Historical Phonology

doi:10.1017/9781009205702.017

14 - Historical Phonology

from Part III - The Long View by Levels and Areas

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2025

Donka Minkova

Edited by

Laura Wright and

Raymond Hickey

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Laura Wright: Affiliation:
University of Cambridge
Raymond Hickey: Affiliation:
University of Limerick

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Summary

This chapter provides an overview of sound inventories and analysis of some segmental changes from Old English (OE) to Present-Day English (PDE). The topic selection is based on relevance to the PDE phonological structure and to the way specific processes are elucidated by current models of language change. The empirical data are treated in terms of the changes’ mechanism and causation in relation to phonetic and system-internal triggers, and in the context of language contacts and sociocultural pressures. Updating the results of existing accounts, the chapter includes many familiar processes, highlighting areas that are either missing or under-represented in the canon. The notorious letter-sound discrepancy for vowels in PDE is prioritised, while space limitations require a less nuanced survey and analysis of consonantal and prosodic changes.

Keywords

historical phonology vowel quantity Umlaut vowel shift fricative voicing degemination onset-maximal syllable weight stress

Information

Type: Chapter
Information: The New Cambridge History of the English Language
Context, Contact and Development
, pp. 387 - 467

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009205702.017 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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