Domain of Expertise: Historical Phonology and English Linguistics.
Suggested Review Group: Historical Phonologists and Comparative Linguists specializing in the Germanic languages.
Abstract:
This presentation delineates the historical trajectory of the English Great Vowel Shift (GVS) and its subsequent developments, termed "GVS Plus," from approximately 1400 CE to the present day. Utilizing kinetic visualization of the acoustic vowel space, the video illustrates the transformation of the seven long pure vowels of Middle English into the modern system. The shift is characterized by a chain movement involving raising and diphthongization, resulting in a unified class of closing diphthongs in contemporary Standard Southern British (SSB). Critical analysis is applied to the traditional presentation of modern English phonology, specifically challenging the enduring influence of Daniel Jones's system, which is argued to erroneously perpetuate the concept of short/long vowel pairs, thereby obscuring the true phonetic and phonological consequences of the historical shift.
Summary:
0:08 Methodology and Scope: The GVS and its ongoing effects are explained using animated "vowel choreography" within the acoustic vowel space, moving away from static tongue charts.
0:58 The Core Effect of the GVS: The shift explains the unique pronunciation of the five English vowel letter names (A, E, I, O, U) compared to other languages: the sounds changed significantly while the written letters remained fixed.
1:33 Middle English Vowel System: Around 1400, the long vowels—which are the focus of the GVS (e.g., in price, fleece, face, goat, goose, mouth)—were pure vowels. Short vowels (KIT, DRESS, TRAP, LOT, PUT) were largely unaffected.
5:29 Mechanics of the Shift: The GVS involves the dual processes of raising (vowels moving higher in the space) and diphthongization (pure vowels turning into glides). The GVS proper refers to the initial two to three centuries, but the subsequent changes (GVS Plus) continued along the same line.
6:10 Chain Shift Dynamics: The movement is considered a chain shift, possibly initiated by the diphthongization of Middle English priːs and muːθ, leading to the subsequent shift of the other vowels.
7:36 Early Modern English Status (c. 1700): By 1700, the PLEASE vowel had merged with FLEECE in most accents, marking the approximate end of the GVS proper.
7:54 Second Wave of Diphthongization: Post-1700, the higher vowels (FLEECE, FACE, GOOSE, GOAT) began a second wave of diphthongization, spreading out into closing diphthongs, though the timing varied by accent (e.g., GOAT may have spread sooner).
8:17 Dialectal Variation: The analysis focuses primarily on Southern English developments. Northern English and Scottish accents largely resisted the later diphthongization, retaining monophthongs for FACE and GOAT.
9:42 Divergent Trajectories: During the 19th century, the shift progressed along two main paths: toward Received Pronunciation (RP) and toward popular London speech (Cockney), the latter undergoing a significant diphthong shift (10:49) leading to wider glides, notably where PRICE and MOUTH crossed paths.
11:42 Contemporary Result (SSB): The culmination in modern Standard Southern British (SSB) results in a system where the historical long vowels constitute a natural class of closing diphthongs (FLEECE, FACE, PRICE, CHOICE, GOOSE, GOAT, MOUTH).
13:54 Critique of Daniel Jones: The video strongly criticizes the influential phonetic classifications of Daniel Jones ("Jones's blunder") for misrepresenting the modern English vowel system. Jones incorrectly posited that modern English retained phonemic short/long vowel pairs (e.g., KIT/FLEECE), a concept argued to be fundamentally false following the GVS Plus, which eliminated these pairs.
17:11 Critique of Historical Notation: Traditional timelines are criticized for terminating historical analysis at "Received Pronunciation in the mid-20th century," failing to capture the continued diphthongization of vowels like MOUTH, FLEECE, and GOOSE observed in contemporary accents.