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