Atlantic Canadian English in the context of "Canadian English"

Standard Canadian English is the largely homogeneous variety of Canadian English that is spoken particularly across Ontario and Western Canada, as well as throughout Canada among urban middle-class speakers from English-speaking families, excluding the regional dialects of Atlantic Canadian English. Canadian English has a mostly uniform phonology and much less dialectal diversity than neighbouring American English. In particular, Standard Canadian English is defined by the cot–caught merger to [ɒ] and an accompanying chain shift of vowel sounds, which is called the Canadian Shift. A subset of the dialect geographically at its central core, excluding British Columbia to the west and everything east of Montreal, has been called Inland Canadian English. It is further defined by both of the phenomena that are known as Canadian raising (which is found also in British Columbia and Ontario): the production of /oʊ/ and /aʊ/ with back starting points in the mouth and the production of /eɪ/ with a front starting point and very little glide that is almost [e] in the Canadian Prairies.

Newfoundland English refers to several accents and dialects of Atlantic Canadian English found in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Most of these differ significantly from the English commonly spoken elsewhere in Canada and North America, reflecting the province's history and geography. Newfoundland was one of the first areas settled by England in North America, beginning in small numbers in the early 17th century and peaking in the early 19th century. After the 1783 independence of the colonies that formed the United States of America, Newfoundland remained part of British North America, becoming a Dominion within the British Empire in 1907. It joined Canada in 1949 as the last province to join the confederation.

The dialects of Newfoundland English developed in relative isolation due to the province’s geography. Newfoundland is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, separated from Labrador by the Strait of Belle Isle. This isolation allowed the dialects to develop independently of those on the North American mainland. Historically, Newfoundland English was first recognized as a distinct dialect in the late 18th century when George Cartwright published a glossary of Newfoundland words. Today, some words from Newfoundland English, such as "b'y" (a form of address), have gained recognition through popular culture in other parts of Canada, particularly in Ontario and eastward.

Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the varieties of English spoken in Canada, the most widespread variety of Canadian English being Standard Canadian English. English is the most widely spoken language in Canada. It is spoken in all the western and central provinces of Canada (varying from Central Canada to British Columbia) and also in many other provinces among urban middle- or upper-class speakers from natively English-speaking families. Standard Canadian English is distinct from Atlantic Canadian English (its most notable subset being Newfoundland English), and from Quebec English.

While Canadian English tends to be close to American English in most regards, classifiable together as North American English, Canadian English also possesses elements from British English as well as some uniquely Canadian characteristics. The precise influence of American English, British English, and other sources on Canadian English varieties has been the ongoing focus of systematic studies since the 1950s. Standard Canadian and General American English share identical or near-identical phonemic inventories, though their exact phonetic realizations may sometimes differ. Accent differences can also be heard between those who live in urban centres versus those living in rural settings.