Editing Newfoundland English (section)

=== Vowels ===
In much of Newfoundland, the words [[English-language vowel changes before historic r#Near–square merger|''fear'' and ''fair'']] are [[homophones]]. A similar merger is found in the [[Norfolk dialect]] of [[East Anglia]], England, and in [[New Zealand English]].

Newfoundland English traditionally lacked [[Canadian raising]], but that has changed to some extent in the generations since Newfoundland's 1949 joining Canada. People in the Avalon Peninsula, which underwent Irish settlement, display obvious Canadian raising pattern for /ɑɪ/ but not typically for the /ɑʊ/ diphthong. The latter feature has long existed in Newfoundland English but is not very common except in the rural South Coast community of [[Newhook]]. There, it exists in the speech patterns of more women than men.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clarke |first=Sandra |date=2012 |title=Phonetic change in Newfoundland English |journal=Word Englishes |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=515}}</ref>

Many speakers of Newfoundland English have a complete merger of {{IPA|/ɪ/}} and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (a '''[[Phonological history of English close front vowels#Pin–pen merger|''kit''–''dress'' merger]]'''), usually realized with {{IPA|[ɪ]}} (in words like ''bit'' and ''bet'') but with {{IPA|[ɛ]}} before {{IPA|/r/}} (in words like ''beer'' and ''bear'').{{sfnp|Wells|1982|p=500}} The merger is common in Irish-settled parts of Newfoundland and is thought to be a relic of the former Irish pronunciation.<ref>{{cite book |last=Clarke |first=S. |title=Legacies of Colonial English |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-521-83020-6 |editor-last=Hickey |editor-first=R. |page=252 |chapter=The legacy of British and Irish English in Newfoundland}}</ref>