If some of the stuff I'm saying doesn't make sense, then that's okay; I wouldn't have understood it myself (or even said it in the first place) if not for the Linguistics class I just took.
First of all, I was incorrect; it's actually called
Canadian Raising. If you follow that link, then click the links in the table there to get a feel for what Canadian Raising sounds like.
According to that page, only two of the three diphthongs in English are affected by Canadian Raising. Let me attempt to explain this. A diphthong is a vowel sound that actually consists of two different sounds, but we usually think of it as just one. Take a look:
- The underlined sound in bake isn't just a strong a sound, but the e (as in Japanese sensei) and y (as in yes) sounds combined. This diphthong is represented phonetically as [ej]. (The phonetic symbol for the y sound is [j].)
- Likewise, the underlined sound in bite is a combination of a (as in Japanese katana) and y. This diphthong is represented phonetically as [aj].
- Finally, the underlined sound in rope is a combination of o (as in the Japanese pronunciation of Mario) and w (as in will). This diphthong is represented phonetically as [ow].
Supposedly only the first two diphthongs above are susceptible to Canadian Raising, but I notice the difference in you particularly with the third one. Instead of saying [Watowd], you seem to say [Watʊwd] (where [ʊ] is the sound in
book). The science of what is happening to the vowel is the same as the real Canadian Raising, but since it isn't officially recognized, I guess that makes you an alien. Good job, Alien Lizard Dude! ::)
As for the difference between the /a/ and /œ/ sounds, the movement of the tongue from the first to the second isn't one of raising but of moving forward a little. Compare how your tongue feels when saying the respective sounds in
pot and
pat, and you might see what I mean.
