Hi All! I'm new to the forums here and am interested in getting a bit of feedback on an essay i'm currently working on.
I've been asked to give the advantages and disadvantages of the great vowel shift, and I've come up with a few interesting ideas but I'm not entirely sure if I'm on track or not.
Would love to hear if anyone has any suggestions that could point me in the right direction though.
Joe
:up:
********** NOT A TEACHER **********
Mr. B.,
You have chosen a really interesting subject that will keep you
busy --- for years.
I happen to know
next to nothing about it.
Here is the pathetic little bit that I think I know:
(1) Hundreds of years ago, English vowels had
more or less the same sounds that Spanish
vowels have today.
(2) Then for some reason that the experts do not
understand, the English people started to pronounce
some of the vowels higher up in the mouth.
(a) For example, the symbol "e" was pronounced like
today's "a." When the English people pushed it higher
up in the mouth, it took on the sound that we now
associate with the symbol "e."
(3) I think that I might suggest something for you to
study. I understand that the Great Vowel Shift is
responsible for the fact that some nouns and adjectives
are pronounced differently. For example, you know how
"division" (the noun) is pronounced. Now pronounce the
adjective "divisive." The vowels are pronounced differently, at least
in the United States. I notice, however, that some people
do not observe this difference.
I am looking at a book that gives more differences in
pronunciation because of the Shift:
child/children
five/fifth
wise/wisdom
hide/ hid
type/typical
dine/dinner
I think the nouns have the original sound of the symbol "i" until the
English people decided to pronounce it like "eye."
Good luck on your research efforts!!!
********** NOT A TEACHER **********