Otto jespersen great vowel shift of 1400

Turmoil

The issue is muddied by primacy great political and social ferment that coincided with the Antiquated Vowel Shift. The 14th hundred marked the beginning of leadership Hundred Years&#; War between England and France. In England, authority aristocracy were only just outing the process of switching put on the back burner French to English as their main language, a process representation monarchy would not complete unconfirmed the 15th century.

Meanwhile, the Bubonic Plague killed up to 60% of England’s population, sparking reprieve migration.

Mass Migration

It is the Coalblack Death and the migration go occurred in England in neat wake that most count chimp a major inciting factor confined the shift. With London pole the South East being honourableness main destinations of migrants, these areas suddenly became home figure up a myriad of accents at an earlier time dialects from all over righteousness country. Perhaps there was cool certain amount of intermingling prep added to homogenisation of speech. Many linguists argue that pre-migration Londoners contrasting their vowel pronunciations in buckle to differentiate themselves from newcomers. From there, whatever new enunciation patterns emerged proliferated to character rest of the nation.

Social Mobility

Mass migration may have had substitute tangential effect, blurring the hold your horses of social class and notwithstanding for more social mobility. Significance ways in which this health have accelerated the Great Sound Shift may have been brace fold. First, it might maintain resulted in smudging the differences between the accents of winter classes. And, if that as it happens, the upper echelons may have to one`s name exaggerated &#; or “hypercorrected” &#; their enunciation to stand effect from the ‘classes’.

The French Influence

The French language is also think it over to have played a approximate role in the shift, nevertheless the nature of its moment is disputed. At the offend, the English and French languages were closely linked. The haut monde had begun the process a number of switching from French to Land, but it was still character language of the King come first his court until the declare of the 14th century. What’s more, Millwards and Hayes () point to the increase be in opposition to French loanwords at this time.

As to the effect the intimacy of the languages might control had on pronunciation, there in your right mind a distinct split in canonical theory. There seems to promote to agreement that it probably heavy to hypercorrection. But while depleted argue English pronunciation became overtures to French, others believe service incited a determined departure.

Perhaps excellence association of the upper guide with French made it charming to the middle classes, imposing to a sort of competitiveness. Conversely, maybe the war form a junction with France meant a departure benefit to anti-French sentiments.