Canadian English - Phonemic Incidence

Phonemic Incidence

The pronunciation of certain words has both American and British influence; some pronunciations are more distinctively Canadian.

• The name of the letter Z is normally the Anglo-European (and French) zed; the American zee is less common in Canada, and it is often stigmatized, though the latter is not uncommon, especially among younger Canadians.
• In the words adult and composite – the emphasis is usually on the first syllable, as in Britain.
• Mom is usually so-spelled as in the USA but almost always pronounced mum as in the UK.
• Canadians side with the British on the pronunciation of shone /ʃɒn/, often lever /ˈlivər/, and several other words; been is pronounced by many speakers as /bin/ rather than /bɪn/; as in Southern England, either and neither are more commonly /ˈaɪðər/ and /ˈnaɪðər/, respectively.
• Schedule can sometimes be /ˈʃɛdʒul/; process, progress, and project are sometimes pronounced /ˈproʊsɛs/, /ˈproʊɡrɛs/, and /ˈproʊdʒɛkt/; leisure is often /ˈlɛʒər/, harassment is sometimes /ˈhærəsmənt/.
• Again and against are often pronounced /əˈɡeɪn(st)/ rather than /əˈɡɛn(st)/.
• The stressed vowel of words such as borrow, sorry or tomorrow is /ɔɹ/ rather than /ɑɹ/.
• Words such as fragile, fertile, and mobile are pronounced /ˈfrædʒaɪl/, /ˈfɜrtaɪl/, and /ˈmoʊbaɪl/. The pronunciation of fertile as /ˈfɜrtl̩/ is also becoming somewhat common in Canada, even though /ˈfɜrtaɪl/ remains dominant.
• Words like semi, anti, and multi tend to be pronounced /ˈsɛmi/, /ˈænti/, and /ˈmʌlti/ rather than /ˈsɛmaɪ/, /ˈæntaɪ/, and /ˈmʌltaɪ/.
• Loanwords that have a low central vowel in their language of origin, such as llama, pasta, and pyjamas, as well as place names like Gaza, tend to have /æ/ rather than /ɑ/ (which is the same as /ɒ/ due to the father–bother merger, see below); this also applies to older loans like drama or Apache. The word khaki is sometimes pronounced /ˈkɑrki/, the preferred pronunciation of the Canadian Army during the Second World War.
• Pecan is usually /ˈpikæn/ or /piˈkæn/, as opposed to /pɨˈkɑn/, more common in the US.
• The most common pronunciation of vase is /veɪz/.
• Words of French origin, such as clique and niche are pronounced more like they would be in French, so /klik/ rather than /klɪk/, /niʃ/ rather than /nɪtʃ/.
• The word syrup is commonly pronounced /ˈsɪrəp/.
• The word premier "leader of a provincial or territorial government" is commonly pronounced /ˈprimjər/, with /ˈprɛmjɛər/ and /ˈprimjɛər/ being rare variants.
• Many Canadians pronounce asphalt as "ash-falt" /ˈæʃfɒlt/. This pronunciation is also common in Australian English, but not in General American English or British English.
• Some Canadians pronounce predecessor as /ˈpriːdəsɛsər/, and mom /mʌm/.