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Encyclopedia > Phonological history of the English language

Within each section, changes are in approximate chronological order.


NOTE: In the following description, abbreviations are used as follows:

The time periods for many of the following stages are extremely short due to the extensive population movements occurring during the early AD period, which resulted in rapid dialect fragmentation: Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion in 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ... Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, ca 500 BC-50 BC. The area south of Scandinavia is the Jastorf culture Proto-Germanic, the proto-language believed by scholars to be the common ancestor of the Germanic languages, includes among its descendants Dutch, Yiddish... Northwest Germanic is a proposed grouping of the Germanic dialects. ... The term Old High German (OHG, German: Althochdeutsch) refers to the earliest stage of the German language and it conventionally covers the period from around 500 to 1050. ... Middle High German (MHG, German Mittelhochdeutsch) is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. ... German (called Deutsch in German; in German the term germanisch is equivalent to English Germanic), is a member of the western group of Germanic languages and is one of the worlds major languages. ... The Gothic language (*gutiska razda, * ) is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths and specifically by the Visigoths. ... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is a Germanic language. ... The Proto-Indo-European language (PIE) is the hypothetical common ancestor of the Indo-European languages. ...

  • The migration of the Goths from southeast Sweden to the Baltic Sea area around AD 1, followed by the migration to southeast Romania around AD 200. (Later migrations carried the Ostrogoths eastward to the Crimea area in modern Ukraine, and carried the Visigoths westward to Spain.)
  • The migration of the High German ancestors southward, starting around AD 260, and renewed in the 5th century AD.
  • The migration of the Anglo-Saxons westward into Britain, starting around AD 450.

Contents

Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ... The Baltic Sea is located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. ... This article deals with the continental Ostrogoths. ... Motto: Процветание в единстве - Prosperity in unity Anthem: Нивы и горы твои волшебны, Родина - Your fields amd mounts are wonderful, Motherland Capital Simferopol Largest cities Simferopol, Eupatoria, Kerch, Theodosia, Yalta Official language Ukrainian. ... The Visigoths, originally Tervingi, or Vesi (the noble ones), one of the two main branches of the Goths (of which the Ostrogothi were the other), were one of the loosely-termed Germanic peoples that disturbed the late Roman Empire. ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ...


Late Proto-Germanic period (c. AD 0–200)

This includes changes in late Proto-Germanic, up to the appearance of Proto-West-Germanic c. AD 200: Map of the Pre-Roman Iron Age culture(s) associated with Proto-Germanic, ca 500 BC-50 BC. The area south of Scandinavia is the Jastorf culture Proto-Germanic, the proto-language believed by scholars to be the common ancestor of the Germanic languages, includes among its descendants Dutch, Yiddish...

  • Early i-mutation: /e/ is raised to /i/ when an /i/ or /j/ follows in the next syllable.
    • This occurs before deletion of any unstressed vowels; hence PIE /bereti/ > PG /bereθi/ > /beriθi/ > Goth baíriθ /beriθ/ "(he) carries".
    • The /i/ produced by this change can itself trigger later i-mutation. Hence WG /beriθ/ > /biriθ/ > OE /birθ/ "(he) carries".
  • a-mutation: /u/ is lowered to /o/ when a non-high vowel follows in the next syllable.
    • This is blocked when followed by a nasal followed by a consonant, or by a cluster with /j/ in it. Hence PG /gulda/ > OE/NE gold, but PG /guldjanan/ > OE gyldan > NE gild.
    • This produces a new phoneme /o/, due to inconsistent application and later loss of unstressed /a/ and /e/.
  • Loss of /n/ before /x/, with nasalization and compensatory lengthening of the preceding vowel.
    • The nasalization was eventually lost, but remained through the Ingvaeonic period.
    • Hence PrePG /tongjonom/ > PG > /θankjanan/ > OE þencan think, but PrePG /tonktoːm/ > PG /θanxtoːn/ > /θãːxtoːn/ > OE þóhte > NE thought.
  • Loss of final /n/, with nasalization (eventually lost) of the preceding vowel. Hence PrePG /dʱogʱom/ > PG /dagam/ > PN /daga/ > WG /dag/ "day (acc. sg.)".
  • Pre-nasal raising: /e/ > /i/ before nasal + consonant. PrePG /bʱendʱonom/ > PG /bendanan/ > /bindanan/ > OE bindan > NE bind (Latin of-fendō).
    • This post-dated lost of /n/ before /x/.
    • This was later extended in PreOE times to vowels before all nasals; hence OE niman "take" but OHG neman.
  • /ei/ > /iː/ (c. AD 100). The Elder Futhark of the Proto-Norse language still contain different symbols for the two sounds.
  • Vowels in unstressed syllables were reduced or eliminated. The specifics are quite complex and occurred as a result of many successive changes, with successive stages often happening hundreds of years after the previous stage. Some specifics of the initial stage:
    • Final-syllable short vowels inherited from Proto-Germanic were generally deleted. Hence Goth baíriθ /beriθ/ "(he) carries" < PG /bereθi/ (see above).
      • This operated universally only in words of three syllables or more. In words of two syllables, final-syllable /a/ and /e/ were deleted, but /i/ and /u/ were unaffected following a short syllable (i.e. one with a short vowel followed by a single consonant.) Hence PG /dagaz/ > Goth dags "day (nom. sing.)" (OE dæg), PIE /woida/ > PG /waita/ > Goth wáit "(I) know" (OE wát), PIE /woide/ > PG /waite/ > Goth "wáit" "(he) knows" (OE wát); but PIE /sunus/ > PG /sunuz/ > Goth sunus "son (nom. sing.)" (OE sunu), PIE /peku/ > PG /fehu/ > Goth faíhu /fehu/ "cattle (nom. sing.)" (OE feohu), PIE /wenis/ > PG /weniz/ > /winiz/ > OHG wini "friend (nom. sing.)" (OE wine), PIE /poːdi/ > PG /foːti/ > PreOE /føːti/ > OE fét "foot (dat. sing.)".
      • Final-syllable /a/ and /e/ were protected in words of two syllables by following /r/ and /ns/. Hence PG /fader/ > NE father; PG /stainans/ > Goth stáinans "stone (acc. pl.)".
      • Final-syllable /a/ and /e/ in two-syllable words were still present in Proto-Norse. PN /dagaz/, Goth dags "day (nom. sg.)". PN /daga/, Goth dag "day (acc. sg.)".
    • Final-syllable long vowels were shortened.
      • But final-syllable /oː/ becomes /u/ in NWG, /a/ in Gothic. Hence PG /beroː/ > early OE beru "(I) carry", but Goth baíra; PG /geboː/ > OE giefu "gift (nom. sg.)", but Goth giba.
    • Middle-syllable vowels of all types were unchanged; likewise in monosyllables, since they were stressed.
    • "Extra-long"' vowels were shorted to long vowels. There is a great deal of argument about what is exactly going on here.
      • The traditional view is that a circumflex accent arose (as in Ancient Greek) when two adjacent vowels were contracted into a single long vowel in a final syllable. This circumflexed vowel then remained long when other long vowels shortened.
      • A newer view holds that "overlong" (tri-moraic) vowels arose from the contraction of two vowels, one of which was long. Furthermore, final-syllable long vowels remained long before certain final consonants (/z/ and /d/).
      • The reason why such theories are necessary is that some final-syllable long vowels are shortened, while others remain. Nominative singular /-oːn/ shortens, for example; likewise first singular /-oːn/ < /-oːm/; while genitive plural /-oːn/ < /-oːm/ remains long. Both of the above theories postulate an overlong or circumflex ending /-ôːn/ in the genitive plural arising in the vocalic (PIE /o/ and /aː/, PG /a/ and /oː/) declensions, arising from contraction of the vocalic stem ending with the genitive plural ending.
      • Other examples of vowels that remain long are a-stem and ó-stem nominative plural /-ôz/ < early PIE /-o-es/ and /-aː-es/; PrePG ablative singular /-ôd/, /-êd/ (Gothic ƕadrē "whither", undarō "under"); /ō/-stem dative singular PG /gibâi/ > Goth gibái "gift" (but /a/-stem dative singular PG /stainai/ > Goth staina "stone").

I-mutation is what umlaut is called when it applies to English. ... I-mutation is what umlaut is called when it applies to English. ... A-mutation was a vowel harmony process that took place at the late Proto-Germanic stage (perhaps around 200 AD), and caused a high vowel to become lowered when a following syllable contained a non-high vowel (not just /a/; hence the term is a misnomer). ... In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that air escapes partially or wholly through the nose during the production of the sound. ... Compensatory lengthening in phonology and historical linguistics is the lengthening of a vowel sound that happens upon the loss of a following consonant, usually in the syllable coda. ... Also referred to as Ingaevones, North Sea Germans (Ingwäonen, Nordsee-Germanen in German). ... In phonetics, nasalization is the production of a sound while the velum is lowered, so that air escapes partially or wholly through the nose during the production of the sound. ... It has been suggested that History of the Latin language be merged into this article or section. ... The 24 runes of the Elder Futhark The Elder Futhark (or Elder Fuþark, Older Futhark, Old Futhark) are the oldest form of the runic alphabet, used by Germanic tribes for Proto-Norse and other Migration period Germanic dialects of the 2nd to 8th centuries for inscriptions on artefacts (jewellery... Proto-Norse, Primitive Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... The circumflex ( ˆ ) (more commonly known as an uppen) is a diacritic mark used in written Greek, French, Esperanto, Norwegian, Romanian, Slovak, Vietnamese, Japanese romaji, Welsh, Portuguese, Italian, Afrikaans, and other languages. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ...

West Germanic period (c. AD 200–400)

This includes changes up through the split of Ingvaeonic and High German (c. AD 400): West Germanic is the largest branch of the Germanic family of languages, including such languages as English, Dutch, and German. ... Also referred to as Ingaevones, North Sea Germans (Ingwäonen, Nordsee-Germanen in German). ... Subdivisions Central German Upper German High German (in German, Hochdeutsch) is any of several German dialects spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Luxembourg (as well as in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace), Italy, Poland, and Romania (Transylvania) and in some areas of former colonial settlement, for example in...

  • Unstressed diphthongs were monophthongized. /ai/ > /æː/, /au/ > /oː/.
    • Results were different in Gothic. Diphthongs remained except for absolutely final diphthongs stemming from PIE short diphthongs, which became short /a/.
    • Hence PIE /sunous/ > PG /sunauz/ > Goth sunáus, but > PWG /sunoː/ > OE suna "son (gen. sing.)"; PIE /nemoit/ > PG /nemait/ > /nimait/ > Goth nimái, but > PWG /nimæː/ > OE nime "(he) takes (subj.)"; PIE (loc.?) /stoinoi/ > PG /stainai/ > Goth staina, but > PWG /stainæː/ > OE stáne "stone (dat. sing.)"; PIE (loc.?) /gʱebʱaːi/ > PG /gebâi/ > Goth gibái, but > PWG /gebæː/ > OE giefe "gift" (dat. sing.).
  • /æː/ becomes /aː/ [ɑː].
  • Elimination of word-final /z/.
    • Note that this change must have occurred before rhotacization, as original word-final /z/ did not become /r/.
    • But it must have occurred after the North-West-Germanic split , since word-final /z/ was not eliminated in Old Norse, instead merging with /r/.
  • Rhotacization: /z/ > /r/.
    • This change also affected Proto-Norse; but in Proto-Norse, the date and nature are contested. /z/ and /r/ were still distinct in the Danish and Swedish dialect of Old Norse, as is testified by distinct runes. (/z/ is normally assumed to be a rhotic fricative in this language, but there is no actual evidence of this.)
  • West Germanic Gemination of consonants except /r/, when preceded by a short vowel and followed by /j/.
    • OE nominative plural /as/ (ME /s/), OS nominative plural /oːs/ may be from original accusative plural /ans/ (rather than original nominative plural /oːz/; cf. ON nominative plural /ar/), following Ingvaeonic nasalization/loss of nasals before fricatives.

The Gothic language (*gutiska razda, * ) is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths and specifically by the Visigoths. ... Northwest Germanic is a proposed grouping of the Germanic dialects. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the letter r (equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ... Proto-Norse, Proto-Nordic, Ancient Nordic or Proto-North Germanic was an Indo-European language spoken in Scandinavia that is thought to have evolved from Proto-Germanic between the 1st century BC and the 2nd century, and was spoken until ca 800, when it evolved into the Old Norse language. ... Old Norse or Danish tongue is the Germanic language once spoken by the inhabitants of the Nordic countries (for instance during the Viking Age). ... West Germanic Gemination is a sound change that took place in all West Germanic languages, around 300 AD. All single consonants except /r/ were doubled after a short vowel and before /j/; sometimes also before /w/, /r/, and /l/. A similar change occurred in the history of Old Norse, but...

Ingvaeonic and Proto-Anglo-Frisian period (c. AD 400–475)

This includes changes from c. AD 400 up through the split of the Anglo-Frisian languages from Ingvaeonic, followed by the split of pre-Old English from pre-Old Frisian (c. AD 475). The time periods for these stages are extremely short due to the migration of the Anglo-Saxons westward through Frisian territory and then across the English Channel into Britain, around AD 450. Also referred to as Ingaevones, North Sea Germans (Ingwäonen, Nordsee-Germanen in German). ... The Anglo-Frisian languages (also known as Ingvaeonic languages or North Sea Germanic languages) are a group of West Germanic languages consisting of Old English, Old Frisian, and their descendants. ... Also referred to as Ingaevones, North Sea Germans (Ingwäonen, Nordsee-Germanen in German). ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Old Frisian was the West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries by the people who, from their ancient homes in North Germany and Denmark, had settled in the area between the Rhine and Elbe on the European North Sea coast in the 4th and 5th centuries. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche, IPA: , the sleeve), also for some time known in England as the British Sea, is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the...

  • Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law: Loss of nasals before fricatives, with compensatory lengthening. Hence PG /munθaz/ > NG mund but OE múþ, NE mouth.
    • An intermediate stage was a long nasal vowel, where nasal /ãː/ > /õː/. PIE /dontos/ > PG /tanθaz/ > OE tóθ "tooth". (NHG Zahn < OHG zant.)
  • Development of new /ɑ/-/æ/ distinction through Anglo-Frisian brightening and other changes:
    • Fronting of /ɑː/ to /æː/ (generally, unless /w/ followed).
    • Fronting of /ɑ/ to /æ/ (unless followed by a geminate, by a back vowel in the next syllable, or in certain other cases). Hence OE dæg /dæj/ "day", plural dagas /dɑɣɑs/ "days" (dialectal NE "dawes"; compare NE "dawn" < OE dagung /dɑɣung/). Gothic dags, plural dagós.
    • Change of /ai/ to /ɑː/. PG /stainaz/ > OE stán > NE stone.

In historical linguistics, the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law (also called the Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic nasal spirant law) is a description of a philological development in some dialects of West Germanic, which is attested in Old English, Old Frisian, and Old Saxon. ... Compensatory lengthening in phonology and historical linguistics is the lengthening of a vowel sound that happens upon the loss of a following consonant, usually in the syllable coda. ... The phonology of Old English is necessarily somewhat speculative, since it is preserved purely as a written language. ...

Old English period (c. AD 475–900)

This includes changes from the split between Anglo-Saxon and Frisian (c. AD 475) up through historic early West Saxon of AD 900: Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... The Anglo-Saxons refers collectively to the groups of Germanic tribes who achieved dominance in southern Britain from the mid-5th century, forming the basis for the modern English nation. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... This article concerns the English kingdom, not the Westland Wessex helicopter Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the kingdom of England. ...

  • Breaking of front vowels
    • Most generally, before /x/, /w/, /r/ + consonant, /l/ + consonant (assumed to be velar [ɹ], [ɫ] in these circumstances), but exact conditioning factors vary from vowel to vowel
    • Initial result was a falling diphthong ending in /u/, but this was followed by Diphthong height harmonization, producing short /æ̆ɑ̆/, /ɛ̆ɔ̆/, /ɪ̆ʊ̆/ from short /æ/, /ɛ/, /ɪ/, long /æɑ/, /eo/, /iu/ from long /æː/, /eː/, /iː/. (Written ea, eo, io, where length is not distinguished graphically.)
    • Result in some dialects, for example Anglian, was back vowels rather than diphthongs. West Saxon ceald; but Anglian cald > NE cold.
  • /ɪ̆ʊ̆/ and /iu/ were lowered to /ɛ̆ɔ̆/ and /eo/ between 800 and 900 AD.
  • By the above changes, /au/ was fronted to /æu/ and then modified to /æa/ by Diphthong height harmonization.
    • PG /draumaz/ > OE dréam "joy" (cf. NE dream, NHG Traum). PG /dauθuz/ > OE déaþ > NE death (Goth dáuθus, NHG Tod). PG /augoː/ > OE éage > NE eye (Goth áugō, NHG Auge).
  • /sk/ was palatalized to /ʃ/ in almost all circumstances. PG /skipaz/ > NE ship (cf skipper < ON, where no such change happened). PG /skurtjaz/ > OE scyrte > NE shirt, but > ON skyrt > NE skirt.
  • /k/, /ɣ/, /g/ were palatalized to /ʧ/, /j/, /ʤ/ in certain complex circumstances, described in detail on the Old English page.
    • This change, or something similar, also occurred in Frisian.
  • Back vowels were fronted when followed in the next syllable by /i/ or /j/, by i-mutation (c. 500 AD).
    • i-mutation affected all the Germanic languages except for Gothic, although with a great deal of variation. It appears to have occurred earliest, and to be most pronounced, in the Schleswig-Holstein area (the home of the Anglo-Saxons), and from there to have spread north and south.
    • This produced new front-rounded vowels /œ/, /øː/, /ʏ/, /yː/. /œ/ and /øː/ were soon unrounded to /ɛ/ and /eː/, respectively.
    • All short diphthongs were mutated to /ɪ̆ʏ̆/, all long diphthongs to /iy/. (This interpretation is controversial. These diphthongs are written ie, which is traditionally interpreted as short /ɪ̆ɛ̆/, long /ie/.)
    • Late in Old English (c. AD 900), these new diphthongs were simplified to /ʏ/ and /yː/, respectively.
    • The conditioning factors were soon obscured (loss of /j/ whenever it had produced gemination, lowering of unstressed /i/), phonemicizing the new sounds.
  • More reductions in unstressed syllables:
    • /oː/ became /ɑ/.
    • Germanic high vowel deletion eliminated /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ when following a heavy syllable.
  • Palatal diphthongization: Initial palatal /j/, /ʧ/, /ʃ/ trigger spelling changes of a > ea, e > ie. It is disputed whether this represents an actual sound change or merely a spelling convention indicating the palatal nature of the preceding consonant (written g, c, sc were ambiguous in OE as to palatal /j/, /ʧ/, /ʃ/ and velar /g/ or /ɣ/, /k/, /sk/, respectively).
    • Similar changes of o > eo, u > eo are generally recognized to be merely a spelling convention. Hence WG /jung/ > OE geong /jung/ > NE "young"; if geong literally indicated an /ɛ̆ɔ̆/ diphthong, the modern result would be *yeng.
    • It is disputed whether there is Middle English evidence of the reality of this change in Old English.
  • Initial /ɣ/ became /g/ in late Old English.

Anglian is a cover term used to refer to two dialects of Old English, namely the Northumbrian and Mercian dialects. ... This article concerns the English kingdom, not the Westland Wessex helicopter Wessex was one of the seven major Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (the Heptarchy) that preceded the kingdom of England. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... I-mutation is what umlaut is called when it applies to English. ... I-mutation is what umlaut is called when it applies to English. ... The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family. ... The Gothic language (*gutiska razda, * ) is an extinct Germanic language that was spoken by the Goths and specifically by the Visigoths. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ... The famous parade helmet found at Sutton Hoo, probably belonging to King Raedwald of East Anglia circa 625. ... Middle English is the name given by historical linguistics to the diverse forms of the English language spoken between the Norman invasion in 1066 and the mid-to-late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, began to become widespread, a process aided by the...

Up through Chaucer's English (c. AD 900–1400)

  • Vowels were lengthened before /ld/, /mb/, /nd/, /rd/, probably also /ng/, /rl/, /rn/, when not followed by a third consonant.
    • This probably occurred around AD 1000.
    • Later on, many of these vowels were shortened again; but evidence from the Ormulum shows that this lengthening was once quite general.
    • Remnants persist in the Modern English pronunciations of words such as child (but not children, since a third consonant follows), field (plus yield, wield), climb, find (plus mind, kind, bind, etc.), fiend, found (plus hound, bound, etc.).
  • Vowels were shortened when followed by two or more consonants, except when lengthened as above.
    • This occurred in two stages, the first stage affecting only vowels followed by three or more consonants.
  • Inherited height-harmonic diphthongs were monophthongized by the loss of the second component, with the length remaining the same.
  • /æː/ and /ɑː/ became /ɛː/ and /ɔː/.
  • /æ/ and /ɑ/ merged into /a/.
  • /ʏ/ and /yː/ were unrounded to /ɪ/ and /iː/.
  • /ɣ/ became /w/ or /j/, depending on surrounding vowels.
  • New diphthongs formed from vowels followed by /w/ or /j/ (including from former /ɣ/).
    • Length distinctions were eliminated in these diphthongs.
    • Diphthongs also formed by the insertion of a glide /w/ or /j/ (after back and front vowels, respectively) preceding /x/.
    • Many diphthong combinations soon merged.
  • Trisyllabic laxing: Shortening of stressed vowels when two syllables followed.
    • This results in pronunciation variants in Modern English such as divine vs divinity and south vs. southern (OE súðerne).
  • Middle English open syllable lengthening: Vowels were usually lengthened in open syllables (13th century), except when Trisyllabic laxing would apply.
  • Remaining unstressed vowels merged into /ə/.
  • Initial clusters /hɾ/, /hl/, /hn/ were reduced by loss of /h/.
  • Voiced fricatives became independent phonemes through borrowing and other sound changes.
  • /sw/ before back vowel becomes /s/; /mb/ becomes /m/.
    • Modern English sword, answer, lamb.
    • /w/ in swore is due to analogy with swear.

The Ormulum is a work of metrical Biblical exegesis written in early Middle English by a man named Ormin. The work is notable for being a key to the pronunciation of early Middle English at a critical time. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... Note: This page contains phonetic information presented in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) using Unicode. ... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ...

Up to Shakespeare's English (c. AD 1400–1600)

  • Loss of most remaining diphthongs.
    • /ai/ (and former /ɛi/, merged into /ai/ in Early Middle English) became /ɑː/ before the Great Vowel Shift.
    • /ou/ (and former /ɔu/, merged into /ou/ in Early Middle English) became /oː/ and /ei/ became /eː/ after the shift causing the long mid mergers.
    • /au/ became /ɔː/ after the shift.
    • The dew-new merger: /ɛu/ and /iu/ merger, and they then become /juː/ after the shift.
    • The joy-point merger: /ʊi/ and /oi/ merge, so that point and joy now have the same vowel.
    • The rein-rain merger: /ai/ and /ei/ merge, so that rain and rein are now homonyms.
    • The dew-duke merger: /y/ and /iu/ merge, so that dew and duke now have the same vowel.
    • /oi/ remained.
    • A few regional accents, including some in Northern England, East Anglia, South Wales, and even Newfoundland, monophthongization has not been complete, so that pairs like pane/pain and toe/tow are distinct. (Wells 1982, pp. 192–94, 337, 357, 384–85, 498)
  • /x/ (written gh) lost in most dialects causing the taut-taught merger.
  • Great Vowel Shift; all long vowels raised or diphthongized.
    • /ɑː/, /ɛː/, /eː/ become /ɛː/, /eː/, /iː/, respectively.
    • /ɔː/, /oː/ become /oː/, /uː/, respectively.
    • /iː/, /uː/ become /əi/ and /əu/, later /ai/ and /au/.
    • New /ɔː/ developed from old /au/ (see above).
    • Note that /ɔː/, /oː/, /uː/, /au/ effectively rotated in-place.
    • /ɛː/, /eː/ are shifted again to /eː/, /iː/ in Early Modern English, causing merger of former /eː/ with /iː/; but the two are still distinguished in spelling as ea, ee.
  • Loss of /ə/ in final syllables.
  • Initial cluster /gn/ loses first element; but still reflected in spelling.
  • /kn/ reduces to /n/ in most dialects, causing the not-knot merger.
  • /wr/ reduces to /r/ in most dialects, causing the rap-wrap merger.
  • Doubled consonants reduced to single consonants.

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language, generally accomplished in the 15th century, although evidence suggests it began as early as the 14th century. ... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Foot-goose merger The foot-goose merger is a phonemic merger of the vowels and found in distinct dialects of English. ... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Foot-goose merger The foot-goose merger is a phonemic merger of the vowels and found in distinct dialects of English. ... The three northern Regions Northern England is a rather ill-defined term, with no universally accepted definition. ... Norfolk and Suffolk, the core area of East Anglia. ... Approximate extent of South Wales South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the East and South, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the North and West. ... Newfoundland (French: Terre-Neuve; Irish: Talamh an Éisc; Latin: Terra Nova) is a large island off the northeast coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have in the occurred in the history of English that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language, generally accomplished in the 15th century, although evidence suggests it began as early as the 14th century. ... Early Modern English refers to the stage of the English language used from about the end of the Middle English period (the later half of the 1400s) to 1650. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English involving consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English involving consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English involving consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ...

Up to the American/British split (c. AD 1600–1725)

  • At some preceding time after Old English, all /r/ become /ɹ/.
    • Evidence from Old English shows that, at that point, the pronunciation /ɹ/ occurred only before a consonant.
    • Scottish English has /r/ consistently.
  • The foot-strut split: Except in northern England, /ʊ/ splits into /ʊ/ (inconsistently after labials), as in put, /ʌ/ (otherwise), as in cut.
  • Ng coalescence: Reduction of /ng/ in most areas produces new phoneme /ŋ/.
  • Palatalization of /tj/, /sj/, /dj/, /zj/ produces /ʧ/, /ʃ/, /ʤ/, and new phoneme /ʒ/ (for example measure, vision).
    • These combinations mostly occurred in borrowings from French and Latin.
    • Pronunciation of tion was /sjən/ from Old French /sjon/, thus becoming /ʃən/.
  • Long vowels inconsistently shortened in closed syllables. (Modern English head, breath, bread, blood, etc.)
  • The meet-meat merger: Meet and meat become homonyms in most accents.
  • Changes affect short vowels in many varieties before an /r/ at the end of a word or before a consonant
    • /a/ as in start and /ɔ/ as in north are lengthened.
    • /ɛ/, /ɪ/ and /ʌ/ merge, hence most varieties of Modern English have the same vowel in each of fern, fir and fur.
    • Also affects vowels in derived forms, so that starry no longer rhymes with marry.
    • Scottish English unaffected.
  • /a/, as in cat and trap, fronted to [æ] in many areas.
    • But backed, rounded, and lengthened to /ɔː/ before syllable-final (that is, velarized) /l/ ([ɫ]). Modern English tall, talk, bald, salt, etc. But /ɑ/ in -alm, /æ/ in -alf.
    • New phoneme /ɑ/ develops from /alm/ (calm /kɑm/) and in certain other words, for example father /fɑðə(ɹ)/.
    • Most varieties of northern English English, Welsh English and Scottish English retain [a] in cat, trap etc.
  • Loss of /l/ in /lk/, /lm/, /lf/ (see above).
  • The pane-pain merger: The words pane and pain become homophones in most accents.
  • The toe-tow merger: The words toe and tow become homophones in most accents.

Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... // Foot-goose merger The foot-goose merger is a phonemic merger of the vowels and found in distinct dialects of English. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have in the occurred in the history of English that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... It has been suggested that History of the Latin language be merged into this article or section. ... Old French is a term sometimes used to refer to the langue doïl, the continuum of varieties of Romance language spoken in territories corresponding roughly to the northern half of modern France and parts of Belgium and Switzerland during the period roughly from 1000 to 1300 A.D... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ... // Weak vowel merger The weak vowel merger (or Lennon-Lenin merger) is a phonemic merger of (schwa) with unstressed (sometimes written as ) in certain dialects of English. ... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... Velarization is a secondary articulation of consonants by which the back of the tongue is raised toward the velum during the articulation of the consonant. ... For the 80s pop band, see Modern English (band). ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels and that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English (exceptions are accents in Eastern New England (such as the Boston accent) and New York-New Jersey English. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... // Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels and that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English (exceptions are accents in Eastern New England (such as the Boston accent) and New York-New Jersey English. ...

After American/British split, up to the 20th century (c. AD 1725–1900)

  • Split into rhotic and non-rhotic accents: loss of syllable-final /ɹ/ in some varieties, especially of English English, producing new centering diphthongs /ɛə/ (square), /ɪə/ (near), /ɔə/ (force), /ʊə/ (cure), and highly unusual phoneme /ɜː/ (nurse).
  • The trap-bath split: southern English English /æ/ inconsistently becomes /ɑː/ before /s/, /f/, /θ/ and /n/ or /m/ followed by another consonant.
  • Reduction of /hw/ and /ʍ/ to /w/, causing whine and wine to be homphones, in most varieties of English English; also, regionally, in American English.
  • American and Australian English flapping of /t/ and /d/ to [ɾ] in some circumstances.
    • Generally, between vowels (including syllabic [ɹ̩], [l̩] and [m̩]), when the following syllable is completely unstressed.
    • But not before syllabic [n̩] in American English, for example cotton [kɑʔn̩].
  • Happy tensing (the term is from Wells 1982): final lax [ɪ] becomes tense [i] in words like happy.
  • Line-loin merger: merger between the diphthongs /aɪ/ and /ɔɪ/.

(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... English pronunciation is divided into two main accent groups, the rhotic and the non-rhotic, depending on when the phoneme (the letter r, equivalent to Greek rho) is pronounced. ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... // Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels and that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English (exceptions are accents in Eastern New England (such as the Boston accent) and New York-New Jersey English. ... North American English is a collective term used for the varieties of the English language that are spoken in the United States and Canada. ... Flag of New England The states of New England are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. ... The Boston accent is the dialect of English not only of the city of Boston itself, but more generally of all of eastern Massachusetts; it shares much in common with the accents of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. ... The variety of the English language spoken in the New York City and North Jersey region is often considered to be one of the most recognizable accents within American English. ... Norwich (pronounced variously Norritch, Norridge) is a city in East Anglia, in Eastern England, and the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. ... The West Country is an informal area of southwestern England, roughly corresponding to the administrative region South West England. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... // Trap-bath split The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English (including Received Pronunciation), in the Boston accent, and in the Southern Hemisphere accents (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English), by which the Early Modern English phoneme was lengthened... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... Received Pronunciation (RP) is a form of pronunciation of the English language, sometimes defined as the educated spoken English of southeastern England. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English involving consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... English English is a term that has been applied to the English language as spoken in England. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... Australian English (AuE), pejoratively known as strine, is the form of the English language used in Australia. ... This page discusses a phonological phenomenon. ... // Weak vowel merger The weak vowel merger (or Lennon-Lenin merger) is a phonemic merger of (schwa) with unstressed (sometimes written as ) in certain dialects of English. ... Tenseness is a term used in phonology to describe a particular vowel quality that is phonemically contrastive in many languages, including English. ... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and...

After 1900

Various changes, not yet complete

// Trap-bath split The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English (including Received Pronunciation), in the Boston accent, and in the Southern Hemisphere accents (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English), by which the Early Modern English phoneme was lengthened... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ... // Trap-bath split The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English (including Received Pronunciation), in the Boston accent, and in the Southern Hemisphere accents (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English), by which the Early Modern English phoneme was lengthened... Australian English is a non-rhotic variety of English spoken by most native-born Australians. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have in the occurred in the history of English that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... Scottish English is taken by some to include Scots and by others to exclude it. ... For other uses, see Glasgow (disambiguation). ... // Weak vowel merger The weak vowel merger (or Lennon-Lenin merger) is a phonemic merger of (schwa) with unstressed (sometimes written as ) in certain dialects of English. ... A nasal consonant is produced when the velum—that fleshy part of the palate near the back—is lowered, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. ... Southern American English is a group of dialects of the English language spoken throughout the Southern region of the United States, from central Kentucky and northern Virginia to the Gulf Coast and from the Atlantic coast to central Texas. ...

See also

The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... English is a West Germanic language that originated from the Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Britain by Germanic settlers from various parts of northwest Germany. ... English phonology is the study of the way speech sounds pattern in the English language. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have in the occurred in the history of English that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... // H-cluster reductions The h-cluster reductions are various consonant reductions that have occurred in the history of English involving consonant clusters beginning with /h/ that have lost the /h/ in certain dialects. ... // Phonological history of the low front vowels æ-tensing Bad-lad split Trap-bath split Phonological history of the low back vowels Main article: Phonological history of the low back vowels Father-bother merger Lot-cloth split Cot-caught merger Phonological history of the high back vowels Foot-goose merger and... // Trap-bath split The trap-bath split is a vowel split that occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English (including Received Pronunciation), in the Boston accent, and in the Southern Hemisphere accents (Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English), by which the Early Modern English phoneme was lengthened... // Father-bother merger The father-bother merger is a merger of the Early Modern English vowels and that occurs in almost all varieties of North American English (exceptions are accents in Eastern New England (such as the Boston accent) and New York-New Jersey English. ... // Foot-goose merger The foot-goose merger is a phonemic merger of the vowels and found in distinct dialects of English. ... // Weak vowel merger The weak vowel merger (or Lennon-Lenin merger) is a phonemic merger of (schwa) with unstressed (sometimes written as ) in certain dialects of English. ... The English language has undergone a number of phonological changes before the historic phoneme . ... // Salary-celery merger The salary-celery merger is a conditioned merger of (as in bat) and (as in bet) when they occur before , thus making salary and celery homophones. ... The Scots Vowel-Length Rule, also known as Aitkens Law after Professor A.J. Aitken who formulated it, describes how vowel length in Scots and Scottish English is conditioned by environment. ... Note: This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. ...

References

 

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