English Language Evolution: Sound and Grammar Shifts
Consonant Changes in English
Loss of ‘W’ after ‘S’ or ‘T’
When a consonant (s or t) was followed by w and a back vowel, the w was lost. Examples: OE: twa, ME: ta, ModE: to.
In Old English times, w had also been lost in negatives: we + wille → nille.
Silent w in Modern English examples: two, sword, answer.
Loss of ‘CH’ in Unstressed Syllables
The ‘ch’ sound was lost in unstressed syllables. Examples: OE: -lic/-liche, ME: -ly, ModE: -ly (e.g., quickly, softly).
Loss of ‘V’ Before a Consonant
The ‘v’ sound was lost before a consonant (an ‘e’ might appear). Examples: OE: heafod, ME: heved, hevd, hed, ModE: head.
OE Prefix ‘-GE’ to ‘I-‘ (Y-)
The Old English prefix -ge transformed into i- (or y-). Examples: OE: gewi, ME: iwiss, ModE: certain.
Voicing of Initial F, S, and Thorn (Þ)
Initial f, s, and thorn (þ) were voiced in the South of England. Changes: f → v, s → z, þ → ð.
Loss of Final Inflectional ‘N’
Final inflectional n was lost, as was the final n of unstressed possessive pronouns m§n and þ§n. Examples: OE: m§n fæder, ME: my fader, ModE: my father.
Voiced Fricatives as Phonemes
Voiced fricatives that were Old English allophones became phonemes with the introduction of French words and words beginning with [v]. Examples: OE: -fe, -se, -þe, ME: -ve, -ze, -ðe, Late ME (with loss of final -e): -v, -z, -d.
Vowel Changes in English
Long Vowel Sounds
Old English long vowel sounds §, Ç, ã remained unchanged but adopted different spellings. Example: OE: f‘t, ME: f‘t, ModE: feet.
Short Vowel Sounds
Except for Old English ash (æ) and y, Old English short vowels of stressed syllables remained unchanged in Middle English. Example: OE: wascan, ME: washen, ModE: wash.
Old English Long ‘Y’
Old English long y underwent unrounding to long [§] in North and East Midland dialects. Examples: OE: hydan, ME: h§den (North and East Midland), hãden (West Midland), h‘den (South and Kent).
Old English Long ‘A’
Old English long a [~] remained unchanged in the North (e.g., h~m, r~p). It became [e] in Modern Scots (e.g., hame, rape) and also became a long open rounded o []], spelled o.
Old English Long Ash (Æ)
Old English long ash (æ) became Middle English long open e [e], spelled e or ee (= [e]). Further changes: long [e] → ea, [e] → e (ee).
Old English Short Ash (Æ)
Old English short ash (æ) merged with short a and was spelled a in Middle English. Example: OE: glaed → ME: glad.
Old English Short ‘Y’
Old English short y underwent unrounding in the North and East. Changes: OE: y, y, y → ME: I (North and East Midland), e (Southeast), u (Southwest and West Midland).
Diphthong Changes
Old English diphthongs disappeared, and new ones emerged.
Smoothing of Diphthongs
Old English long ea [e~] smoothed to long open e [e].
Old English long eo [eÇ] smoothed to long close e [e] (around the 11th century).
Example: OE: le-f, ME: saide, ModE: said.
New Diphthongs Ending in Glide [I] (AI / EI)
Vocalization of ‘G’ to ‘I’ after Front Vowels
Example: OE: sægde, ME: saide, ModE: said.
Development of an I-Glide between a Front Vowel and OE ‘H’
Example: OE: ehta, ME: eighte, ModE: eight.
New Middle English Diphthongs in Glide [U]
Vocalization of ‘G’ to ‘U’ after Back Vowels
Examples: OE: sagu, boga, ME: sawe, bowe, ModE: saw, bow.
Development of a U-Glide between a Back Vowel and OE ‘H’
Examples: OE: ~ht, brohte, ME: aught, brought, ModE: aught, brought.
‘W’ after a Vowel Became a U-Glide
Example: OE: clawu, ME: clawe, ModE: claw.
New Middle English Diphthongs of French Origin
Examples: ME: joie, cloister, ModE: joy, cloister.
Levelling of Unstressed Vowels
Old English vowels merged into a schwa sound, typically spelled ‘e’. Example: OE: lama, ME: lame.
The loss of final schwa in final syllables: the levelled final ‘e’ [c] was gradually lost in the North (13th century), and later in the Midlands and South.
Non-final unstressed ‘e’ (written as ‘i’, ‘y’, ‘u’ in some dialects) was lost when an inflectional ending was present, except after sibilants. Example: maketh → makth.
The vowel sound was retained in ‘-ed‘ until the 15th century. It has not yet disappeared in forms like aged, blessed, learned when used as adjectives.
Grammar Changes: Reduction of Inflection
The levelling (merging of unstressed vowels) caused a significant reduction in grammatical forms. Middle English had fewer inflectional distinctions compared to Old English.
Adjective Gender Distinctions Lost
The masculine gender distinguishing forms were lost. Masculine Nominative -a and Neuter Nom-Acc. & Fem. Nom -e became -e. Example: OE: Se ealda man (masc), ME: The olde man.
Weak Adjective Endings Merged
Old English weak adjective endings merged into -e: -an / -um → -en → (loss of ‘n’) → -e.
Old English genitive plural forms of weak adjectives also merged into -e: -ena → -ene → -e; -ra → re → -e.
Thus, five singular and plural forms of Old English weak adjectives were reduced to ‘-e‘.
Number and Gender Distinctions Lost
Number and gender distinctions were largely lost.
Far-Reaching Effects of Levelling
The effects of levelling were far-reaching: endings of infinitives (-an), endings of indicative past plural (-on), and endings of past participles (-en) all became -e. Example: OE: Findan, findon, finden, ME: finden, founde, founde, ModE: find, found, found.
Noun Changes
Inflectional endings were considerably reduced. The ending -e was organic in the dative singular, genitive plural, and dative plural. This -e was extended to nominative and accusative singular forms (e.g., stÇne, mãðe).
The only remaining distinction was ‘-s‘ for the possessive singular and nominative + accusative plural. Thus, ‘-s‘ became the primary mark of PLURALITY.
In early Middle English, there were two main methods of plurality: -s or -es for strong declension, and -en for weak declension. Until the 13th century, the plural ‘-en‘ was most commonly used in the South, while the rest of England preferred ‘-s‘. By the end of the 14th century, ‘-s‘ was accepted all over England as the universal mark of plurality.