Great Vowel Shift

History of the Great Vowel Shift

It is important to understand the history of the Great Vowel Shift and why it took place, as this may help you to understand why we spell and pronounce words in a certain way today.

The Great Vowel Shift marked the transition from Middle English (the type of English spoken by Chaucer) to Early Modern English (the type of English spoken by Shakespeare). Middle English was used from around the 1100s to the 1450s. Most consonants in Middle English sound the same as the consonants we use today. However, the vowels were one feature that differed, which affected the pronunciation of words. For example:

The Great Vowel Shift took place from around the 1400s to the 1700s. The changes were gradual but majorly impacted the English language. Without the shift, we would pronounce and spell words very differently!

Fig. 1 - The Great Vowel Shift took place during Shakespeare's time.

Types of Vowels in English

When the Great Vowel Shift took place, the long vowels were mostly affected. Before taking a look at some examples, let's first look at the different types of vowel sounds used in English. Vowels can be divided into two categories; monophthongs and diphthongs.

Monophthongs

Monophthongs refer to single vowel sounds within a syllable. These are also known as "pure vowels." There are 12 monophthongs in English:

Diphthongs

Diphthongs refer to two vowel sounds in a syllable. There are eight diphthongs in English:

Vowel sounds can either be pronounced as short vowels or long vowels. As the names suggest, short vowels are shorter sounds, and long vowels are longer sounds:

Short Vowels

The short vowel sounds in English are:

• /æ/ - i.e., the "a" in "hat."

• /e/ - i.e., the "e" in "send."

• /ɪ/ - i.e., the "i" in "sit."

• /ɒ/ - i.e., the "o" in "hot."

• /ʌ/ - i.e., the "u" in "fun."

During the Great Vowel Shift, the short vowels were not affected.

Long Vowels

The long vowel sounds in English are:

• /eɪ/ - i.e., the "a" is "cake."

• /iː/ - i.e., the "ee" in "meet."

• /aɪ/ - i.e., the "i" in "side."

• /əʊ/ - i.e., the "o" in "phone."

• /uː/ - i.e., the "oo" in "soon."

• /ɑː/ - i.e., the "a" in "car."

• /ɔː/ - i.e., the "oor" in "poor."

• /ɪə/ - i.e., the "ere" in "here."

• /ɜː/ - i.e., the "ir" in "bird."

• /ʊə/ - i.e., the "ure" in "mature"

• /eǝ/ - i.e., the "air" in "hair."

During the Great Vowel Shift, the pronunciation of long vowels changed. Now let's look at these changes!

Great Vowel Shift Diagram

Below is a diagram of the Great Vowel Shift to help you visualize the changes. This may look confusing, but don't worry! It is firstly important to know that each vowel sound is made in a particular part of the mouth, and the shape of the mouth can change depending on which vowel sound is made. When the Great Vowel Shift happened, these vowel sounds changed position in the mouth and were pronounced higher up.

Each number on the diagram represents the different steps of the shift. These are as follows:

Step 1: i and u drop and become əɪ and əu

Step 2: e and o move up and become i and u

Step 3: a becomes æ

Step 4: ɛ becomes e, and ɔ becomes o

Step 5: æ becomes ɛ

Step 6: e becomes i

Step 7: ɛ becomes e

Step 8: əɪ and əu drop again to aɪ and au

The vowels affected during the Great Vowel Shift were long vowels.

The Great Vowel Shift Examples

Here's a handy chart containing example words that highlight the great vowel shift:

The Great Vowel Shift Made the Spelling System Complicated

Although the Great Vowel Shift changed the pronunciation of vowel sounds, many of the spellings remained the same, reflecting the Middle English period. This explains why the pronunciation of many English words does not match up with the spelling. The inconsistencies between these two aspects are what make English difficult for non-native speakers to learn!

For example:

Although spelling today is much more standardized than it was during the Middle English period, examples like the one above are reflections of the past forms of English and remind us of how far language has evolved.