The Early Modern English Period

5. The Great Vowel Shift ^[1]

- mismatch between spelling and pronunciation: begun in ME, spelling fixed by early XVI century, but the sound kept changing).

- change of quality of all long vowels (stressed syllables) - standardization of the language: synthetic -> analytic - most significant of all phonological developments in English - change in pronunciaion of verb tense^[2]

↑ GRAMLEY STEPHAN. The history of English: an introduction. New York: Routledge, 2012, xxv, 123-154 pp.
↑ glottopedia.org

[1] GRAMLEY STEPHAN. The history of English: an introduction. New York: Routledge, 2012, xxv, 123-154 pp.

[2] ttopedia.org

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