Great Vowel Shift (early phase)

E60332

The Great Vowel Shift (early phase) is the initial stage of the major historical change in English pronunciation during which several long vowels began shifting upward in tongue position, setting off the chain of sound changes that transformed Middle English into Early Modern English.


Statements (45)
Predicate Object
instanceOf phonological change
sound change
stage of the Great Vowel Shift
affects English language
Middle English long vowels
approximateEnd 15th century
approximateStart late 14th century
causes restructuring of English long vowel system
characterizedBy diphthongization of high long vowels
raising of long mid vowels
upward shift in tongue position of long vowels
chronologicalOrder first phase of the Great Vowel Shift
consequence creation of modern English long vowel qualities
divergence of English spelling and pronunciation
distinctFrom Great Vowel Shift (later phase)
evidenceFrom rhyming patterns in Middle English and Early Modern English poetry
spelling variation in late Middle English texts
exampleWordAffected Middle English word "house"
Middle English word "time"
field English historical phonology
historical linguistics
geographicArea England
English-speaking areas of Britain
impactOn development of modern English dialects
standardization of English
involves long high vowel /iː/
long high vowel /uː/
long mid vowel /eː/
long mid vowel /oː/
languageStageAffected Late Middle English
languageStageOutcome Early Modern English
partOf Great Vowel Shift
phoneticProcess vowel diphthongization
vowel raising
phonologicalType chain shift
precedes Great Vowel Shift (later phase)
relatedConcept Early Modern English pronunciation
Middle English vowel system
resultsIn Early Modern English vowel system
status reconstructed from comparative evidence
studiedIn diachronic phonology
history of English
timePeriod late Middle English
transition to Early Modern English
triggerFor subsequent phases of the Great Vowel Shift

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Early Modern English ("Great Vowel Shift in progress")
hasFeature
Great Vowel Shift (early phase) ("Great Vowel Shift")
partOf
Great Vowel Shift (late phase)
precondition

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