Canadian English/ RP

The pronunciation of Canadian English and RP (Received Pronunciation), also known as Queen's English and Oxford English, can vary significantly. The following ten words are pronounced differently by speakers of Canadian English and RP. The Canadian pronunciation corresponds to my own.

of
city
middle
tube
car
debris
dot
tournament
fast
marry

In Canadian English, of is pronounced with the vowel of up. In RP, it is pronounced with the vowel of park.

In Canadian English, city is pronounced with a flap. In RP, the "t" is realized as a voiceless alveolar plosive.

Canadians pronounce middle with a flap In RP, the "d" is realized as a voiced alveolar plosive.

Most Canadians pronounce tube without a palatal glide. In RP, this word is pronounced with a palatal glide.

Almost all Canadians pronounce car with an aveolar approximant. In RP, however, the "r" is not pronounced.

The word debris is stressed differently by speakers of Canadian English and RP. In Canadian English, the second syllable is stressed. In RP, it is the first syllable.

In Canadian English, dot is pronounced with the vowel of car. In RP, however, the vowel is a low back rounded vowel which does not occur in Canadian English. The Canadian vowel is unrounded.

Canadians pronounce tournament with the vowel of turn and the r is pronounced. In RP, however, the vowel of tore is used in the first syllable and the r is not pronounced.

Canadians pronounce fast with the vowel of cat. In RP, however, the a is pronounced with the vowel of father.

Most Canadians pronounce marry with the vowel of let. RP speakers pronounce it with the vowel of man.

Canadian English and RP exhibit many differences in pronuncation. Differences also exist in stress. The list of ten words helps to illustrate this.