21. Изменение гласных в m.E.

Quantitative vowel changes in E.M.E.

At the end of O.E. and in the immediately succeeding centuries accented vowels underwent a number of qualitative changes, which effected the employment & the phonological staters of short & long vowels in the language. In later O.E. and in E.M.E., vowels length began to depend on phonetic conditions, the earliest of position quantitative changes was the readjust consonant clusters.

1. short vowels were lengthened before 2 home-organic consonants, a sonorant and plosive, consequently renamed or became long.

O.E. wild[i]-M.E.wild[i:]

2. all the groups of 2 or more consonants produced a reverse effect. They made the proceeding long vowel short. All vowels in this position become short

O.E.cepte-M.E. kepte

3. this alternation in the treatment of vowel quantity took place sometime later in 12 or13c. Short vowels became long in open syllables. This lengthening mainly affected the more open of that short vowels [e, a, o] But sometimes it is also found in the close vowels [I,υ(кувшинчик)] In the process of lengthening close vowels acquired more open quality

O.E. wike - M.E. weke -N.E.week

O.E. nama – M.E. name

Qualitative vowel changes in E.M.E.

Development of monophthongs.

As compared with quantitative changes, qualitative vowel changes in E.M.E. were less important. They affected several monophthongs and displayed considerable dialectal diversity. On the whole they were independent of phonetic environment. In some averse the vowel [y] [y:] developed into [e] and [e:], in others they changed into [I] and [i:]. In S-W and W-Midland the 2 vowels were sometimes preserved as [y] and [y:]. But later were moved back word and merged with [υ(кувшин)] and [u:].

In E.M.E> the long O.E. [ə:] was narrowed to [o:]. This was the early instance of the growing tendency of all long monophthongs to become closer. The tendency was intensified in late M.E. When all long vowels changed in that direction. a: become c: (c в другую сторону) in all dialects except the Northern group.

O.E. stan M.E.(northern dialect) stane N.E. stone

The short O.E.[ǽ] was replaced in M.E. by the back vowel [a] accept the naralized [ᾶ] which became [o]

O.E.pǽt-M.E. & N.E. that

O.E. earm-M.E. & N.E. arm

Development of diphthongs.

One of the most important sound changes of the E.M.E. period was the loss of O.E. diphthongs & the growth of new diphthongs with new qualitative & quantitative distinctions. Its the result of this changes, the vowel system2 set of diphthongs: long & short.

System of vowel in L.M.E.

To sum up the results of Early M.E. vowel changes it is necessary to observe the system of vowels. In L.M.E. the system of vowels was no longer symmetrical. The O.E. balance of long & short vowels had been disrupted and was never restored again.

Correlation through quantity can no more be regarded as the basis of phoneme’s oppositions in the vowels system.

Monophtongs Short: i e a o u Long: i: e: a: o: u: ə: З:

Diphthongs

short: ei əi oi au

long: au: ou:

Билет №5