Great Vowel Shift
The
Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the
pronunciation of the long
vowels of the
English language (
i.e. a
vowel shift), which began in the
15th century and was mostly completed in the
16th century, although it continued for some time after that.
The values of the long vowels form the main difference between the pronunciation of Middle English and Modern English. Originally, they were essentially the same as those found in Latin. However, during the Great Vowel Shift, the two highest long vowels became diphthongs, and the other five underwent an increase in tongue height and one of them came to the front.
The principal changes are roughly the following, though of course exceptions occur, the transitions were not always complete, and there were sometimes accompanying changes in orthography:-
- /a:/ -> /ei/ (in e.g. make)
- /e:/ -> /i:/ (in e.g. feet)
- /i:/ -> /ai/ (in e.g. mice)
- /o:/ -> /u:/ (in e.g. boot)
- /u:/ -> /au/ (in e.g. mouse)
This means that the vowel in the English word
make was originally pronounced as in modern English
father, but has now become a diphthong, as it is today in standard pronunciations of British English (see
Received Pronunciation); the vowel in
feet was originally pronounced as a long Latin-like
e sound; the vowel in
mice was originally what the vowel in
feet is now; the vowel in
boot was originally a long Latin-like
o sound; and the vowel in
mouse was originally what the vowel in
moose is now, but has now become a diphthong.
The Great Vowel Shift was studied by the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen (1860 - 1943).
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