North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized

variety Variety may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Algebraic variety, the set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations * Variety (universal algebra), classes of algebraic structures defined by equations in universal algebra Hort ...

of the

English language English is a of the , originally spoken by the inhabitants of . It is named after the , one of the ancient that migrated from , a peninsula on the (not to be confused with ), to the area of later named after them: . Living languages mos ...

as spoken in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country in . It consists of 50 , a , five major , 326 , and some . At , it is the world's . The United States shares significan ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in the northern part of . Its extend from the to the and northward into the , covering , making it the world's . Its southern and western , stretching , is the world's longest bi-national land border. Canada's capital ...

Canada

. Because of their related histories and cultures, plus the similarities between the pronunciations (accents), vocabulary, and grammar of

American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. Currently, American English is the most influential form of ...

and

Canadian English Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) is the set of varieties Variety may refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * Algebraic variety, the set of solutions of a system of polynomial equations * Variety (universal algebra), classes of al ...

, the two spoken varieties are often grouped together under a single category. Canadians are generally tolerant of both British and American spellings, with British spellings of certain words (e.g., ''colour'') being favored in more formal settings and in Canadian print media; for some other words the American spelling prevails over the British (e.g., ''tire'' rather than ''tyre''). The

United Empire Loyalists United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by Guy Carleton, 1st Baron Dorchester, the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Province of Quebec (1763–1791), Quebec, and Governor General of The Canad ...

who fled the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution which occurred in colonial North America between 1765 and 1783. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies defeated the British in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) ...

(1775–1783) have had a large influence on Canadian English from its early roots. Some terms in North American English are used almost exclusively in Canada and the United States (for example, the terms ''

diaper A diaper /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the United States The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the U ...

diaper

'' and ''

gasoline Gasoline () or petrol () (see the etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is ...

'' are widely used instead of ''

nappy A diaper Help:IPA/English, /ˈdaɪpə(r)/ (American English, American and Canadian English) or a nappy (Australian English, British English, and Hiberno-English) is a type of underwear that allows the wearer to urinate or defecate without usi ...

'' and ''

petrol Gasoline () or petrol () (see the etymology Etymology ()The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p. 633 "Etymology /ˌɛtɪˈmɒlədʒi/ the study of the class in words and the way their meanings have changed throughout time". is ...

''). Although many English speakers from outside North America regard those terms as distinct Americanisms, they are just as common in Canada, mainly due to the effects of heavy cross-border trade and cultural penetration by the American mass media. The list of divergent words becomes longer if considering regional Canadian dialects, especially as spoken in the

Atlantic provinces Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces, a term developed for the convenience of the federal government after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the four provinces and territories of Canada, ...

and parts of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to ...

where significant pockets of British culture still remain. There are a considerable number of different accents within the regions of both the

and

. English in North America originally derived from the accents prevalent in different

English English usually refers to: * English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first spoken in History of Anglo-Saxon England, early medieval England, which has eventually become the World language, leading lan ...

English

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish iden ...

and

Irish Irish most commonly refers to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and North ...

Irish

regions of the

British Isles The British Isles are a in the North off the north-western coast of , consisting of the islands of , , the , the and over six thousand smaller islands."British Isles", ' They have a total area of and a combined population of almost 72&nb ...

. These were developed, built upon, and blended together as new waves of immigration, and migration across the North American continent, developed new accents and

dialect The term dialect (from , , from the word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of phenomena: * One usage refers to a of a that is a characteristic of a particular group of ...

s in new areas, and as these ways of speaking merged and assimilated with the English-speaking population.

Dialects

American English

General American General American English or General American (abbreviated GA or GenAm) is the umbrella accentAccent may refer to: Speech and language * Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers * Accent (p ...

Ethnic American English *

African-American English African-American English (AAE), also known as Black English in America The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US), or America, is a country primarily located in North America North Am ...

African-American Vernacular English African-American Vernacular English (AAVE, ), also referred to as Black Vernacular, Black English Vernacular (BEV), Black Vernacular English (BVE), occasionally as Ebonics (word), Ebonics (a colloquial, Ebonics (word)#Common usage and controversy, ...

American Indian English American Indian English or Native American English is a diverse collection of English dialects Dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , , "discourse", from , , "through" and , , "I speak") is used in two distinct way ...

Cajun English Cajun English, or Cajun Vernacular English, is the dialect of English spoken by Cajuns living in Acadiana, Southern Louisiana. Cajun English is significantly influenced by Louisiana French, the historical language of the Cajun people, a subset of ...

Chicano English Chicano English, or Mexican-American English, is a dialect of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native ...

* Miami Latino English *

New York Latino English The English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first spoken in History of Anglo-Saxon England, early medieval England, which has eventually become the World language, leading language of international disco ...

Pennsylvania Dutch English Pennsylvania Dutch English is a dialect of English that has been influenced by the Pennsylvania German language. It is largely spoken in South Central Pennsylvania South Central Pennsylvania is a region of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania P ...

* Yeshiva English Regional American English *

Mid-Atlantic American English Mid-Atlantic American English, Middle Atlantic American English, or Delaware Valley English is a class of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set ...

Baltimore EnglishA Baltimore accent, also known as Baltimorese (sometimes jokingly written BawlmeresePhiladelphia English Philadelphia English is a variety or dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , , "discourse", from , , "through" and , , "I speak") is used in two distinct ways to refer to two different types of Linguistics, lingu ...

Midland American English Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia, Australia Canada * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador, a settlement * Midland, Ontario, Canada Ireland * Midlands Region, Ireland The Midlands Region (coded IE063) is a NU ...

New York City English New York City English, or Metropolitan New York English, is a regional dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , , "discourse", from , , "through" and , , "I speak") is used in two distinct ways to refer to two differ ...

Northern American English Northern American English or Northern U.S. English (also, Northern AmE) is a class of historically related American English dialects, spoken by predominantly white Americans, best documented in the greater metropolitan areas of Connecticut, Wester ...

** Inland Northern American ("Chicago") English **

New England English New England English collectively refers to the various distinct dialects and varieties of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of ...

***

Eastern New England English Eastern New England English, historically known as the Yankee dialect since at least the nineteenth century, is the traditional regional dialect of Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, bordered ...

**** Boston English **** Maine English ***

Western New England English Western New England English refers to the varieties of New England English New England English collectively refers to the various distinct dialects and varieties of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), someti ...

** North-Central American ("Upper Midwest") English *** Upper Peninsula ("Yooper") English *

Southern American English Southern American English or Southern U.S. English is a regional dialect or collection of dialects of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of ...

Appalachian English Appalachian English is American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. Currently, Amer ...

** High Tider English **

New Orleans English New Orleans English is American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. Currently, Americ ...

Older Southern American English Older Southern American English was a set of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United St ...

Texan English Texan English is the array of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. Currently, ...

Western American English Western American English (also known as Western U.S. English) is a variety of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the Englis ...

California English California English (or Californian English) collectively refers to varieties of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), ...

New Mexican English English in New Mexico refers to varieties of Western American English Western American English (also known as Western U.S. English) is a variety of American English American English (AmE, AE, AmEng, USEng, en-US), sometimes called United ...

Pacific Northwest English Pacific Northwest English (also known, in American linguistics, as Northwest English) is a variety of North American English North American English (NAmE, NAE) is the most generalized variety Variety may refer to: Science and technology ...

* Western Pennsylvania ("Pittsburgh") English

Canadian English

* Aboriginal Canadian English * Atlantic Canadian English ** Lunenburg English **

Newfoundland English Newfoundland English is a term referring to any of several accentAccent may refer to: Speech and language * Accent (sociolinguistics), way of pronunciation particular to a speaker or group of speakers * Accent (phonetics), prominence given to a ...

* Ottawa Valley English *

Quebec English Quebec English encompasses the English dialects Dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , , "discourse", from , , "through" and , , "I speak") is used in two distinct ways to refer to two different types of Linguist ...

Standard Canadian English Standard Canadian English is the mostly-homogeneous variety of Canadian English Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) is the set of varieties of the English language English is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language first ...

Table of accents

Below, thirteen major North American English accents are defined by particular characteristics:

Phonology

A majority of North American English (for example, in contrast to British English) includes phonological features that concern consonants, such as rhoticity (full pronunciation of all sounds), conditioned

T-glottalization In English phonology Like many other languages, English language, English has wide variation in pronunciation, both History of the English language, historically and from List of dialects of the English language, dialect to dialect. In gene ...

(with ''satin'' pronounced , not ),

T- and D-flapping

(with ''metal'' and ''medal'' pronounced the same, as ), L-velarization (with ''filling'' pronounced , not ), as well as features that concern vowel sounds, such as various vowel mergers before (so that, ''Mary'', ''marry'', and ''merry'' are all commonly pronounced the same), raising of pre-voiceless (with ''price'' and ''bright'' using a higher vowel sound than ''prize'' and ''bride''), the

weak vowel merger The close vowel, close and mid vowel, mid-height front vowel, front vowels of English language, English (vowels of ''i'' and ''e'' type) have undergone a variety of changes over time and often vary English dialects, by dialect. Developments inv ...

(with ''affected'' and ''effected'' often pronounced the same), at least one of the vowel mergers (the – merger is completed among virtually all Americans and the

– merger

among nearly half, while both are completed among virtually all Canadians), and

yod-dropping The phonological history of the English language includes various changes in the phonology Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds (or signs, in sign languages). The te ...

(with ''tuesday'' pronounced , not ). The last item is more advanced in American English than Canadian English.

References

Bibliography

* Chambers, J.K. (1998). "Canadian English: 250 Years in the Making," in ''The Canadian Oxford Dictionary'', 2nd ed., p. xi. * Clark, Joe (2008).
Organizing Our Marvellous Neighbours: How to Feel Good About Canadian English
' (e-book). . *

External links

{{English dialects by continent 18th-century establishments in North America Languages attested from the 18th century Dialects of English