Diphthongs

FACE

The FACE vowel serves to set North American pronunciation types off from Caribbean ones quite clearly. A canonical variant, an upgliding diphthong with a half-close onset, [eɪ] , is the main form of all North American dialects except for CajE (which has a monophthong) and SAmE, where a diphthong with a front but lower onset, [εɪ​/æɪ] , is cited as even more characteristic, as part of the “Southern Shift” (the low-onset variant may also occur in CanE, AAVE, and ChcE). SAmE may also have variants with a low-back ([aɪ/Λɪ]) or central ([əɪ]) onset. The highly conspicuous main Caribbean variant of this vowel type is a long half-close monophthong [e:], the characteristic pronunciation of JamE, Baj, the T&TCs, and also Gullah, found also, as a variant, in AAVE, Nfl dE, the Upper Midwest, InlNE and ChcE. The prototypical basilectal pronunciation, however, the main variant of JamC (and a possibility in Baj, SAmE and Nfl dE) is an ingliding diphthong, [ɪə] or [ɪε] . SurCs have a short vowel, homophonous with DRESS, except in word-final position, where the diphthong can occur.