Long-Vowel Shifts in English, c. 1050-1700

• Author(s): Gjertrud Flermoen Stenbrenden,
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Pages: 342
• ISBN_10: 110705575X
  ISBN_13: 9781107055759
  
• Language: en
• Categories: Foreign Language Study / Old & Middle English , Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Historical & Comparative , Language Arts & Disciplines / Linguistics / Phonetics & Phonology , Language Arts & Disciplines / Speech & Pronunciation , Language Arts & Disciplines / Spelling & Vocabulary ,

Description:... The English language has undergone many sound changes in its long history. Some of these changes had a profound effect on the pronunciation of the language. A number of these significant instances of language evolution are generally grouped together and termed the 'Great Vowel Shift'. These changes are generally considered to be unrelated to other, similar long-vowel changes taking place a little earlier. This book assesses an extensive range of irregular Middle English spellings for all these changes, with a view to identifying the real course of events: the dates, the chronology, and the dialects that stand out as being innovative. Using empirical evidence to offer a fresh perspective and drawing new, convincing conclusions, Stenbrenden offers an interpretation of the history of the English language which may change our view of sound change completely.