--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "tgpedersen" <tgpedersen@...> wrote:
>
> Isn't BTW the pronunciation of <ou> as [&w], not [aw] supposed to
> be the trait that traditionally sets Canadian English apart from
> American English?
In all, or at least most (?) dialects of N. American English
the onset of both /aI/ and /aU/ is raised when they precede a
voiceless segment or [D] when an allophone of /t/. In Canada
the onset is both higher and more fronted in /aI/, and higher
and more backed in /aU/ than in the U.S. Although the same
tendency appears in some of the northernmost states. To my
ear it also sounds like the onset of /aU/ is more rounded in
Canadian English.
David