Flashcards on The Great Vowel Shift: Phonological and Sociolinguistic Aspects
The Great Vowel Shift: Phonological & Sociolinguistic Aspects
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English historical phonology
12 cards
Card 1
Question: What general observation is made about changes in long vowels in English since Chaucer's time?
Answer: They underwent radical changes, many dramatically during the late Middle and Early Modern English periods, with some still changing today.
Card 2
Question: How did vowel quality and quantity change from Old to Middle English in accented syllables?
Answer: There was little change in vowel quality, but vowel quantity (length) often changed—many OE long vowels were shortened in ME when followed by double c
Card 3
Question: Give an example of Old English long vowel change from /aː/ to /oː/.
Answer: OE barn > ME bɔːn (bone); OE bɑːt > ME bɔːt (boat).
Card 4
Question: What did the Old English long æ represent and how did it develop in Middle English?
Answer: OE long æ represented two sounds: /aː/ in West Germanic and a close /eː/ outside West Saxon; in ME it remained /eː/ in many words (e.g., ded > ded; sl
Card 5
Question: How did i-umlaut affect OE /a/ and what ME outcome did it produce?
Answer: I-umlaut fronted OE /a/ to a more open vowel that appears as /eː/ in ME (e.g., clæne > clene; dælan > delen), leading to modern pairs like deed, clean
Card 6
Question: Which OE long vowels preserved their original quality into Middle English?
Answer: Examples include med > mede, win > wine, boc > bok, hus > hus—these long vowels preserved their original quality in ME.
Card 7
Question: What happened to Old English diphthongs by Middle English?
Answer: OE diphthongs were simplified; all ME diphthongs are new formations, mainly from a simple vowel plus a following /i/ or vocalized /w/.
Card 8
Question: When were OE long vowels typically shortened and what environments triggered shortening?
Answer: They were shortened late in the OE period or early in ME when followed by a double consonant or most consonant combinations (e.g., great > gretter; ax
Card 9
Question: What is a chain shift and how is it exemplified in English historical phonology?
Answer: A chain shift is a system-wide coordinated movement of sounds where changes in one part of the system trigger others; the Great Vowel Shift is an exam
Card 10
Question: How do 'push chain' and 'drag chain' describe mechanisms of vowel shifts?
Answer: A push chain occurs when raising mid vowels push high vowels to change; a drag chain occurs when vacancies left by raised vowels pull lower vowels upw