2. Palatal mutation (I-mutation)

A back sound O or A changes its quality if there is a front sound in the next syllable.

A = æ; A = e; sandian – sendan; satian – sætan – settan O = oe = e; dohter – dehter; wo_pian – we_pan (weep); u = y kuning – cyning; mu_s – mY_s. The same about diphthongs: ea = ie eald – ieldra (elder)

eo – ie – feor – fierra (further)

3. Diphthongization after соnsonants SK, K and J (in spelling C, C)

a=ea (skal – sceal – shall)a-

e = ie gefan – giefan; getan – gi

a-ea e = ie

ae = ea – gaef – geaf (gave);

o = eo scort – sceort (short); yong – geong

4. Back, or Velar Mutation

The syllable that influenced the preceding vowel contained a back vowel – O or U (sometimes A).

I = io hira – hiora (their), sifon – siofon

e = eo ( hefon – heofon (heavens)

a = ea saru – searu – armour.

5. Mutation before H.

Sounds A and E that precede H underwent several changes, mutating to diphthongs EA, IE and finally were reduced to I/Y

naht – neaht – niht – nieht – nyht;

6. Contraction

When H was placed between 2 vowels the following changes occurred:

ah+vowel = e_ slahan – slean (slay)

eh+vowel – e-o – sehen – seon

IH+vowel – eo tihan – teon – accuee;

OH + vowel – O_ hohan – h_on.

7. Lengthening of Vowels.

Before the clusters – ND, LD, MB

bindan bi_ndan; cild – ci_ld; wild – wi_ld, climban.

14. OE Consonants

The OE consonant system consists of the following sounds:

labial – p, b, m, f, v;

dental – t, d, s, n, r, l, ð, ǿ

velar – c, g, h. The letter X is used instead of the group CS.

Changes:

1.Voicing of fricatives in intervocal position.

f=v ofer, wi_f

ǿ = ð, o_ther, rathe

s= z = R (rhotacism)wesun = weren;

2. Palatalisation of the sounds K, SK, KG developed in assibilation, that is formation of a sibilant in places before front vowels.

k’ = tч cild; ceosan =choose; hwilc (which)

sk’ = ш sceal, sceotan – shoot; sceort – short

kg’ = dж brycg; hrycg (ridge); wecg (wedge)

Back γ sound before palatal consonants turned into j – gear.

3. Assimilation before T. The sound T when it was preceded by a number of consonants changed the quality of a preceding sound.

velar + T = HT se_can = sohte (seek – sought);

labial + T = FT gesceapan – geaseft (creature)

dental + T = ss – witan – wisse (know)

fn = mn stefn = stemn = voice;

fm = mm = wifman – wimman

dð = t bindð = bint (binds)

4. Loss of consonants in certain positions.

The sounds N and m were lost before H, entailing the lengthening of the preceding vowel: bronhte = bro_hte fimf = fi_f;

G was lost before D and N:

maegden – mae_den

saegde sae_de

5. Metathesis of R.

In several words the following changes of the position of consonants take place:

cons + R = vowel = cons + vowel + R

ðridda – ðirda (third)

6. West Germanic germination of consonants.

In the process of palatal mutation when J was lost and the preceding vowel was short, the consonant after it was doubled (geminated): fullian – fylla (fill)

Unstressed vowels were weakened and dropped. Stressed vowels underwent some changes: splitting – 1 phoneme split into several allophones which later become separate phonemes (e.g. a à {a, ã, æ}); merging – separate phonemes become allophones of one phoneme and then disappear and are not distinguished any more as separate phonemes (e.g. a: à (o:, æ:) OE Vowel System (symmetrical, i.e each short vowel had its long variant). The length of vowels was phonologically relevant (i.e. served to distinguish words): phonological treatment of fricatives. Growth of affricates: The new type of consonants developed from OE palatal plosives [k’, g’] and also from the consonant cluster [sk’]. The 3 new phonemes which arose from these sources were [t∫], [dʒ], [∫]. In Early ME they began to be indicated by special letters and digraphs, which came into use under the influence of the French scribal tradition – ch, tch, g, dg, sh, ssh, sch. The sound changes: k’ > t∫; g’ > dʒ; sk’ > ∫. In ME the opposition of velar consonants to palatal – [k,k’,g,j] – had disappeared, instead, plosive consonants were contrasted to the new affricates and in the set of affricates [t∫] was opposed to [dʒ] through sonority.