As a native west coast Canadian, I associate it with easterners and more specifically east coasters. My most regular exposure to the phenomenon is a tic I notice with Steve from the YouTube channel Acorn to Arabella, based in Massachusetts. I find his pronunciation of “ba’en” (batten) or “impor’ant” mildly grating. He does pronounce battery with a standard middle “T” though. I’ve had a decade of living in Toronto “Trawna” about fifteen years back, so I’m little more relaxed about regional variances.
The Channel: One Minute About Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat - YouTube
Electrical Systems Vid - note “important” at 1:34 & “Battery” at 2:13: Boat Electrical Systems, First Steps - Episode 194 - Acorn to Arabella: Journey of a Wooden Boat - YouTube (vid queued to 1:33).
-DF
I would’ve embedded the vids, but apparently some of us can’t right now … Have links to YouTube been disabled?