YouTube Video: Does this guy have Canadian raising?

AnnieJP   Wed May 16, 2007 4:21 am GMT
From what I understand, this guy is supposed to be from Philadelphia but I'd swear he pronounces /aI/ diphthongs with Canadian raising (unless my hearing's just bad). Is this typical of people in his region?
AnnieJP   Wed May 16, 2007 4:23 am GMT
All right, he doesn't always have Canadian raising but I hear it sometimes (I think).
Shatnerian   Wed May 16, 2007 5:38 am GMT
Where is the clip? I would be interested in hearing it.
AnnieJP   Wed May 16, 2007 8:14 am GMT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1raUvGNbZFg

I thought I had posted it. He also tends to turn words that end an [i] monophthong into a diphthong, as I can clearly hear in the following video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5NhW2PzUJU

Is his accent typical of those in Philadelphia?

Sorry, I'm no expert on accents. I'm not even sure if the Canadian raising is actually there or I'm just imagining them.
Shatnerian   Sat May 19, 2007 7:36 am GMT
I would say that based on what I have heard from Philadelphia natives, his accent is somewhat typical. It's not quite as strong as the version I have heard from older speakers, but I believe that you can tell he's from that area.

I know that people from Philadelphia almost never have Canadian raising for /aU/, but they do sometimes have it for /aI/. He does seem to have it at times for /aI/, but I agree that it seems to fade in and out, and isn't quite as strong as the variation found up in Ontario.
AAEA   Wed May 30, 2007 9:00 am GMT
I'm from Toronto. Toronto English is probably more Americanized than Manitoba English, but the difference between our speech and the speech in neighbouring New York state is great. As for Canadian Raising, I think some people tend to exaggerate it!Still,it seems to be dying out in some places in [BC]--so people wouldn't sound funny without it.