It's noticeable upon observation, but I don't think anybody who isn't told about it would notice it on their own. It affects /aj/ and /aw/ (changing them to /ʌj/ and /ʌw/), but not /ɔj/. My dialect is that of Vancouver, specifically near Arbutus Ridge.Basilius wrote:So, the first question: do you notice this difference in vowel quality in your own speech and/or in other Canadian lects, and which diphthongs does it affect for you?
For me, the distinction is mostly length, actually, but this may be in combination with the raising. I perceive "wide" as /wa:jd/ and "white" as /wajɾ/, though phonologically, it's probably more like [waˑjd] and [wʌjɾ]. "Ice" and "eyes" is one where length is very distinctive, at least to me; it sounds like /ʌjs/ and /a:jz/. The raising is much more perceptible here as well.Basilius wrote:(2) Described as above, CR looks like a rather uninteresting allophony. However, Canadian English also features intervocalic alveolar flapping, with intervocalic realizations of /t/ and /d/ becoming indistinguishable between two vowels (betting=bedding). Yet the realizations of the preceding vowels can remain different due to CR, so certain words still sound differently, although the difference is in the quality of vowel rather than the consonant. Examples:
- for /aɪ̯/: rider vs. writer;
- for /aʊ̯/: clouding vs. clouting;
- for /ɔɪ̯/ I can't find a minimal pair, a quasi-minimal one: avoiding vs. exploiting.
How does your lect treat the words in these pairs?
The vowels /ɪ/, /ʊ/, /ə/, and /ɛ/ exhibit a less noticeable length contrast in my lect, and only in monosyllables. "Bit"/"bid", "soot"/"should", "but"/"bud", and "bet"/"bed" have a smaller difference in length than "wheat" (/wijɾ/)/"weed" (/wi:jd/), "root" (/ruwɾ/)/"rude" (/ru:wd/), "rate" (/rejɾ/)/"raid" (/re:jd/), "wrote" (/rowɾ/)/"road" (/ro:wd/), "bat" (/bæɾ/)/"bad" (/bæ:d/), and "rot" (/rɑɾ/)/"rod" (/rɑ:d/). "Wetting" and "wedding", as well as "butting" and "budding", are homophones for me.
For me, "spider" is /spajdr/, "idle" is /ajdl/. "Eyeful" is /ajfl/, "Eiffel" is /ajfl/, and "rifle" is /rajfl/, although perhaps the vowel is closer to /ɐj/, so these may be moving towards /ʌj/. "High school" is treated as a compound, explaining the presence of the raising, while "high score" is two separate words.Basilius wrote:In a number of dialects (including Travis B.'s lect) in certain environments the distribution of raised vs. non-raised diphthongs appears to be sensitive to morphological structure of the word, breaking the neat correlation with historical consonant voicedness. Some cases of this type:
- morphologically obscure words like spider don't have the raising and are grouped with writer rather than rider;
- morphologically obscure words like idle don't have the raising and are grouped with title rather than tidal.
The above examples are about unexpected vowel quality before a voiced /d/; there are some curious examples with diphthongs before voiceless consonants, too:
- eyeful (no raising) vs. Eiffel, rifle (with raising);
- high school (with raising) vs. high score (no raising).
What vowels does your lect have in the above examples (spider and idle, in particular)?
Interesting note on length in my lect: nasals and liquids seem "invisible" to length distinctions- the consonant after the nasal/liquid determines vowel length. In "carp" (/kɑrp/)/"carb" (/kɑ:rb/), for example, the /r/ is "invisible"; vowel length is determine by /p/ vs. /b/. In "fount" (/fawnt/) and "found" (/fa:wnd/), the /n/ is "invisible".