The Great Vowel Shift.

[ballb]

The Great Vowel Shift apparently changed the course of both English language and literature. I have read that if you can comprehend the shift you can re- read Chaucer and see the pentameter in his work.

Can somene please explain, in layman`s terms if possible, what exactly the great vowel shift was, when it occurred, was it sudden or evolutionary, and why it happened. Possibly a question for a linguistics forum rather than a literature forum. But there maybe some experts on English Mediaeval literature who can enlighten me. Many thanks.

[Virgil]

The Great Vowel Shift apparently changed the course of both English language and literature. I have read that if you can comprehend the shift you can re- read Chaucer and see the pentameter in his work.

Can somene please explain, in layman`s terms if possible, what exactly the great vowel shift was, when it occurred, was it sudden or evolutionary, and why it happened. Possibly a question for a linguistics forum rather than a literature forum. But there maybe some experts on English Mediaeval literature who can enlighten me. Many thanks.

Try these sites.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift

http://facweb.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/

http://facweb.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/what.htm

I would say it altered the sound of English, not so much the literature. It didn't happen over night but over a few generations.

[bluevictim]

It didn't happen over night but over a few generations.Wouldn't that pretty much be overnight with respect to the time scale of the English language?

[Virgil]

Wouldn't that pretty much be overnight with respect to the time scale of the English language?

Yes, on that scale it did happen fast, but people imagine that everyone just woke up one day and changed their speech. :lol:

[bluevictim]

Yes, on that scale it did happen fast, but people imagine that everyone just woke up one day and changed their speech. :lol:I feel sorry for the ones who didn't get the memo. It would probably make a funny Monty Python sketch!

[PeterL]

I feel sorry for the ones who didn't get the memo. It would probably make a funny Monty Python sketch!

It sure would. Some local dialects still use of the old sounds. I'll have to look up the details.

[chasestalling]

has there ever been a consonant shift?

[Virgil]

has there ever been a consonant shift?

Yes. Often actually, and the famous one in the Germanic languages (which English is one) is referred to as Grimm's Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm's_Law

[chasestalling]

Yes. Often actually, and the famous one in the Germanic languages (which English is one) is referred to as Grimm's Law: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grimm's_Law

(gulp) i'm humbled & overwhelmed.

[Virgil]

Why humbled? Sometimes we just don't know certain things. I've a had college class on this. If you have an opportunity, take a college class or buy a book on either the history of the english language or on the history of languages in general. Very fascinating.

[chasestalling]

virgil: i've heard it said that the truth is a bottomless pit and as i'm with pythagoras in believing that which is good is certain and finite, i'll content myself with the knowledge that english is our lingua franca.

[Nossa]

The Great Vowel Shift apparently changed the course of both English language and literature. I have read that if you can comprehend the shift you can re- read Chaucer and see the pentameter in his work.


You mean you would actually be able to read Chaucer without having to read a paraphrase?! That's like...one of my dreams..lol

[barbara0207]

Um, not quite, because Chaucer also uses different vocabulary, which is partly obsolete now. So you'd have to learn some new words, too. But understanding the vowel shift certainly makes reading easier.