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The Great Vowel Shift

 

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the

 

English language, generally accomplished in the fifteenth century, although

 

evidence suggests it began as early as the fourteenth century. The shift continued

 

for some time into the sixteenth century, spreading toward the non-metropolitan

 

and non-port areas. It represented a change in the long vowels. The essence of the

 

shift was the narrowing of all MidE long vowels, and diphongization of the

 

narrowest long ones, for example: [i:] à [ai].

 

The shift can be represented in the following diagram:

 

ai i: i: ɪ:     u: u: au
               
      e: e: ei ou o:      
                 
        ε: a: ɔ:        

 

 

In the 16th century the vowel [e:] from MidE [ε:] differed from the vowel [i:]

 

from MidE [e:], an the words speak, beat, mean did not rhyme with the words

 

meek, meet, keen. In the late 17th century [e:] changed into [i:] and the difference

 

between the two vowels disappeared.

 

The separate items of the shift may be represented in the following way:

 

· [a:] à [ei]: Middle English [a:] (ā) fronted to [æ:] and then raised to [ε:],

 

and generally diphthongized in Modern English to [eɪ] (as in make).

 

· [ε:] à [e:] à [i:]: Middle English [ε:] raised to [e:] and then to modern

 

English [i:] (as in beak). In a few words beginning with consonant clusters,

 

however, the vowel remained below [i:] as Modern English [eɪ] (as in break).

 

· [e:] à [i:]: Middle English [e:] raised to Modern English [i:] (as in feet).

 

· [i:] à [ai]: Middle English [i:] diphthongised to [ɪi], which was most

 

likely followed by [əɪ] and finally Modern English [ai] (as in mice).

 

· [ɔ:] à [ou]: Middle English [ɔ:] raised to [o:], and in the eighteenth

 

century this became Modern English [ou] or [əu] (as in boat).

 

· [o:] à [u:]: Middle English [o:] raised to Modern English [u:] (as in boot).

 

· [u:] à [au]: Middle English [u:] was diphthongised in most environments

 

· to [uʊ], and this was followed by [əʊ], and then Modern English [au] (as

 

in mouse) in the eighteenth century. Before labial consonants, this shift did not

 

occur, and [u:] remains as in room and droop).



 

The Great Vowel Shift occurred when the spelling was already fixed.

 

Therefore there were no changes in spelling of long vowels; they were presented

 

graphically as they were pronounced earlier. One may say that the Modern English

 

spelling reflects to a great extent the Old and Middle English pronunciation.

 

Examples:

Spelling Middle English pronunciation Modern English pronunciation
name [‘na:mə] [neim]
clean [klε:n] [kle:n] à [kli:n]
see [se:] [si:]
time [‘ti:mə] [taim]
go [gɔ:] [gou]
food [fo:d] [fu:d]
house [hu:s] [haus]

 

Evidence for the Great Vowel Shift comes from a variety of sources:

 

· Modern English spelling and pronunciation, cf. crime and criminal, please and pleasant;

· Middle English spelling;

· Rhyme words. When we look at Chaucer’s texts, we can see that he uses

 

rhyming words which do not rhyme in Modern English. The following examples

 

are typical; all are drawn from the Canterbury Tales

Chaucer’s rhymes Modern Words ModE Vowels
heeth, breeth heath, breath [i]/[e]
ye, melodye eye, melody [ai]/[i]
Two, so two, so [u]/[o]
Wyn, Latyn wine, Latin [aj]/[i]

 

· Indications of vowel length (doubled vowels in spelling);

 

· Comparisons with spellings from French and Latin, especially in

 

borrowed words.

 

 


Date: 2015-01-29; view: 1423


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