Northern Cities vowel shift. Canadian American.

• Northern Cities Vowel Shift (NCVS)


  A change in how people from parts of the Northern United States pronounce their vowels
• The NCVS affects areas from Madison, Wisconsin to Utica, New York
• Key Changes in Vowels

  • Raising and Tensing of /æ/
  • Fronting of /ɑ/
  • Lowering of /ɔ/
  • Backing and Lowering of /ɛ/
  • Backing of /ʌ/
  • Lowering and Backing of /ɪ/
• Raising and Tensing of /æ/


  The vowel sound in words like "trap" (IPA /æ/) is pronounced higher and tenser, sounding more like "kyet" for "cat"
• Fronting of /ɑ/


  The vowel in "cot" and "father" (IPA /ɑ/) moves forward in the mouth. It can sound like the vowel in "car" as pronounced in Boston
• Lowering of /ɔ/


  The vowel in "saw" (IPA /ɔ/) is pronounced lower, making "stalk" sound like "stock" for those with the shift
• Backing and Lowering of /ɛ/


  The vowel in "bet" (IPA /ɛ/) moves back and lower, sounding closer to the vowel in "cut"
• Backing of /ʌ/


  The vowel in "bus" (IPA /ʌ/) shifts towards the sound in "boss"
• Lowering and Backing of /ɪ/

  The vowel in "bit" (IPA /ɪ/) moves back and down, sounding more like "bet" but still distinct
• Canadian English Features


  • Canadian Raising
  • Merging of Vowels
  • Pronunciation of /r/
  • Flapping of /t/ and /d/
  • Lexical Changes
• Canadian Raising


  The diphthongs in words like "price" and "mouth" start higher before voiceless consonants. "Price" sounds like "prəis"
• Merging of Vowels


  Words like "merry," "marry," and "Mary" all sound the same, using the vowel [ε]
• Pronunciation of /r/


  Canadians use a retroflex [r] sound, similar to GenAm, and a dark [l] sound in all positions
• Flapping of /t/ and /d/


  Between vowels, /t/ and /d/ sounds become a quick tap, making "writer" and "rider" sound very similar
• Lexical Changes


  Younger Canadians are adopting more American pronunciations, such as "lever" with [ε] and "either" with [i:]
• Canadian English is very similar to General American English (GenAm) but has some unique characteristics
• NCVS changes how vowels are pronounced in parts of the Northern U.S.
• Canadian English shares many features with GenAm but has unique pronunciations like Canadian Raising
• Both dialects are evolving, with younger speakers adopting new pronunciation patterns