A History of English Language

A history of the english language 224
It will be noticed that the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for the unorthodox use of the
vowel symbols in English spelling. The spelling of English had become fixed in a general
way before the shift and therefore did not change when the quality of the long vowels
changed. Consequently our vowel symbols no longer correspond to the sounds they once
represented in English and still represent in the other modern languages. 44
178. Weakening of Unaccented Vowels.
A little observation and reflection shows us that in unaccented syllables, too, the spelling
does not accurately represent the pronunciation today. This is because in all periods of
the language the vowels of unstressed syllables have had a tendency to weaken and then
often to disappear. This is true of all parts of a word. For example, we do not distinguish
in ordinary or rapid speech between the vowels at the beginning of ago, upon, opinion.
The sound in all three words is [ə]; in other cases it is commonly [ə], or [I]. Consider the
unstressed middle or final syllable in the words introduce, elegant [ə, I], drama, color,
kingdom, breakfast (brεkfəst or brεkf’st), Monday [i]. The weakening is especially
noticeable in words from French where an accented vowel came to be unaccented in
English (cf. French mouton, raisin, bonté with English mutton, raisin, bounty). One must
not be misled by the spelling. The original spelling was generally retained and in recent
times has occasionally influenced the pronunciation so that the quality of the vowel has
been restored to something like its earlier character. Window now has a fairly welldefined
diphthong in the final syllable [oU] or [o u ], but the weakened vowel is evident in
the dialectal pronunciation winder. Misguided purists often try to pronounce the final
syllable of Monday, with the full quality of the diphthong in day. But even when the
vowel has been restored in standard speech the weakened form is generally apparent in
informal speech and in the dialects.
179. Grammatical Features.
English grammar in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century is marked more by the
survival of certain forms and usages that have since disappeared than by any fundamental
developments. The great changes that reduced the inflections of Old English to their
modern proportions had already taken place. In the few parts of speech that retain some
of their original inflections, the reader of Shakespeare or the Authorized Version is
conscious of minor differences of form and in the framing of sentences may note
differences of syntax and idiom that, although they attract attention, are not sufficient to
interfere seriously with understanding. The more important of these differences we may
pass briefly in review.
44
A comprehensive history of English spelling has yet to be written. The fullest survey is
by D.G.Scragg, A History of English Spelling (New York, 1974). For a brief treatment
the reader may consult W.W.Skeat, Principles of English Etymology, First Series (2nd
ed., Oxford, 1892). chap. 16. A clear statement of modern usage is given in W.A.Craigie,
English Spelling: Its Rules and Reasons (New York, 1927).