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Canadian raising words

In Canadian and some northern American English, the diphthongs in price and mouth start higher when followed by a voiceless consonant, so house differs from houses and write from ride. The result is the stereotyped aboot impression, which is really a raised onset rather than an oo sound. Compare the pairs directly.


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The words

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Quinoa, gnocchi, bruschetta, acai: menu words that trip everyone up. Hear each one correctly.
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The relaxed short i in sit, big and busy. The single hardest vowel for most learners to place.
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The most common sound in English, hiding in every unstressed syllable. Learn to hear the schwa.
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Ship or sheep, full or fool, pull or pool. Hear the tense and lax vowel pairs side by side.
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Vowels that glide from one sound to another: boy, house, coin, near. Hear all eight diphthongs.
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The flat short a in cat, bad and hand. A vowel that does not exist in most other languages.
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Keep practising

Browse every practice list or the word index, hear two accents back to back on Compare, or test your ear with the listening quiz.

To read the rules behind these words, see the pronunciation guides — including silent letters, word stress and American vs British. Or hear each accent on its own page: American, British, Australian.