1.3.2. Regional varieties of Canadian English

Canadian population is overwhelmingly middle class and urban and the bulk of it lives in the area westwards (to the west of Ottawa Valley). Working class usage differs from middle class but middle class preferences in Ottawa are strongly in the direction of American English.

E.g.: Loss of /j/ in “new” - /nu:/. Working class favors -in' not -ing and they level /hw/ and /w/.

The second major region of Canadian English is eastwards from the Ottawa Valley - Maritime Province, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Here the norms of pronunciation are varied. Ten distinct English language areas are distinguished here. These variations are explained by the settlement history (Scots, Northern and Southern Irish, Kashubian Poles, Germans and Americans). The eastern Canadian region is characterized overall as resembling the English of New England as the earliest settlers came from England. In this part there is less /O:/- /O/ leveling. English of this area like all of Canada is rhotic, i.e. /r/ is pronounced where spelt while Eastern New England is non-rhotic. The final distinct region of Canadian English is Newfoundland with the population 568000. Some scholars (e.g. Wells) speak of traditional dialects in Newfoundland. The linguistic identity of Newfoundland is the result of:

● early (1583 and onwards) and diverse (especially Irish and Southern English) settlement;

● the stability of the population (93% native born);

● isolation.

This territory joined Canada in 1949 and the influence of the mainland pronunciation patterns has become stronger. Examples of the Irish English influence are:

● monophthongal /e/ instead of /ei/, /O/-/Ou/, /A/ is rounded and retracted

● some speakers neutralize /ai/ and /Oi/. They are realized as /ai/

● dental fricatives /T/, /D/ are pronounced as /t/ and /d/

● /h/ is generally omitted except in standard speech

● consonant clusters are regularly simplified: post - /pous'/, land - /lxn/.