Key to pronunciation: Canadian English
View the pronunciation model for Canadian English here.
The pronunciations given are those in use among educated urban speakers of standard English in Canada. While avoiding strongly regionally or socially marked forms, they are intended to include the most common variants for each word. The keywords given in this key are to be understood as pronounced in such speech.
Words associated with Canada are given British and American pronunciations alongside the Canadian pronunciation(s). Where a word is associated with an additional part of the English-speaking world, further pronunciations in the appropriate global variety of English are also given.
To hear the pronunciation spoken aloud, click the blue play icon to the left of each transcription.
Vowels
| Canadian English | As in… |
| iː | fleece |
| i | happy |
| ɪ | kit |
| e | dress |
| æ | trap, bath |
| ɒ | lot, cloth, palm, hawk |
| ɒː | paw |
| ʌ | cup |
| ʊ | foot |
| ɜr | nurse |
| ir | here |
| er | square |
| ʊr (occ. ɜr) |
cure |
| ɑr | start |
| ɔr | force |
| uː | goose |
| ə | alpha |
| ei | face |
| ai | pride, pry |
| əi | price |
| au | mound, now |
| ʌu | mouse |
| oː | goat |
| ɔi | choice |
| ər | letter |
| æ̃ | fin de siècle |
| ɒ̃ | bon mot |
/ᵻ/ represents free variation between /ɪ/ and /ə/
Two Canadian English vowels (those in pride and mound) are subject to a process called ‘Canadian Raising’, which means that they are pronounced slightly differently before voiceless consonants such as /t/ and /s/ (as shown in the price and mouse examples).
Consonants
| Canadian English | As in… |
| b | big /bɪɡ/ |
| d | dig /dɪɡ/ |
| dʒ | jet /dʒet/ |
| ð | then /ðen/ |
| f | fig /fɪɡ/ |
| ɡ | get /ɡet/ |
| h | head /hed/ |
| j | yes /jes/ |
| k | kit /kɪt/ |
| l | leg /leɡ/ |
| m | mud /mʌd/ |
| n | net /net/ |
| ŋ | thing /θɪŋ/ |
| p | pit /pɪt/ |
| r | red /red/ |
| s | sit /sɪt/ |
| ʃ | ship /ʃɪp/ |
| t | tip /tɪp/ |
| tʃ | chip /tʃɪp/ |
| θ | thin /θɪn/ |
| v | vet /vet/ |
| w | win /wɪn/ |
| z | zip /zɪp/ |
| ʒ | vision /ˈvɪʒ(ə)n/ |
The consonants l, m, and n can take on the function of a vowel in some unstressed syllables. It should generally be clear when this interpretation is intended, but in cases of potential ambiguity, the consonant symbol may appear with a diacritic, as in the British and U.S. pronunciations. A bracketed /(ə)/ indicates that some speakers may not pronounce the /ə/; in some cases this means the following consonant would take on the function of the vowel (e.g. U.S. saddle /ˈsæd(ə)l/).
After a vowel, Canadian English is similar to U.S. English in that it can have /r/ regardless of the sound which follows, whereas British English retains the /r/ only when it is followed by a vowel. Canadian English would therefore be similar to the U.S. in words such as mar /mɑr/, unlike British /mɑː/.
Between vowels, except at the start of a stressed syllable, Canadian English has /d/ where British English has /t/, similar to U.S. in words such as pitting /ˈpɪdɪŋ/ (rather than British /ˈpɪtɪŋ/). However, in Canadian English this interacts with the ‘Canadian Raising’ discussed above, such that writer and rider would both have /d/ but the vowel would be different (/ˈrəidər/ and /ˈraidər/, respectively).
Stress
The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress. The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress. The symbol ˈˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable may be pronounced with either primary or secondary stress.