Historical Phonology History of Sound Developments PDE

Nine PDE ways of spelling / / key, keep, leap, Caesar, lever, perceive, retrieve, oblique, city

Five PDE ways of spelling /ei/ gay, name, Morgan La Fey, brae, gauge

PDE Placenames Greenwich, Harwich, Hawick, Alnwick Gloucester, Worcester, Leicester, Leominster

If you want to know why this is so, you need to study Historical Phonology!!!

Six important „rules“ responsible for the dramatic change of pronunciation from OE > PDE

1) linear reduction of unstressed syllables English lexical stress: / OE hlāf-weard-as > lord-s

unstressed vowels i u æ i u a e o linear reduction

2) Loss of length correlation of consonants (OE > ME) and vowels (EMod. E > PDE) OE: difference of quality AND quantity > PDE difference in quality only, i. e. length is not distinctive

OE vowel system: monophthongs in stressed syllables closed front/ palatal / / /ø΅ώ/ / / ˝ϋ two diphthongs: / o/ and / a/ back/ velar open

ME vowel system in the stressed syllable /ī/ long /ū/ /ọ΄/ / ΅/ /ē/ / / /ā/ /i/ short /u/ /e/ /o/ /a/ Monophthongs

Diphthongs ai oi --- au ou eu iu

Vowels in American English Front High Central i beet u roses put u e bait E bet Low boot (Tense) (Lax) bit Mid Back (Rounded) but æ bat Rosa‘s a father pot The Simple Vowel boat (Tense) o (Lax) bought

Diphthongs in American English y boy ay aw buy cow

system of PDE vowels in stressed syllables / / / / pit put /e/ /d/ / / /o/ pet pert putt port /æ/ /a/ / / pat part pot 9 monophthongs

system of PDE vowels in stressed syllables /ii/ /uu/ /ei/ /ou/ /ai/ peat Pooh buoy pate Poe boy kite 8 diphthongs pout -

schwa-diphthongs and triphthongs peer /i / layer /ei / pear /e / pyre /ai / pore /o( )/ lower /ou / poor /u / power /au /

3) Lengthening of vowels before homorganic consonant clusters (ME) OE gold milde findan wilde haldan feld climban ME gōld mīld(e) fīnd(e) wīld(e) họ˝ld(e) feeld /ẹ˛/ clīmb(e) PDE gold /gould/ mild /ai/ find /ai/ wild /ai/ hold /ou/ field / / claim /klaim/ cf. Gm. Gold mild finden wild halten Feld klimmen

lengthening consonant clusters OE short vowels were lengthened in front of certain lengthening consonant clusters which contain resonant consonants: /mb/, /nd/, /ng/[ g], /ld/, /rd/, /rl/, /rn/, /rð/, /rz/

4) ME syllable type/shape type rule C V CC VC VCC Vų VųCC VV VVCC

ME syllable type/shape types V Vų VV C Cų = short vowel = long vowel = diphthong = single consonant = long consonant (very early ME only) CC = consonant cluster.

monosyllabic combinations in matrix presentation C V CC VC VCC Vų VųCC VV VVCC

Examples 1. -VC: man

di-syllabic words: complementary distribution of syllable types - VĸǺCV : fāĴdir, nēĴdy, hūĴses (gen. sg. /pl. ) - VĹCCV : ónger, cástel, húswif (compound) exception: /i/ CV sone /sun /, living /u/

tri-syllabic words -VĹC[C]VCV: géderide "gathered", quýkened "quickened", párished "perished".

This explains PDE alternations such as: sheep house child wife nation ~ ~ ~ shepherd husband children woman national

1) Linear reduction of unstressed syllables 2) Loss of length correlation of consonants (OE > ME) and vowels (EMod. E > PDE) 3) Lengthening of vowels before homorganic consonant clusters (ME) 4) ME syllable type/shape type rule

5) Tudor Vowel Shift (EMod. E)

Henry VII Tudor (1485 -1509)

Henry VIII Tudor (1509 -1547)

Mary I Tudor (1553 -1558)

Elisabeth I Tudor (1558 -1603)

Tudor / Great Vowel Shift / i/ /ii/ /ī/ /ai/ /ei/ /ii/ /ẹ˝/ /uu/ / u/ /ū/ /uu/ /au/ /ọ˝/ /ou/ / / / ˝/ /ā/

short vowels /i/ /u/ / / /e/ /æ/ /o/ / / /a/

Long vowels ME ī > lif PDE /ai/ life ū > /au/ hus/house Exceptions: ū remains /ū/ after /w/ and before nasals ME roum, PDE room; ME wound, PDE wound

Long vowels ME ẹ˝ > deep PDE /ī/ deep Exceptions: “accelerated development” ME ẹ˝ > Late ME ī > PDE /ai/ only in the following words: ME brẹ˝re, frẹ˝re, quẹ˝re, dẹ˝, umpẹ˝re, contrẹ˝ve > PDE briar, friar, choir, die, umpire, contrive

Long vowels ME ọ΄ > food PDE /ū/ food ę˝ > clēne heeth /ī/ clean heath Exceptions: “retarded development” of the following words: ME brę˝ke, grę˝t, stę˝ke > PDE break, great, steak

Long vowels ME ΄ > h ΄m moone PDE /ou/ home moan Exceptions: “accelerated development” ME ΄ > Late ME ọ΄ > PDE /ū/ in who, whom, two Also irregular development of ME n ΄, n ΄thing, ΄n and br ΄de > PDE none, nothing, one, broad

Long vowels ā > / / > ME: name flame plane pale paste haste /ẹ˝/ > /ei/ PDE: name flame plane pale paste haste

Diphthongs ME ai tail, bait > ou = bow /bou/ PDE /ei/ tail, bait /ou/ bow, low, show au > / / law, raw Exceptions: before nasals: ME dauncen PDE dance ME chaumbre PDE chamber

Diphthongs ME üǻ/iu/eu new /niu/ blue /bliu/ fewe /feu/ oi noise voice = > = = PDE /ju/, /u/ new blue few, music oi noise voice

short vowels /i/ /u/ / / /e/ /æ/ /o/ / / /a/

ME Short Vowels ME i > e = o > /a/ > PDE / / ship, sit, pit, hip /e/ set, hen, fen, shed, knell / / pot, cock, frock (Gm. “Frack” borrowed from English in 17 th century) u > / /, / / cut, shun, bun a > /æ/ cat, fat, tat, bat Exceptions: /a/ after /w/ > / /, what, wasp, warp, wallet /u/ after labials unchanged in PDE / / full, butcher, pudding, bush

6) Major Loss of Consonants (EMod. E > PDE) Initial consonant clusters: knight, know, knife, gnaw, gnat wrong, Wrangler, wretch, wring sword

Initial consonant clusters which, what, where, why, whether, when cf. OE: hrōf > roof, hr fn > raven, hlūd > loud, hwylc > which, hwā > who /hu/

Final consonant clusters walk, talk, chalk, would, should, could fork, ford, birch, heard, third, board, born taught, caught, fought, fight, light, night strong, long, wrong, throng, bang, slang lamb, thumb indict receipt, indept, dept Lincoln

Loss of final -r bear, beer, bier, forty-four, lower, higher, fire RP is r-less, General American is r-full

Medial consonant clusters windmill, landlady, government almost

Nota bene singer ≠ finger, England ˊ ˊ Hrōþwulf > Hrōþulf > Hrolf > Rolf