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Historical PhonologyHistorical PhonologyHistory of Sound DevelopmentsHistory of Sound Developments
PDE pronunciation and spelling
time <i> moonboots,
fool <oo> surfen,
feet <ee> computer
name <a>
but <u>
man <a>
Very different from all other Western European languages!!!
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
e o
i u
æ
i u
alinear reduction
2) Loss of length correlation of consonants (OE > ME) and
vowels (EModE > 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
front/palatal
back/velar
closed
open
// // //
// /ø΅ώ/ //
˝ϋ
two diphthongs: /o/ and /a/
ME vowel system in the stressed syllable
/i/ short /u/
/e/ /o/
/a/
/ī/ long /ū/ /ē/ /ọ΄/
// /΅/ /ā/
Monophthongs
Diphthongs
ai auoi ou-- eu-- iu
Vowels in American English
i beet roses boot u
bit put u
e bait Rosa‘s boat o
E bet but bought
æ bat a father
pot
Front Central Back (Rounded)
High
Mid
Low
(Tense)
(Lax)
(Tense)
(Lax)
The Simple Vowel
Diphthongs in American English
ay aw
buy cow
y boy
system of PDE vowels in stressed syllables
// //
/e/ // // /o/
/æ/ /a/ //
pit put
pet pert putt port
pat part pot
9 monophthongs
system of PDE vowels in stressed syllables
/ii/ /ui/ /uu/
/ei/ /oi/ /ou/
/ai/ -- /au/
peat buoy Pooh
pate boy Poe
kite pout
8 diphthongs
schwa-diphthongs and triphthongs
peer /i/
pear /e/
pore /o()/
poor /u/
layer /ei/
pyre /ai/
lower /ou/
power /au/
3) Lengthening of vowels before homorganic consonant clusters (ME)
OE
ME
PDE
cf. Gm.
gold
gōld
gold /gould/
Gold
milde
mīld(e)
mild
/ai/
mild
findan
fīnd(e)
find
/ai/
finden
wilde
wīld(e)
wild
/ai/
wild
haldan
họ˝ld(e)
hold
/ou/
halten
feld
feeld /ẹ˛/
field
//
Feld
climban
clīmb(e)
claim /klaim/
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 CC
V VC VCC
Vų VųC VųCC
VV VVC VVCC
ME syllable type/shape types
V = short vowelVų = long vowelVV = diphthongC = single consonantCų = long consonant
(very early ME only)CC = consonant cluster.
monosyllabic combinations in matrix presentation
C CC
V VC VCC
Vų VųC VųCC
VV VVC VVCC
Examples
1. -VC:
man2. -VųC:
great
/grt/
"great"3. -VVC:
noise
/nois/
"noise"4. -VCC:
forþ
"forth"5. -VųCC:
feeld
/fēld/
"field"6. -VVCC:
seynt
/saint/
"saint"
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 ~ shepherdhouse ~ husbandchild ~ childrenwife ~ womannation ~ national
1) Linear reduction of unstressed syllables
2) Loss of length correlation of consonants (OE > ME) and
vowels (EModE > PDE)3) Lengthening of vowels before
homorganic consonant clusters (ME)
4) ME syllable type/shape type rule
5) Tudor Vowel Shift (EModE)
Henry VII Tudor (1485-1509)
Henry VIII Tudor (1509-1547)
Mary I Tudor (1553-1558)
Elisabeth I Tudor (1558 -1603)
Tudor / Great Vowel Shift
/ī/ /ū/
/ẹ˝/ /ọ˝/
// /˝/
/ā/
/i/ /ii/ /uu/ /u/
/ai/ /ii/ /uu/ /au/
/ei/ /ou/
short vowels
/i/ /u/
// /e/ /o/
/æ/ ///a/
Long vowels
ME PDEī > /ai/lif life
ū > /au/hus/hous house
Exceptions: ū remains /ū/ after /w/ and before nasalsME roum, PDE room; ME wound, PDE wound
Long vowels
ME PDE
ẹ˝ > /ī/deep 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 PDEọ΄ > /ū/food food
ę˝ > /ī/clēne cleanheeth heath
Exceptions:“retarded development” of the following words: ME brę˝ke, grę˝t, stę˝ke > PDE break, great, steak
Long vowels
ME PDE΄ > /ou/h΄m homemoone 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 > // > /ẹ˝/ > /ei/
ME: name PDE: name
flame flame
plane plane
pale pale
paste paste
haste haste
Diphthongs
ME PDEai > /ei/tail, bait tail, bait
ou = /ou/bow /bou/ bow, low, show
au > //law, raw law, raw
Exceptions:before nasals: ME dauncen PDE dance
ME chaumbre PDE chamber
Diphthongs
ME PDEüǻ/iu/eu /ju/, /u/new /niu/ = newblue /bliu/ > bluefewe /feu/ = few, music
oi = oinoise noisevoice voice
short vowels
/i/ /u/
// /e/ /o/
/æ/ ///a/
ME Short Vowels
ME PDEi > // ship, sit, pit, hipe = /e/ set, hen, fen, shed, knello > /a/ > // pot, cock, frock (Gm. “Frack”
borrowed from English in 17th century)
u > //, // cut, shut, shun, buna > /æ/ cat, fat, tat, batExceptions: /a/ after /w/ > //,
what, wasp, warp, wallet /u/ after labials unchanged in PDE // full, bull, butcher, pudding, bush
6) Major Loss of Consonants (EModE > 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, hrfn > 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, for, forty-four, lower, higher, fire
RP is r-less,
General American is r-full
Medial consonant clusters
windmill, landlady, government
almost
Nota bene
ˊHrōþwulf > ˊHrōþulf > Hrolf > Rolf
singer ≠ finger, England