Thread by @JCStadnyk

So let me tell you about Canadian Raising 🧵

That distinct accent you hear from many Canadians is called Canadian Raising, which changes the pronunciation of diphthongs (combination of two vowels in the same syllable), usually /aɪ/ or /aʊ/ or both
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https://twitter.com/jcstadnyk/status/1495717910043631617

Now, one of the words that is noticed the most is the word “about”. Within the Canadian Raising regions it is hard to spell how it sounds, but it actually sounds closer to “a boat” than “a boot”.

So why do Americans say that we say “aboot”?
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The pronunciation of /aw/ is said with the tongue in a low position, & because it raises to a mid position in Canadian English, other English speakers of will detect the vowel raising, but think the vowel has raised farther than it actually does, all the way to /u/
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So there you have it:
It’s actually pronounced more like “a boat” but Americans can’t process nor replicate the sound, so they hear “aboot”.

And this is why the word aboot is not actually accurate and yes I know I’m fun at parties.
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