Middle English Alphabet

The Middle English Alphabet resembled the Old English Alphabet but some changes were introduced:

th replaced ð/þ/Đ/đ;

w replaced ?;

æ, œ disappeared;

digraphs (2 letters = one sound) appeared (came from French):

th for [] and [ð];

tch/ch for [t∫];

sch/ssh/sh for [∫];

dg for [dζ];

wh replace hw but was pronounced still as [hw]!;

gh for [h];

qu for [kw];

ow/ou for [u:] and [ou];

ie for [e:].

Rules of Reading:

They resemble the modern rules, with several exceptions though:

Double vowels stood for long sounds, e.g. oo = [o:]; ee = [e:].

g = [dζ]

c = [s] before front vowels ( [i, e] ).

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g = [g]

c = [k] before back vowels ( [a, o, u] ).

y = [j] – at the beginning of the word;

= [i] – in the cases when i stood close together with r, n, m and could be confused with one of these letters or could be lost among them, it was replaced with y, sometimes also for decorative purpose.(e.g. nyne [‘ni:nə], very [‘veri]).

th = [ð]

s = [z] between vowels.

o = [o] – in most cases;

= [u] – in the words that have [Λ] sound in Modern English (e.g. some, love)

j = [dζ]

Glossary

successor	преемник	ізбасар
Conqueror	завоеватель	шапқыншы
loyalty	лояльность	лояльность
bilingualism	билингвизм	қос тілділік
wills	завещания	өсиеттер
petitions	петиций	петициялер
the Duchess	герцогиня	герцог
The Canterbury Tales	Кантерберийские сказки	Кантербери Ертегілер

5. Office- hours: Linguistic Situation in the Middle English Period

6. Список основной и дополнительной литературы

1. Расторгуева Т.А. История английского языка — 2-е изд., стер. — М.: ООО

«Издательство Астрель»: ООО *Издательство ACT», 2003 г. — 348 с 

2. Аракин В.Д. История английского языка. М.: Физматлит, 2003. - 272 с 

3. Иванова И.П., Чахоян Л.П., Беляева Т.М. История английского языка. Учебник. Хрестоматия., 1999

Список дополнительной литературы

1. Аракин В.Д. Очерки по истории английского языка: Пособие для преподавателей английского языка. … - 2.изд.- М.: УРСС, 2003.- 322, 391 с.