Ted in Halifax
Over a 2,000 mile drive from Disney!
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2008
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Wow Maritmer English is covered in
Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimer_English
My Proud summary is below ... I feel understood! I've Bolded my frequently used ones ... to help you when communicating with me!
Maritimer English is a dialect of English spoken in the Maritime provinces of Canada. Quirks include the removal of pre-consonantal /r/ sounds, and a faster speech tempo. It is heavily influenced by British, Irish English, and Acadian French--especially in northern New Brunswick.
An example of typical Maritime English might be the pronunciation of the letter t. The flapping of intervocalic /t/ and /d/ to alveolar tap [ɾ] between vowels, as well as pronouncing it as a glottal stop [ʔ], is less common in the Maritimes. So "battery" is pronounced [ˈbætɹi] instead of with a glottal stop.
Especially among the older generation, /w/ and /hw/ are not merged; that is, the beginning sound of why, white, and which is different from that of witch, with, wear.
Like most varieties of Canadian English, Maritimer English contains a feature known as Canadian raising: Diphthongs are "raised" before voiceless consonants. For example, IPA /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ become [ʌɪ] and [ʌʊ], respectively, before [p], [t], [k],, [f].
Although dialects vary from region to region, especially based on the rural/urban divide, there are some other commonalities. For example, there is heavy rhoticism on vowels preceding /r/ sounds. Also, low front vowels seem to be lengthened and sometimes tensed, which in some regions can result in raising, and even a very slight rounding of the higher vowels and diphthongs. These phonetic differences are not all systematic: some lexical items do not apply to these rules, so perhaps it the vowel system is in a process of shift, or there could be interference from other, more urban dialects and the media[citation needed].
Alternatively, one might hear the interrogative "Right?" (often pronounced "rate") which is also used as an adverb (e.g.: "It was right foggy today!") as well. This sense may be of a degree of influence of the Welsh word "reit" [ˈrəɪt] literally meaning "very, rather, or considerably", also being ironic in that those with a Canadian Raise would pronounce "right" in this way. "Right" is often, though less today than before, used with this meaning in the American south, too. "Some" is used as an adverb as well, by some people (e.g.: "This cake is some good!"). Such expressions tend to be widely used in the rural maritimes, but are less common in urban areas. The two expressions combined mean "extremely" and the proper order is always "right some", eg. "It's right some cold out."
Words such as "fine", "right" and "fearful" are frequent intensifiers, as in, "That's a fine mess!", "Oh, it'll be a right mess by the time they gets done!" and "That girl is a fearful fool!" (implying that the girl is extremely foolish).
Terminal hard consonants are often dropped from pronunciation when found in sentences. "Ol'" rather than "old", "col'" rather than "cold", "tha'" rather than "that", "suppose'" rather than "supposed." (with the -s pronounced softly, rather than as a -z). When it is pronounced it is softly, almost imperceptibly. "Ain't" is also frequently heard in rural parts of the Maritimes, particularly southern New Brunswick.
Terms of British origin are very much still a part of Maritime English, although slowly fading away in favour of American or Western terms. Chesterfield and front room are examples of this. Another is the use of the somewhat vulgar but colorful term, "@rse" in place of the American and central and western Canadian form, "@ss".
Also, some terms are unique to the Maritimes. "Playing hooky" is often referred to as "jigging" especially in south-eastern New Brunswick; Nova Scotians usually say "skipping". A Maritimer, especially one from New Brunswick, is likely to describe treacherous winter roads as "slippy" rather than "slippery". Further, a Maritimer will often pluralize words such as "somewhere" or "anywhere".
Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritimer_English
My Proud summary is below ... I feel understood! I've Bolded my frequently used ones ... to help you when communicating with me!
Maritimer English is a dialect of English spoken in the Maritime provinces of Canada. Quirks include the removal of pre-consonantal /r/ sounds, and a faster speech tempo. It is heavily influenced by British, Irish English, and Acadian French--especially in northern New Brunswick.
An example of typical Maritime English might be the pronunciation of the letter t. The flapping of intervocalic /t/ and /d/ to alveolar tap [ɾ] between vowels, as well as pronouncing it as a glottal stop [ʔ], is less common in the Maritimes. So "battery" is pronounced [ˈbætɹi] instead of with a glottal stop.
Especially among the older generation, /w/ and /hw/ are not merged; that is, the beginning sound of why, white, and which is different from that of witch, with, wear.
Like most varieties of Canadian English, Maritimer English contains a feature known as Canadian raising: Diphthongs are "raised" before voiceless consonants. For example, IPA /aɪ/ and /aʊ/ become [ʌɪ] and [ʌʊ], respectively, before [p], [t], [k],
Although dialects vary from region to region, especially based on the rural/urban divide, there are some other commonalities. For example, there is heavy rhoticism on vowels preceding /r/ sounds. Also, low front vowels seem to be lengthened and sometimes tensed, which in some regions can result in raising, and even a very slight rounding of the higher vowels and diphthongs. These phonetic differences are not all systematic: some lexical items do not apply to these rules, so perhaps it the vowel system is in a process of shift, or there could be interference from other, more urban dialects and the media[citation needed].
Alternatively, one might hear the interrogative "Right?" (often pronounced "rate") which is also used as an adverb (e.g.: "It was right foggy today!") as well. This sense may be of a degree of influence of the Welsh word "reit" [ˈrəɪt] literally meaning "very, rather, or considerably", also being ironic in that those with a Canadian Raise would pronounce "right" in this way. "Right" is often, though less today than before, used with this meaning in the American south, too. "Some" is used as an adverb as well, by some people (e.g.: "This cake is some good!"). Such expressions tend to be widely used in the rural maritimes, but are less common in urban areas. The two expressions combined mean "extremely" and the proper order is always "right some", eg. "It's right some cold out."
Words such as "fine", "right" and "fearful" are frequent intensifiers, as in, "That's a fine mess!", "Oh, it'll be a right mess by the time they gets done!" and "That girl is a fearful fool!" (implying that the girl is extremely foolish).
Terminal hard consonants are often dropped from pronunciation when found in sentences. "Ol'" rather than "old", "col'" rather than "cold", "tha'" rather than "that", "suppose'" rather than "supposed." (with the -s pronounced softly, rather than as a -z). When it is pronounced it is softly, almost imperceptibly. "Ain't" is also frequently heard in rural parts of the Maritimes, particularly southern New Brunswick.
Terms of British origin are very much still a part of Maritime English, although slowly fading away in favour of American or Western terms. Chesterfield and front room are examples of this. Another is the use of the somewhat vulgar but colorful term, "@rse" in place of the American and central and western Canadian form, "@ss".
Also, some terms are unique to the Maritimes. "Playing hooky" is often referred to as "jigging" especially in south-eastern New Brunswick; Nova Scotians usually say "skipping". A Maritimer, especially one from New Brunswick, is likely to describe treacherous winter roads as "slippy" rather than "slippery". Further, a Maritimer will often pluralize words such as "somewhere" or "anywhere".
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My proper English grandmother cringed each time.
I don't know what's so bad about that! I would love to live on the island!
