In the study of phonetic changes, a chain shift is a type of sound shift in which a group of sounds all change at about the same time, with some sounds taking the place of others.
While a chain shift usually occurs as a set of vowel shifts, chain shifts can also occur in consonants. For example, a set of plosives that have a voiced / voiceless distinction may shift to have a aspirated / unaspirated distinction. In this case, the voiceless consonants become aspirated, and the voiced consonants become voiceless. A famous example of such a shift is the well_known Grimm's Law which turned the Proto_Indo_European aspirated/unaspirated/ejective distinction into a fricative/unvoiced/voiced distinction.
A vowel shift is a systematic change in the pronunciation of the vowel sounds of a language.
Other examples of ongoing vowel shifts are the Southern Vowel Shift in the southern United States, the California Vowel Shift in California English, or the Northern cities vowel shift in Michigan, Chicago, and parts of upstate New York.
A vowel shift can involve a merger of two previously different sounds, or it can be a chainshift, where vowels play "musical chairs".
In the study of phonetic changes, a chainshift is a type of sound shift in which a group of sounds all change at about the same time, with some sounds taking the place of others.
Examples of historical chainshifts in English are the Great Vowel Shift in the 15th century, and the ongoing Northern cities vowel shift.
While a chainshift usually occurs as a set of vowel shifts, chainshifts can also occur in consonants.
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