Phonology and Spelling

Hi! In this post we are going to deal with the most important aspects of Canadian phonology and spelling.

PHONOLOGY

The most important characteristics of the phonology of Canadian English are:

1.Canadian English is rhotic because in its words the syllable-final r is pronounced. For example: car and farm.

2.Flapping can occur if the t or d is between two vowels, and the second vowel isn’t stressed or if there is an r between the first vowel and the alveolar stop. For example: waiting , seated and party.

3.Canadian raising, the onsets of the diphthongs /ay/ and /aw/ raise to mid vowels when they precede the voiceless sounds /p/, /t/, /k/, /s/, and /f/. For example: Knife and  knives.

4.Canadians pronounce borrowed words with low vowels with a front [ae] , while Americans tend to use [a].

SPELLING

Canadian English combines British , American and Canadian English. Here you can find some examples about Canadian spelling and if it is similar to British or American English.

a)  defence and  offence: they are written with British spelling.

b) curb and tire : they are written the  same in American and Canadian English but different in British English.(kerb, tyre)

c)   Words such as realize and paralyze are usually spelled with -ize or -yze rather than -ise or -yse.

d) Canadian English and British English double consonants when adding suffixes to words. For example: travelled and counselling.

Virginia