The Canadian Vowel Shift in Progress: The /æ/ Variation in Eastern Canada

This study examines the regional and generational variation of the vowel /æ/ in Eastern Canadian regions (i.e. Montreal and New Brunswick) within the context of the Canadian Vowel Shift (CVS). The CVS, characterized by the lowering and retraction of short front vowels, has been well-documented in central and western Canada but less so in Eastern Canada. Twenty female speakers, divided by region and generation, were recorded producing tokens of /æ/ in various phonetic contexts, including raising environments (nasals and velar stops). Linear mixed-effects models were applied to the formant measures (F1 and F2) to assess whether region, generation, and phonetic context were significant predictors of vowel variation. The results reveal that Montreal speakers produce lower and more retracted /æ/ values than New Brunswick speakers, suggesting that the CVS is more advanced in Montreal. Generational differences were prominent in New Brunswick, where younger speakers showed significantly lower /æ/ values, while in Montreal the shift appears to be stabilizing. Raising environments resisted vowel lowering, with prenasal /æN/ showing the strongest resistance. These findings suggest that the CVS is spreading eastward, but with regional, generational, and phonetic variations in how the shift manifests.