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Did you know that the word "food" used to be pronounced like /fəʊd/ (fode)? Over time, the English language has evolved into the English we are familiar with today. Not only has this included changes in vocabulary and spelling but also changes in the pronunciation of words. In particular, the long vowel sounds in English went through a shift known as the Great Vowel Shift.
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Sign up for freeTrue or false?The Great Vowel Shift took place during Shakespeare's time.
The Great Vowel Shift occurred in how many steps?
Which vowel sounds were affected in the Great Vowel Shift?
During the Great Vowel Shift, the long vowel sounds shifted...
True or false?During the Great Vowel Shift, short vowel sounds shifted upwards.
When the Great Vowel Shift was happening, changes were...
True or false?The Great Vowel Shift took place during Shakespeare's time.
The Great Vowel Shift occurred in how many steps?
Which vowel sounds were affected in the Great Vowel Shift?
During the Great Vowel Shift, the long vowel sounds shifted...
True or false?During the Great Vowel Shift, short vowel sounds shifted upwards.
When the Great Vowel Shift was happening, changes were...
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Check out the definition of the Great Vowel Shift below:
The Great Vowel Shift - a term coined by linguist Otto Jespersen in his book A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles (1909) - refers to changes in the pronunciation of vowel sounds in the English language. In particular, the long vowel sounds "shifted" upwards. This meant that the sounds produced in a certain place in the mouth were then pronounced higher up in the mouth.
It is important to understand the history of the Great Vowel Shift and why it took place, as this may help you to understand why we spell and pronounce words in a certain way today.
The Great Vowel Shift marked the transition from Middle English (the type of English spoken by Chaucer) to Early Modern English (the type of English spoken by Shakespeare). Middle English was used from around the 1100s to the 1450s. Most consonants in Middle English sound the same as the consonants we use today. However, the vowels were one feature that differed, which affected the pronunciation of words. For example:
"Meet" was pronounced like "mate."
"House" was pronounced like "hoos."
"Wife" was pronounced like "weef."
The Great Vowel Shift took place from around the 1400s to the 1700s. The changes were gradual but majorly impacted the English language. Without the shift, we would pronounce and spell words very differently!
Fig. 1 - The Great Vowel Shift took place during Shakespeare's time.
When the Great Vowel Shift took place, the long vowels were mostly affected. Before taking a look at some examples, let's first look at the different types of vowel sounds used in English. Vowels can be divided into two categories; monophthongs and diphthongs.
In case you need reminding: vowels are speech sounds made with an open vocal tract.
Monophthongs refer to single vowel sounds within a syllable. These are also known as "pure vowels." There are 12 monophthongs in English:
| Monophthong | Example words (Standard British English pronunciation) |
/i:/ | "greet""seem""me""dream" |
/ɪ/ | "hit""sing""list""wish" |
/e/ | "went""send""mess""then" |
| /æ/ | "hand""cat""have""man" |
/a:/ | "large""half""fast""bar" |
| /ɒ/ | "off""got""lost""pond" |
| /ᴐ:/ | "door""pork""board""sword" |
/ʊ/ | "look""good""should""put" |
/u:/ | "mood""soon""juice""who" |
| /ʌ/ | "sun""up""money""love" |
| /ɜ:/ | "surf""bird""worse""learn" |
| /ə/ | "teacher""balloon""system""actor" |
Diphthongs refer to two vowel sounds in a syllable. There are eight diphthongs in English:
| Diphthongs | Example words (Standard British English pronunciation) |
| /aʊ/ | "loud""town""cow""found" |
| /aɪ/ | "line""bite""height""light" |
| /eɪ/ | "same""pay""wait""fate" |
| /eə/ | "fair""wear""barely""care" |
| /ɪə/ | "dear""appear""weird""hear" |
| /oʊ/ | "grow""don't""loan""stone" |
| /ɔɪ/ | "annoy""toy""loiter""hoist" |
| /ʊə/ | "usually""visual""maturity""tour" |
When pronouncing a diphthong, notice how your mouth makes two different shapes without closing. For example, the diphthong /aʊ/ begins with a short "ah" sound and ends with a long "oo" sound.
Vowel sounds can either be pronounced as short vowels or long vowels. As the names suggest, short vowels are shorter sounds, and long vowels are longer sounds:
The short vowel sounds in English are:
/æ/ - i.e., the "a" in "hat."
/e/ - i.e., the "e" in "send."
/ɪ/ - i.e., the "i" in "sit."
/ɒ/ - i.e., the "o" in "hot."
/ʌ/ - i.e., the "u" in "fun."
During the Great Vowel Shift, the short vowels were not affected.
The long vowel sounds in English are:
/eɪ/ - i.e., the "a" is "cake."
/iː/ - i.e., the "ee" in "meet."
/aɪ/ - i.e., the "i" in "side."
/əʊ/ - i.e., the "o" in "phone."
/uː/ - i.e., the "oo" in "soon."
/ɑː/ - i.e., the "a" in "car."
/ɔː/ - i.e., the "oor" in "poor."
/ɪə/ - i.e., the "ere" in "here."
/ɜː/ - i.e., the "ir" in "bird."
/ʊə/ - i.e., the "ure" in "mature"
/eǝ/ - i.e., the "air" in "hair."
By default, all diphthongs are long vowel sounds.
During the Great Vowel Shift, the pronunciation of long vowels changed. Now let's look at these changes!
Below is a diagram of the Great Vowel Shift to help you visualize the changes. This may look confusing, but don't worry! It is firstly important to know that each vowel sound is made in a particular part of the mouth, and the shape of the mouth can change depending on which vowel sound is made. When the Great Vowel Shift happened, these vowel sounds changed position in the mouth and were pronounced higher up.
Each number on the diagram represents the different steps of the shift. These are as follows:
Step 1: i and u drop and become əɪ and əu
Step 2: e and o move up and become i and u
Step 3: a becomes æ
Step 4: ɛ becomes e, and ɔ becomes o
Step 5: æ becomes ɛ
Step 6: e becomes i
Step 7: ɛ becomes e
Step 8: əɪ and əu drop again to aɪ and au
The vowels affected during the Great Vowel Shift were long vowels.
Here's a handy chart containing example words that highlight the great vowel shift:
| Example words | Middle English pronunciation (before the shift) | Modern English pronunciation (today's pronunciation) |
Been | beɪn (bain) | biːn (been) |
Bite | baɪt (bite) | biːt (beat) |
Boot | bəʊt (boat) | buːt (boot) |
Her | hɪə (here) | hɜː (her) |
House | huːs (hoos) | haʊs (house) |
Meet | meɪt (mate) | miːt (meet) |
Mouse | muːs (moos) | maʊs (mouse) |
To | təʊ (toe) | tuː (to) |
Wife | wiːf (weef) | waɪf (wife) |
Although the Great Vowel Shift changed the pronunciation of vowel sounds, many of the spellings remained the same, reflecting the Middle English period. This explains why the pronunciation of many English words does not match up with the spelling. The inconsistencies between these two aspects are what make English difficult for non-native speakers to learn!
For example:
Take the vowel sound /eɪ/.
Each of the following words contains the /eɪ / sound but are all spelled in different ways:
Although spelling today is much more standardized than it was during the Middle English period, examples like the one above are reflections of the past forms of English and remind us of how far language has evolved.
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What is an example of a Great Vowel Shift?
An example of the Great Vowel Shift is the word "mood." Before the shift, it would have been pronounced "mode"
/moʊd/, but it is now pronounced "mood" /muːd/.
What happened in the Great Vowel Shift?
During the Great Vowel Shift, long vowel sounds shifted upwards, meaning they were pronounced higher up in the mouth.
Why was the Great Vowel Shift significant?
The Great Vowel Shift was significant as it changed the pronunciation of words in the English language and marked the transition from Middle English to Early Modern English.
What was the Great Vowel Shift and when did it occur?
The Great Vowel Shift refers to the changes in pronunciation of the long vowel sounds in English. It occurred from around the 1400s to the 1700s.
When did the Great Vowel Shift happen in English?
The Great Vowel Shift happened from around the 1400s to the 1700s.
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