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Great Vowel Shift AOGPE Conference !"#$"%& What Is the Great Vowel Shift? History of English People started pronouncing vowels farther forward in The Great Vowel Shift the mouth Existing front vowels were diphthongized. Presented by: Presented at: Happened from about 1400 - 1600 Lynn Lamping, M.Ed. 2019 AOGPE Conference Fellow/AOGPE White Plains, New York Structured Literacy, Dyslexia Specialist/IDA 410 – 1150 AD 1150 - 1450 Early ME 1450 – 1750 (Hanbury-King, D. , 2000) ME 1750 – Present !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"01223456789: Proto-Indo-European Indo-European language Split into many language groups: ! Proto-Indo-European (PIE) refers to a linguistic reconstruction of the common ancestor of the Indo- ! Celtic European languages. ! Germanic ! PIE goes back to 4500 BC in the late Neolithic Age ! Italic Indo-European assumes a group of dialects from the Western & Eastern European, Indian, and Iranian ! Greek languages ! Indo-Iranian ! Slavic (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"01223456789:; Germanic Family The Beginnings of English Beowulf Northern Branch: Scandinavian Old English epic poem. English emerged from Germanic languages and dialects around the 6th and 7th centuries. Western Branch: English https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYsD4DPg4ls German The earliest recorded documents in the British Isles are in the 7th and 8th centuries. The early English Dutch was known as Old English. Eastern Branch: Gothic (died out) (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345 -) 5 67*-)-).89:;<= % !"#$"%& Old English (Anglo-Saxon) Old English Old English 5th Century - 11th/12th Century 5th Century - 11th/12th Century 5th Century - 11th/12th Century Old English was spoken & written by settlers known as the Ango-Saxons who were: > Next to arrive were the Vikings Angles > Collectively known as Danes Saxons From Norway, Sweden, Denmark Jutes (Lerer, S., 2008) (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= Transition from Old English Claimants to King Edward throne 1066 The Norman Conquest to Middle English ) Tostig Godwinson (defeated by Godwinson in the Battle of Fulford on Sept 1066) King Edward the Confessor Norwegian King Harald Hardrada (defeated by ! Last Anglo-Saxon King Godwinson in the Battle of Fulford on Sept 1066) ! Childless Harald Godwinson (crowned king after Edwards death, ! Dies in January 1066 William Duke of King Harald Tostig King Harald but was defeated by William in the Battle of Hastings) Normandy Godwinson Godwinson Hardraga William, Duke of Normandy became the new King (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= "#$%&'#()**#(+,-.*/0#1233456.*678+.*.*/9:;<=> Middle English Words Brought in by William, Duke 11th Century - 15th Century of Normandy Language Status Prince ! Old English transitions to Middle English after Norman Castle Conquest Prophet Dame English: street language (commoners & Master Cattle uneducated, poems, imaginative expression, ! Saint French - prestige language Warden Baptist Court French (prestige language) court & commerce ! French was the spoken language 300+ years Ward Miracle Rent Latin (prestige language) church, school & ! War More than ten thousand words came into the English Paradise poor university learning language from Norman French. Beef sacrament rich Prison Veal Venison Crown Purple mutton (Lerer, S., 2008) (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= ( Lerer, S., 20 0 8) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= prove !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= # !"#$"%& Geoffrey Chaucer Prologue of Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Chaucer English Poet 1380’s & 1390’s Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote “In Chaucer’s pronunciation, Before GVS: Became: When April with its sweet showers the long vowels still had their lyf (leef) life ’continental value’-i.e., The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, a was pronounced like the a in Has soaked the roots, dry from the March drought, hus (hoos) house father and not like the a in And bathed every vein (sap vessel) in the moisture name, e was pronounced either Of which vertu engendered is the flour: ded deed like the e in there or the a in Which brings on the flower: mon moon mate, but not like the ee in meet.” When Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth When the west wind’s sweet breath https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahuT-JwxIa8 (Hanbury-King, D. , 2000) (Wolfe, 1972) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= English Makes A In the Middle of the In the Middle of the Comeback 15th Century 15th Century French on the decline in the late Middle Ages. A great change is underway King Henry V (reigned 1413 – 1422) established The long vowels that could be raised English as an official language. Gradually all long vowels are were raised, and those that could not pronounced with a greater elevation English: returns to England as prestige language be raised became diphthongs. of the tongue and closing of the (14th & 15th century). mouth. Parliament’s records were kept mostly in English by 1423. (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= Beginning’s of the English Rises & Caxton’s Influence on the Great Vowel Shift French/Latin Decline Great Vowel Shift The Great Vowel Shift (GVS)marks the Printing Chancery English transition from the Middle English to Modern English. Standardizing English Spelling The Great Vowel Shift (GVS) began in the middle Pronunciation Developing of the 15th Century and continued to the end of the 16th Century and some believe beyond. William Caxton - Sets up his print shop and is the 1st printer in England (Lerer, S., 2008) (Lerer, S., 2008) ( Lerer, S ., 20 0 8) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= ! !"#$"%& Caxton’s Influence on the What Is the Great Vowel Otto Jespersen Great Vowel Shift Shift? Pronunciation change in long, stressed monophthongs Danish linguist specialized in English grammar “The GVS was developing along with the Single most important change to English language rise of the standard forms of written English Professor of English at the University of Copenhagen developed in Chancery being used by from 1893 - 1925 Separates current English language from modern day European languages. Caxton.” (Lerer, S. 2008) 1st studied the change in vowel pronunciation Coined the term “The Great Vowel Shift” (Lerer, S. , 2008) © 2018 Lynn Lamping, Fellow-in-Training/AOGPE !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= Which Vowels Were Monophthongs Examples of Monophthongs Affected? “Only 6 vowels were affected. These are long, “A monophthong is a single sound made by stressed monophthongs – vowels in stressed keeping the mouth in the same position.” (Lerer, S. , positions in the word that were held long in 2008) /!/ see /"/ dough pronunciation and that had a pure sound (that is, were not made up of groups of sounds).” (Lerer, S., /#/ bet /au/ August 2008) /oo! / boo /$/ as in mop !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345-)567*-)-).89:;<= Difference in Alphabet Diphthongs Examples of Diphthongs Names We say: /!/ mice “A sound made up of two sounds, and when a, e, i, o, u this sound is spoken the mouth moves from /"/ cake one position to another.” (Lerer, S. , 2008) Before the Great Vowel Shift we said: /oi/ oil ah, eh, ih, oh, oo /ou/ out (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345 -) 5 67*-)-).89:;<= ' !"#$"%& Vowel Circle Vowel Circle Tongue Height & Placement Tongue Height & Placement Vowel Characteristics High High Front Back Front, smiley Back rounded ! + " # Vowels are described according to their oo about height and position in the mouth: lesson * elect oo! definition ircus Height: Position in the mouth: $ " Low Back Middle Middle Middle Mid % aw oi/oy & High Front ' ) ou/ow ( Low (Lerer, S. , 2008) Low, open Long & Short Vowel Sounds Long & Short Vowel Sounds Great Vowel Shift Summary Qualitative: measured by quality instead of quantity Quantitative: measured by quantity. “The length of time the vowel was held signaled a different Only Six Vowels Were Affected, but essentially: “Linguist do not use the terms long and short to describe a Meaning for the word. qualitative difference in vowel sounds, the terms High vowels were made into diphthongs long and short relate to quantitative vowel length. This distinction was lost to Modern English during the GVS. Front vowel were raised & fronted There is no difference in meaning if sat(Lerer ,is S. , 2008)pronounced For Example: “sat” or “saat.”” Back vowels were raised & retracted In Old English the word ”God” could be pronounced “Gode” meaning God, or “gooade,” meaning good.” (Lerer, S. , 2008) (Lerer, S., 2008) !"#$%&"'())"'*+,-)./"0122345 -) 5 67*-)-).89:;<= The Great Vowel Shift The Two High Vowels: i, u The Two High Vowels Front Central Back Became Diphthongs Became Diphthongs pronounced ! pronounced 1 1 u /oo/ i /%/ moose meese high front vowel high back vowel Represented by the letters: st moyse moase Letter Pronounced 1 Stage Final Stage ! ! i was pronounced as /!/ before the GVS, so the i /oi/ u /oa/ o pronounced /!/ Before GVS GVS GVS e pronounced /$/ modern word mice would have been pronounced mid back vowel i ee oi ! ai /&/ au /oum/o use mid front vowel mice as meese. u oo! " ou E pronounced u was pronounced as /oo/! before the GVS, so /#/ ( pronounced /au/ the modern word house would be pronounced as low front vowel
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