Canadian Shift

E942793

Canadian Shift is a systematic vowel change in many Canadian English dialects in which several front vowels are lowered and retracted, altering the overall vowel space.

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Statements (40)

Predicate Object
instanceOf feature of Canadian English
phonological phenomenon
sound change
vowel shift
affectsLanguage Canadian English NERFINISHED
affectsPhonologicalSubsystem short front lax vowels
affectsVowel /æ/
/ɛ/
/ɪ/
alters vowel space of Canadian English
causes lowering of /æ/
lowering of /ɛ/
lowering of /ɪ/
retraction of /æ/
retraction of /ɛ/
retraction of /ɪ/
continuesIn 21st century Canadian English
contrastsWith Northern Cities Shift NERFINISHED
hasAlternativeName Canadian Vowel Shift NERFINISHED
hasCharacteristic chain shift
lowering of front vowels
retraction of front vowels
systematic vowel change
hasGeographicScope Canada NERFINISHED
hasTemporalProperty 20th century onset
influences perception of Canadian English accent
isAssociatedWith cot–caught merger
isConditionedBy low-back vowel merger
isDocumentedIn acoustic phonetic studies
isLessCommonIn Atlantic Canadian English NERFINISHED
Newfoundland English NERFINISHED
isObservedIn many urban Canadian communities
younger Canadian English speakers
isPartOf ongoing change in North American English vowels
isRelevantTo Canadian English identity NERFINISHED
variationist sociolinguistics
isStudiedInField dialectology
historical linguistics
sociophonetics
isTriggeredBy merger of /ɑ/ and /ɔ/

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.