Dialects Of Ontario
The archive provides:
In a small number of cases, you will also find a narrow phonetic transcription of the sample (see Phonetic Transcriptions for a complete list).
The recordings average four minutes in length and feature both the reading of one of two standard passages, and some unscripted speech. The two passages, Comma Gets a Cure (currently our standard passage), and The Rainbow Passage (used in our earliest recordings), may be accessed from the menu bar to your right.
To access IDEA's sound files and documents, you will need an mp3 player, and Acrobat Reader, available free from Acrobat Reader.
If you are interested in specific information about Ontario, please go to Yahoo's website at dir.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/Canada/
For instructional materials or coaching in the accents and dialects represented here
please go to
Other Dialect Services
Dialect Samples
To properly play a sound sample, you may first need to save it to your own computer. To do so, right-click on the desired sample and save it. A high-speed connection to the internet may allow you to play the file simply by clicking it.| Sound Sample | Basic Information | Text Files |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario One | White, female, born 1971, tutor, lifelong resident of Windsor, Ontario. | Ontario One |
| Ontario Two | White, female, 20 years old, student, Canadian-Italian from Woodbridge, a Canadian-Italian suburb of Toronto, Ontario. | Ontario Two Transcription |
| Ontario Three | White, male, born Sarnia, 1956 | Ontario Three |
| Ontario Four | White, female, born Point Edward, 1959 | Ontario Four |
| Ontario Five | White, male, born Sturgeon's Falls, Ontario, 1958. French-Canadian | Ontario Five |
| Ontario Six | male, Afghan-Canadian, born Toronto, 1983 | Ontario Six |
| Ontario Seven | male, 27, born Southern Ontario | Ontario Seven |
| Ontario Eight | female, 27, born 1978 in England of Asian parents, emigrated as small child to Toronto | Ontario Eight |