Vowels: Lexical distribution

Several patterns of lexical distribution affecting the FOOT, STRUT and GOOSE sets differentiate NfldE, particularly its conservative and rural varieties, from StCanE, though these patterns are not unknown on the Canadian mainland. Firstly, the lexical incidence of the FOOT and STRUT classes in NfldE does not coincide with their lexical distribution in contemporary StE. A number of words nowadays articulated with [ʊ] belong in the STRUT set for conservative speakers of NfldE; these include put, took and look. Likewise, many speakers, primarily in English-settled areas of the province, display the use of the LOT rather than the STRUT vowel in un- sequences, e.g. understand, undo, untie. Finally, a small number of lexical items which are generally articulated with the high back tense vowel of GOOSE in contemporary standard varieties are often found with the high back lax vowel of FOOT in NfldE, particularly among older speakers. These tend to be restricted to environments involving a following nasal or a labiodental fricative, notably room, broom, groom, spoon, roof, hoof (yet not moon or proof). Laxing also occurs sporadically in other environments, e.g. before /l/ in foolish.