Re: OT American dialects

David "wtsdv" <liberty@...> wrote:

--- 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?

Stereotypically, yes. My own observation, when I had access to Canadian TV
some years back, was that [aw]~[&w] were about evenly attested, possibly a
register distinction. Present-day Canadians, I suspect, probably make more
of an effort not to sound like USA-ites. (Perhaps Glen G. will tell
us.......:-)) )

>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/.

That's true, but the average US pronunciation of "house" will never be
mistaken for "hoose".............

The one area of the US, in my experience, where [&w] seems really
predominant is the mid-Atlantic area (Delaware, coastal Maryland and
Virginia), plus isolated pockets in the South (the examples I've heard
recently come from northern Georgia, and the speakers considered themselves
upper-class. But I once heard "about" [&'b&wt], almost [&'but], from a
gas-station kid in Delaware.)