prairies, whereas the eastern Canadian and international use of the term in reference to a low cliff or abutment, is largely unknown in western Canada and causes some puzzlement to newly arrived westerners in Ontario.
   The phrase whack of is often used in western Canada to refer to a large amount, for example, We sure got a whole whack of snow in town last week!.
   Prairie housewives formerly used the somewhat disparaging adjective boughten, also used in the Northern U.S., in reference to bread purchased commercially rather than home-baked. The word is now considered nonstandard, and rarely used.
   In Saskatchewan, the term "bunny hug" refers to a hooded sweatshirt.
   Other praire terms include:
Slough: a shallow pond that's located in a field that usually dries up in the summer.
Dugout: a small, artificial (or artificially-deepened) body of water, often dug to provide soil for road construction.
Chinook: a warm winter wind that causes sudden increase in temperature (20-30 degrees in a matter of an hour or two) Listen to a sample of Prairies English

Ontario

Canadian raising is often quite strong in Ontario.

Midwestern Ontario

The subregion of Midwestern Ontario consists of the Counties of Huron, Bruce, Grey, and Perth. The "Queen's Bush" as the area was called, didn't experience communication with Southwestern and Central dialects until the early 20th century. Thus, a strong accent similar to Central Ontarian is heard, yet many different phrasings exist. It is typical in the area to drop phonetic sounds to make shorter contractions, such as: Prolly (Probably), Goin' (Going), and "Wuts goin' on tonight? D'ya wanna do sumthin'?" It is particularly strong in the County of Bruce, so much that it's commonly referred to as being the Bruce Cownian (Bruce Countian) accent. Also 'er' sounds are often pronounced 'air', with "were" sounding more like "wear".

Ottawa Valley

The Ottawa Valley has its own distinct accent, known as the Ottawa Valley Twang.

Eastern Ontario

Canadian raising isn't as strong in Eastern Ontario as it's in the rest of the province. In Prescott and Russell, parts of Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry and Eastern Ottawa, French accents are often mixed with English ones due to the high Franco-Ontarian population there. In Renfrew County a separate dialect known as Ottawa Valley Twang has developed. In Lanark County, Western Ottawa and Leeds-Grenville and the rest of Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, the accent spoken is nearly identical to that spoken in Central Ontario and the Quinte area.
Words in which the Eastern Ontario accent is significant:

Got it - often pronounced [gɔɾɪʔ]

Okay - often pronounced [ɔɪke]

Hello - often pronounced [helo]

Toronto

In Toronto and the areas surrounding Toronto (Central Ontario, Greater Toronto Area), the [ð] is often pronounced as [d]. Sometimes (particularly in North York, an area of Toronto), [ð] is elided altogether, resulting in "Do you want this one er'iss one?" The word southern is often pronounced with [aʊ]. In the regional area north of York and south of Parry Sound, notably among those who were born in these bedroom communities (Barrie, Vaughan, Orillia, Bradford, Newmarket) as opposed to those who moved there to commute, the cutting down of syllables is often heard, for example "probably" is reduced to "prolly", or "probly" when used as a response.
Slang terms used in Toronto are synonymous with those used in other major North American cities. There is also a heavy influx of slang terminology originating from Toronto's many immigrant communities, of which the vast majority speak English only as a second or minor language. These terms originate mainly from various European, Asian, and African words. Many Torontonians use buddy (without a capital) as it's often used in Newfoundland English – as equivalent to that man ("I like buddy's car").
In Toronto's ethnic communities there are many words that are distinct; many of which come from the city's large Caribbean community.

Deez or Dees (Toronto). Basically means "Decent" for example "That girl is Dees", or 'that party was Deez".

Deez'd (Toronto): Built, Pumped, Jacked etc.

Jokes (Greater Toronto Area): simply saying "jokes" implies just kidding, or joking. Saying, "that party was jokes", means that that party was really good and humorous.

Arms (Toronto): weak, poor, bad; More prominent amongst inner-city youth.

Mans (Toronto): Slang for 'men' or when referencing friends, eg. "the boys" becomes "the mans", popular with the youth of Toronto

Fete (Trinidad and Tobago): a really big party.

Jam (Toronto): a big party.

Waste (Toronto) : something is "waste," something sucks, is stupid, is pointless

Brainer, (one gets…) brainz (Toronto): one who gives oral sex to men, synonym to "head"

Live (Toronto): cool, good, lively.

Snuff (Toronto) : punch.

mangia-cake, cake, caker (Toronto) : used mostly by people of Italian origin (originally but nowadays any ethnic group), referring to people of Anglo-Saxon descent or more generally to "Canadianized" ie. Anglisized people of other European descent (Italian, Irish, Polish, etc.)

Peace (GTA) : used mostly as a verb meaning to leave, Let's peace, also sometimes means something was done quickly, I peaced that meal, or to end a relationship, Peace that. Other Toronto slang:

T-Dot and T-Oh (from the shortening of Toronto to T.O.): often used to refer to Toronto itself

Gino: a guy into eurodance music, often used to imply a pretty-boy. An older connotaion was of a stereotypical Italian male, see Guido.

Euro: European, everything from outfits to music to style. "really euro" can be derogatory just as it can be considered positive depending on a person's attitude toward the style. The term Euro was coined in 2000 by a crew of Greek and Serb teens from the Don Mills area as a way of disassociating themselves and their style from Ginos (especially from Woodbridge) and their "pretty-boy" style.

Custy: (from customer) means often on drugs, generally unkempt or promiscuous about a person and disgusting/nasty about anything else

Scarbz and E-Tobes/The Cokes: Scarborough and Etobicoke areas respectively

Scarberia: Perjorative central Toronto slang for Scarborough, alluding to its location peripheral to the central city

TTC: subway, buses or streetcars. Stands for Toronto Transit Commission, but used in the sense of "I took the TTC to Eglinton Station."

Salted It Up: messed up what you were doing

905ers/416ers: refers to those in the 416 telephone area code (Toronto proper) and the 905 (GTA) area code

The Ex: the Canadian National Exhibition (also can refer to ex-boyfriends/girlfriends)

Cottage Country: Muskoka, primarily Listen to a sample of Ontario English

Additionally, natives and residents of Toronto are known to ignore the second T, pronouncing it as "To-RAW-no".

Quebec

English is a minority language in Quebec, but has many speakers in Montréal, the Eastern Townships and in the Gatineau-Ottawa region. Among Montréal-native anglophones, there's a distinction between /æ/ and /a/, unique in Canada, so that Mary and merry are not homophones. Among Eastern Townships-native anglophones, syrup is often pronounced as sir-rup. Quebec also has French influence. A person with English mother tongue and still speaking English as the first language is called an Anglophone. The corresponding term for a French speaker is Francophone and the corresponding term for a person who is neither Anglophone nor Francophone is Allophone. Quebec Anglophones generally pronounce French street names in Montreal as French words. Pie IX Boulevard is pronounced as in French, not as "pie nine". On the other hand, Anglophones do pronounce final d's as in Bernard and Bouchard; the word Montreal is pronounced as an English word and Rue Lambert-Closse is known as Clossy Street. Listen to a sample of Quebec English

Further Information

Get more info on 'West Central Canadian English'.

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