Quantitative

1. The Great

Vowel Shift

i: > ai time > time

ę̄ > i: east > east

ẹ̄ > i: keepen > keep

a: > ei make > make

ǭ > ou stone > stone

ọ̄ > u: goos > goose

u: > au mous >mouse

au > o: cause > cause

2. Formation of new short phonemes

[a] > [æ ] man [man] > [mæn]

[u] > [⋀] hut [hut] > [h⋀t]

Θ u ⋎ p,b,f remained u putten [u] > put [u];

3. Formation of new long phonemes (as the result of vocalization of r)

o, a, e, u, i + r > o:, a:, ɜ:

corn >corn; serven [serven]>serve [sɜ:v]

4. Formation of new diphthongs (as the result of vocalization of‘r)

ę̄, ā + r > ɛə air[ę̄r]>air[ɛə]; bare[ba:rə]>bare[bɛə]

II (18c)

e

I (16c)

u: ⋎ k > u book[bu:k] > book[buk]

6. Lengthening

a ⋎ ss, ft, nt > a: pass, after, plant [a] > [a:] pass, after, plant

1. Loss of phonemes x & x’ with lengthening of the preceding vowel (15c)

night [nix’t] > night[ni:t]

2. Voicing of voiceless fricatives in unstressed syllables/words

of [of] > of [əv]; was[s] > was [z]; thou [θu:] > thou[ðau]

but [θ] in: thing, thick, think

3. Vocalization of r

hors[hors] > horse [ho:s]; yer[jer] >year [jiə]

4. Growth of sibilants and affricates

t, d, s, z, + j > ʧ, ʤ, ʃ, ʒ

nature [neitjer] > [neitjə] > [neiʧə]

soldier[ souldiər] > [soulʤə]

sugar [sjugar] > [ʃu:gə]

pleasure[plezjer] > [pleʒə]

5. Contraction of consonants

mn > m autumn > autumn

at the beginning kn > n knee > knee

wr > r wreck > wreck

in the middle & at the end

stn > sn listen >listen

ftn > fn often > often