Розвиток національної літературної англійської мови.

The formation of national language was greatly fostered by two events of the late 15th century.

1) The most significant event of the period was the Wars of the Roses (1455-1485), which marked the decay of feudalism and the birth of a new social order. They came to an end in the battle of Bosworth, when Richard III was defeated by Henry Tudor, who became king of England as Henry VII. The political result of this prolonged struggle was the rise of an absolute monarchy. This meant a high degree of political centralization and thus contributed to centralization in language as well, that is, to predominance of the national language over local dialects.

2) Another great event was the introduction of printing.

Printing was invented in Mayence (Germany) by Johann Gutenberg in 1438. From Mayence printing spread to Strasburg, then to Italy and to the Netherlands. In the town of Bruges, in Flanders, the Englishman William Caxton (1422-1491) became acquainted with this art. He published the first English printed book, The Recuyeil of; the Histories of Troy) in Bruges. First English book, printed in 1475, was Caxton’s translation of the story of Troy “Recuyell of the history of Troy”.Among the earliest publications: poems of Geoffrey Chauser, John Gower, John Lydgate, Trevisa’s translation of Polychronicon.

The l-ge publishers used was the London literary English established since the age of Chauser and slightly modified in accordance with the linguistic changes that had taken place during the interventing hundred years

6. Фонологічні процеси у середньо- та ранньоновоанглійському періодах й формування системи фонем сучасної англійської мови.

Unstressed vowels

In Early ME the pronunciation of unstressed syllables became increasingly indistinct. As compared to OE, which distinguishes five short vowels in unstressed position [e/i], [a] and [o/u], Late ME had only two vowels in unaccented syllables: [ə] and [i], e.g. OE talu – ME tale [΄ta:lə] – NE tale, OE bodiз – ME body [΄bodi] – NE body. The final [ə] disappeared in Late ME though it continued to be spelt as -e. When the ending –e survived only in spelling, it was understood as a means of showing the length of the vowel in the preceding syllable and was added to words which did not have this ending before, e.g. OE stān, rād – ME stone, rode [´stone], [´rode] – NE stone, rode

Quantitative vowel changes

In Later OE and in Early ME vowel length began to depend on phonetic conditions. The earliest of positional quantitative changes was the readjustment of quantity before some consonant clusters:

1) Short vowels were lengthened before two consonants – a sonorant and a plosive; consequently, all vowels occurring in this position remained or became long, e.g. OE wild – ME wild [wi:ld] – NE wild.

2) All other groups of two or more consonants produced the reverse effect: they made the preceding long vowels short, and henceforth all vowels in this position became or remained short, e.g. OE cēpte > ME kepte [΄keptə] – NE kept.

3) Short vowels became long in open syllables, e.g. OE nama > ME name [na:mə] – NE name. In spite of some restrictions no lengthening occurred in polysyllabic words and before some suffixes, OE bodiз > ME body [΄bodi] – NE body.

Qualitative vowel changes

As compared with quantitative changes qualitative vowel changes in Early ME were less important. They affected several monophthongs and displayed considerable dialectal diversity. They were independent of the phonetic environment.

Development of monophthongs

The OE close labialized vowels [y] and [y:] disappeared in Early ME, merging with various sounds in different dialectal areas. The vowels [y] and [y:] existed in OE dialects up to the 10th c., when they were replaced by [e], [e:] in Kentish and confused with [ie] and [ie:] or [i] and [i:] in WS. In Early ME the dialectal differences grew. In some areas OE [y], [y:] developed into [e], [e:], in others they changed to [i], [i:]; in the South-West and in the West Midlands the two vowels were for some time preserved as [y], [y:], but later were moved backward and merged with [u], [u:], e.g. OE fyllan – ME (Kentish) fellen, (West Midland and South Western) fullen, (East Midland and Northern) fillen – NE fill. In Early ME the long OE [a:] was narrowed to [o:]. This was and early instance of the growing tendency of all long monophthongs to become closer, so [a:] became [o:] in all the dialects except the Northern group, e.g. OE stān – ME (Northern) stan(e), (other dialects) stoon, stone – NE stone. The short OE [æ] was replaced in ME by the back vowel [a], e.g. OE þǽt > ME that [Өat] > NE that.

Development of diphthongs

OE possessed a well developed system of diphthongs: falling diphthongs with a closer nucleus and more open glide arranged in two symmetrical sets – long and short: [ea:], [eo:], [ie:] and [ea], [eo], [ie]. Towards the end of the OE period some of the diphthongs merged with monophthongs: all diphthongs were monophthongised before [xt], [x’t] and after [sk’]; the diphthongs [ie:], [ie] in Late WS fused with [y:], [y] or [i:], [i]. In Early ME the remaining diphthongs were also contracted to monophthongs: the long [ea:] coalesced (united) with the reflex of OE [ǽ:] – ME [ε:]; the short [ea] ceased to be distinguished from OE [æ] and became [a] in ME; the diphthongs [eo:], [eo] – as well as their dialectal variants [io:], [io] – fell together with the monophthongs [e:], [e], [i:], [i]. As a result of these changes the vowel system lost two sets of diphthongs, long and short. In the meantime a new set of diphthongs developed from some sequences of vowels and consonants due to the vocalization of OE [j] and [γ], that is to their change into vowels. In Early ME the sounds [j] and [γ] between and after vowels changed into [i] and [u] and formed diphthongs together with the preceding vowels, e.g. OE dæз > ME day [dai]. These changes gave rise to two sets of diphthongs: with i-glides and u-glides. The same types of diphthongs appeared also from other sources: the glide -u developed from OE [w] as in OE snāw, which became ME snow [snou], and before [x] and [l] as in Late ME smaul and taughte.

Loss of Final /--‐ə/. In Late ME absolute final /ə/ as in nose /nɔ:zə/, was lost. By the early 15^th century all final /ə/ have probably dropped.

The most far-reaching phonological developments in the 16th to 18th :

1. A major shift of the long vowels with articulatory change in every ME category;

2. Changes in the short vowels:

– genesis of [æ];

– rise of /u/ : /Λ/ contrast;

– lowering and centralization of /i , u/;

– lowering of ME /e, o/ to [ɛ, ɔ], and of [ɔ] later

to [ɒ];

3. A new class of diphthongs in /-ə/, due to developments before /r/;

4. New vowel lengthenings: restoring a long low /a:/, and adding long [o:];

5. Monophthongization of ME diphthongs except /oi/ (boy), /iu/ (new), /ɛu/.

Consonants

English consonants were on the whole far more stable than vowels. A large number of consonants have probably remained unchanged through all historical periods. Thus we can assume that the sonorants [m, n, l], plosives [p, b, t, d] and also [k, g] in most positions have not been subjected to any noticeable changes. The most important developments in the history of English consonants were the growth of new sets of sounds, - affricates and sibilants.

Growth of sibilants and affricates

In OE there were no affricates and no sibilants, except [s, z]. The new type of consonants developed from OE palatal plosives [k’, g’], which had split from the corresponding velar plosives [k] and [g], and also from the consonant cluster [sk’]. The three new phonemes which arose from these sources were [t∫], [dз] and [∫]. In Early ME they began to be indicated by special letters and digraphs, which came into use mainly under the influence of the French scribal tradition – ch, tch, g, dg, sh, ssh, sch. As a result of these changes – and also as a result of the vocalization of [γ] – the consonant system in Late ME was in some respects different from the OE system.

Phonetic Changes in the Early New English Period

The changes in the sound system of the period were significant. The process of the levelling of endings continued, there were positional and assimilative changes of short vowels, and a significant change in the whole system of long vowels, called the Great Vowel Shift. During the period the process of simplification of consonant clusters and loss of consonants in certain positions continued. The changes were as follows:

Loss of unstressed "e". The process of levelling of endings led to total disappearance of the neutral sound [э] marked by letter "e" in the endings. In some words this loss was fixed in spelling, like in chapter (ME chapiter), palsy (ME parlesie), fancy (ME fantasie)', some other words preserved the lost syllables in spelling, e .g. colonel, business, medicine'. The sound [e] before "r" changed into [a:] This change in many cases (but not always) was reflected in spelling: sterre – star , herte - heart, ME clerc – clerk.

Great Vowel Shift

Beginning in the 15 century, all long vowels that existed in Middle English change their quality. This change was a fundamental one, changing the entire vocalic system, and the essence of it is as follows. All long vowels narrowed, and the narrowest of them turned into diphthongs. The shift resulted in the folio wings changes:

i: —> ai time, like, rise, side

e —> i: meet, see, keen, deep', in borrowed words chief, receive, seize

e: open —> into e: closed, then —> i: east, clean, speak, sea

a: —> ei take, make, name, grave, pave, sane

o: open —-» ou stone, bone, home, oak, go, moan

o: closed —> u: tool, moon, stool, do, root, room

u: —> au house, mouse, out, noun, down, how

The changes were gradual, of course, and in Shakespearean times the vowels were somewhere halfway to its present-day stage. The change from [e:] to [i:] had the intermediate stage [e:].

The Great Vowel Shift affected all long vowels in native as well as borrowed before it words; table and chamber, doubt and fine, appeal and tone developed in full accordance with the development of the English sound system. Some borrowed words preserve [i:] or [u:] in the open syllable if they were borrowed from French in the later period; some other, though taken during this process still resisted the change and remain phonetically only partially assimilated: police, machine etc. Latin borrowings that were taken from written sources, however, usually have a vowel that was changed in the course of the shift.

Depending on the following consonant, r in particular, there were somewhat different variants of vowels that appeared in the Great Vowel Shift. If the long vowel was followed by r the following variants appeared:

are —> [eir] fare; compare with fate

ear —> [ier] fear (but feat)

•> [eir] bear (but beat)

ееr —> [ier] steer (but steep)

ir —> [aier] tire (but time)

or —> [o:r] boar (but bjat)

о open —> [uer] moor (but moon)

u: — > [auer] power (but house)

Short vowels were changed, too, but the changes here are not that systematic. The vowels changed depending on their environment. Short a found in closed syllables changed into: that; man; hat; cat; rat; pan; can; stand; back etc.

If it was preceded by the sound w, it remained unchanged and eventually developed into o: war; want; was; warm, watch; wasp; water etc.

It was lengthened before some consonant clusters and turned into a: when followed by:

a + th father; rather; bath; path

a + ss pass; class; grass

a + st cast; last; fast; disaster

a + sk ask; mask; task; basket

a + sp clasp, gasp, grasp, raspberry

a + 1m alms; balm; calm; palm

a + lf calf, half, behalf

a + nt, nd, nch etc. plant, command, branch

a + ft after; craft; daft

When the same sound was followed by 1 + consonant (other that m and n) it turned into long o: all; call; talk; walk; stalk

The sound r changed its quality, turning from backlingual into uvular and was vocalized after vowels; that resulted in lengthening of the preceding vowels in combinations ir, ur, or, er turning them into [э]: fir; sir; dirt; firm; skirt; first; thirst fur; curt; curtain; burn; hurt; burst; turn; worm; word; world; worse; worth heard; learn; herd; certain; perso.

The changes in the Early New English consonants:

Loss of consonants

Voicing

Sibilants

In many cases the change is resulted in the loss of consonants in certain positions.

The sound [l] is lost in combinations before k,m,f,v talk; walk; stalk; folk; chalk palm, calm, qualm, psalm (but not in helm, elm) half, calf (but wolf, elf) halves (but silver).

The sound [l] was preserved in the words of Latin origin such as resolve, dissolve etc. It was also lost after a vowel before d in should, could, would

The sound [b] was dropped in combination mb when at the end of the word and not followed by another consonant: lamb; climb; tomb; comb;numb; bomb

n - in combination mn autumn; solemn; column

t - in combinations stl, stn, ftn, stm and ktl - castle; whistle;thistle; fasten;listen;glisten; often; soften; Christmas;postman; exactly; directly

k - in combination skl — muscle

The consonants were lost in such initial clusters: g and k in gn, kn:

knight; knee; know; knave; knack, knock; knead, knife gnat; gnaw; gnarl; gnome

w before a consonant (mainly r) was lost at the beginning of the words:

wreath; write; wrong; wreck; wrestle; wretched; wring; wrinkle; wrist and in unstressed syllables after a consonant in such words as answer; conquer and also in such words as sword; two; towards.

The sound [h] disappeared in many unstressed syllables (save for American variant of the language where in some cases it is preserved) - forehead; shepherd; perhaps; Chatham; Nottingham, Birmingham, Brougham [bru:m].

Qualitative change of consonants is illustrated by voicing of fricatives (when the preceding vowel was unstressed):

s —> z: dessert; resemble; possess; dissolve; example; exhibit; anxiety; luxurious (in the words luxury, anxious and exhibition, where the preceding vowel is stressed, at least has a secondary stress they are not voiced)

f —> v: of (but adverb off is usually stressed, and the sound is not voiced)

tʃ —> dʒ : knowledge; Greenwich; Norwich.

Some sounds, mainly in the borrowed words merged with the preceding consonant forming a sibilant:

s+j - ʃ - Asia; Russia; pension; session; musician; mission; motion; notion; mention; ambition

z+j - ʒ - division; collision; provision; measure; treasure

t+j - tʃ - question; nature; fortune; creature; feature; mixture

d+j – dʒ - soldier; procedure; verdure