Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT
Annamária Zemanová & Catherine Girard
AJL22093

Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES
2
CANADIAN RAISING AND CANADIAN SHIFT
̶Centralization of /aɪ/ or /aʊ/ before voiceless consonants, raising the open a sound to /ɐ/, /ʌ/,
or /ə/
̶
̶Example: „price“ and „clout“ but not „prize“ or „cloud“ or typical „out and about“
̶
̶Merger of /ɑ/ (cot) with /ɔ/ (caught) in low back position as /ɒ/ (on)
̶Lowering of the tongue in the front short vowels /æ/ (trap), /ɛ/ (dress), and /ɪ/ (kit)
The vowel chart used in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). | Download Scientific Diagram
[USEMAP]
[USEMAP]

IPA Chart, http://www.internationalphoneticassociation.org/content/ipa-chart, available under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Unported License. Copyright © 2018 International
Phonetic Association.

Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES
3
CANADIAN SHIFT IN MONTREAL
̶According to Boberg‘s 2005 study
̶The Canadian Shift, or something very similar to it, is active in Montreal, but its phonetic
character is not identical with the version of the Shift reported for Ontario English
̶
̶The retraction of /ɛ/ is the most active part of the Canadian Shift in Montreal
̶
̶The Shift is somewhat influenced by gender and age of the speakers
̶

Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES
4
DISTINCTIVE MONTREALIAN FEATURES
̶Among young Canadian women in particular, the pronunciation of /ɛ/ is sometimes low enough to
produce potential confusion with /æ/, at least when taken out of context
̶
̶left, bet → laughed, bat
̶
̶Vowel sounds before intervocalic /r/
̶Resistance to „merry-marry“ merger
̶
̶Mary vs merry vs marry
[USEMAP]
[USEMAP]

Adobe Systems
5
CULTURAL INFLUENCES
̶
̶Communities (Italian, Jewish, British)
̶
̶Surrounded by French
̶
̶Local vs. Global prestige
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES

Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES
6
RESOURCES
̶Boberg, C. (2005). The Canadian shift in Montreal. Language Variation and Change, 17(2), 133-154.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954394505050064
̶
̶Kelly, J. (2014, February 22). The quest for the Montreal English accent [Radio broadcast]. CBC,
https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2442617322?fbclid=IwAR05Iy6oPC7EjmT6lGr3jopMjEIdYjaCisPGFAFJ0-dR-cuA
EeokOps-IOc
̶
̶Labov, W., Ash, S., & Boberg, C. (2006). The Atlas of North American English. Berlin: Mouton-de
Gruyter.
̶

Adobe Systems
SOME FEATURES OF MONTREALIAN ACCENT / DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND AMERICAN STUDIES
7
Q&A