Introduction to the Study of English/ The Great Vowel Shift November 15, 2017
The Great Vowel Shift • The Great Vowel Shift was a series of systemic changes in the pronunciation of English vowels that occurred in southern England during the late Middle English period (roughly the period from Chaucer to Shakespeare).
• According to linguist Otto Jespersen, who coined the term, "The great vowel shift consists in a general raising of all long vowels" (A Modern English Grammar, 1909). • In phonetic terms, the GVS involved the raising and fronting of all the long, stressed monophthongs.
• Length is a question of duration. /a:/ • A long vowel is a vowel that is pronounced for a long(er) period of time, about twice as long as a short vowel.
What happened? • Basically, the long vowels shifted upwards; that is, a vowel that used to be pronounced in one place in the mouth would be pronounced in a different place, higher up in the mouth (different place of articulation).
• The Great Vowel shift involved a regular movement of the places of articulation: the front vowels each moved up to the next higher position, except for /i:/, which formed a dipthong /ai/.
• Likewise the back vowels moved up, except for /u:/, which formed another dipthong /au/.
• The Great Vowel Shift has had long-term implications for, among other things, orthography, the teaching of reading, and the understanding of any Englishlanguage text written before or during the GVC.
Position
Middle English
Modern English
CLOSE
/i:/
---> /ai/
MID
/e:/
---> /i:/
OPEN
/æ/
---> /ei/
CENTRAL VOWELS
OPEN
/a:/
---> /e:/
BACK VOWELS
CLOSE
/u:/
---> /au/
MID
/o:/
---> /u:/
OPEN
"au"
---> /o:/
FRONT VOWELS
12
Write the phonetic counterparts in ME for the following Modern English words:
1.geese 2.mouse 3.child 4.she 5.speak 6.good