The Evolution of English: From Anglo-Norman to the Great Vowel Shift
Anglo-Norman and Central French
The Norman Conquest introduced numerous French words into English, which often differ in appearance from their modern French counterparts due to subsequent linguistic developments.
For example, the Old French word feste became feste in Middle English and feast in Modern English, while in French the s disappeared, resulting in the modern form fête.
Similarly, the English words judge and chant preserve the early French pronunciation of j and ch, which were softened in Modern French to juge and chant.
Another difference is that the Anglo-Norman dialect spoken in England differed from the language in Paris. In Anglo-Norman, initial ca- was often retained, whereas it became cha- or chie- in Central French.
For example, the word caitiff became caitif in Anglo-Norman and chaitif in Central French.
Central French also showed an early avoidance of the w- sound, both separately and in combination with other consonants. Thus, the word waste (Anglo-Norman waster) became guaster or gaster in Central French.
Regarding vowels, the Old French diphthong ui was originally accented on the first element (úi). This accentuation was retained in Anglo-Norman, and the i disappeared, leaving a simple u [y]. In Middle English, this [y] became [u] or [iu], written as u, ui, or ew.
Hence, the English word fruit. In Central French, on the other hand, the accentuation of this diphthong shifted in the twelfth century from úi to ui, resulting in the modern French form fruit with a different pronunciation.
Again, the diphthong ei was retained in Anglo-Norman, but early in the twelfth century, it had become oi in Central French. Thus, we have in English leal and real (Anglo-Norman leial and reial) compared to French loyal and royal.
The Latin endings -ärius and -örius appear in Anglo-Norman as -arie and -orie, but in Central French, they developed into -aire and -oire. Hence, we have English salary and victory, but in French salaire and victoire.
Dictionaries of Hard Words
The earliest English dictionaries were dictionaries of hard words, explaining words in Latin or other foreign languages.
The first was a small book by Robert Cawdrey, called A Table Alphabeticall of Hard Words (1604). It was followed by John Bullokar’s English Expositor (1616) and Hery Cockeram’s English Dictionarie (1623).
Later editions of Bullokar’s dictionary included a section for translating ordinary English words into more scholarly or foreign-derived terms, allowing writers to convey an impression of learning.
The development of dictionaries facilitated the adoption of new words into general use.
The Great Vowel Shift
Short Vowels
Two significant changes occurred in the pronunciation of short vowels: a and u.
By Shakespeare’s time, Chaucer’s a had become an [ae*] in pronunciation (cat, thank, flax). In some cases, this Middle English a represented an Old English ae, so the new pronunciation was a return to the form the word had in Old English.
The change in u is known as unrounding. In Chaucer’s pronunciation, this vowel was like the u in full. By the 16th century, it seems to have become the sound we have in but (e.g., cut, sun; love, with the Anglo-Norman spelling of o for u).
Long Vowels
In Chaucer’s pronunciation, the long vowels still had their so-called”continenta” value, meaning a was pronounced like the a in father, not name, and e was like the e in there or the a in mate.
All the long vowels gradually came to be pronounced with a greater elevation of the tongue and closing of the mouth, so that those that could be raised (and those that could not be raised without becoming consonantal, i and u) became diphthongs.
Most of the long vowels had acquired their present pronunciation by the 16th century. The most important development is the raising of Middle English e to i. This change occurred at the end of the 17th century and had become general by the middle of the 18th.
The Great Vowel Shift is responsible for the unorthodox use of vowel symbols in English spelling, which had become fixed before the shift and therefore did not change when the quality of the long vowels changed.