Canadian raising question - again

Jef   Wed Mar 11, 2009 2:17 am GMT
Does raising of [aI] ever cross word boundaries? Because I have it in both "high chair" (as in a seat for toddlers) and "high school".

I guess that Canadian raising isn't completely consistent because I have raising of cider, spider, etc. but I pronounce Tiber exactly as I pronounce fiber. And I can't tell if I have it in Siberia. =/
Another Guest   Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:25 am GMT
Wait, so the distinction you make between "rider" and "writer" is the vowel? You might want to make that clear, and give some idea as to what that vowel is. Does "seder" sound like either "cider" or "sider"? I make a distinction between "rider" and "writer", but that's because one of them has a "d" and the other has a "t". I also make a distinction between "waiter" and "wader". And "dare" and "there". And "lid" and "lit".
Travis   Wed Mar 11, 2009 7:18 am GMT
>>Does raising of [aI] ever cross word boundaries? Because I have it in both "high chair" (as in a seat for toddlers) and "high school".<<

There are certain forms which do have such raising crossing word boundaries, such as those you mention, but for the most part it does not occur. Of course, such strongly implies that such forms actually act like single undivided words and not even like more normal compound words in practice.

>>I guess that Canadian raising isn't completely consistent because I have raising of cider, spider, etc. but I pronounce Tiber exactly as I pronounce fiber. And I can't tell if I have it in Siberia. =/<<

That is the thing - this kind of thing is *very* dialect-specified, and my own dialect tends towards being kind of weird anyways (I have Canadian Raising in "Idaho" [ˈəe̯ɾəho(ː)] and "Midol" [ˈməe̯ɾɯ(ː)], for instance).
Pat   Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:17 pm GMT
>> pronunciation of dollar <<
In the Northwest I've heard everything from almost a NCVS [a] to a very rounded [O]. And people vary the vowel between those extremes. And btw, even people with a strong CVS will sometimes use the more conservative forms. It would be odd to hear someone that has the complete CVS consistently. So I don't think the dollar test is very useful.
kevin   Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:00 pm GMT
In Chicago, Dollar with an unrounded vowel would sound strange (accented)...
Lazar   Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:17 pm GMT
<<In Chicago, Dollar with an unrounded vowel would sound strange (accented)...>>
Don't you mean "rounded"? Wouldn't "dollar" use [a] in a Chicago accent?
Pat   Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:44 am GMT
Someone told me that I have Canadian raising. However without recording myself and listening carefully to it I can't really hear it. The funny thing is that I don't really perceive much of a difference. Tiber and cider sound rather the same to me.
Travis   Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:03 pm GMT
>><<In Chicago, Dollar with an unrounded vowel would sound strange (accented)...>>
Don't you mean "rounded"? Wouldn't "dollar" use [a] in a Chicago accent?<<

Here in Milwaukee at least, it would use [ä] rather than the usual [a], whereas the use of a rounded vowel seems rather strange (unlike with /a/ before /r/, where it is somewhat common here).

>>Someone told me that I have Canadian raising. However without recording myself and listening carefully to it I can't really hear it. The funny thing is that I don't really perceive much of a difference.<<

How strong it is can vary significantly from dialect to dialect, mind you.

>>Tiber and cider sound rather the same to me.<<

Actually, in my example, Tiber does also receive Canadian Raising, but that example was specifically for my own dialect and should not be transferred to others at all.