HJA exam.

1. Vowel Changes in Late Old and Early Middle English (especially vowel
shortenings and lengthenings).

LENGHTENING IN OPEN SYLLABLES

Vowel lengthening
In the late 8th or early 9th century, short stressed vowels were lengthened before
certain groups of consonants: ld, mb, nd, ng, rd, rl, rn, rs+vowel.[26] Some of the
lengthened vowels would be shortened again by or during the Middle English period;
this applied particularly before the clusters beginning r. Examples of words in which
the effect of lengthening has been preserved are:

 ċild > ċīld > mod. child /aɪ/ (but lengthening did not occur if another consonant
immediately followed, as in ċildru, giving modern children with /ɪ/)
 ald > āld > mod. old /oʊ/ (but lengthening did not occur in the antepenultimate
syllable, as in aldormann, giving modern alderman, with an originally short a)
 climban > clīmban > mod. climb /aɪ/
 grund > grūnd > mod. ground /aʊ/
  lang > lāng > mod. long (ā went regularly to ō but was shortened in this
position in late Middle English; compare Scots lang where the shortening
occurred first)

1. Changes in spelling conventions.

In ME the runic letters passed out of use. Thorn — þ — and the crossed d — ð —
were replaced by the digraph th, which retained the same sound value: [θ] and [ð];
the rune “wynn” was displaced by “double u” — w —; the ligatures æ and œ fell into
disuse.

After the period of Anglo-Norman dominance (11 th-13th c.). The digraphs ou,

ie, and ch which occurred in many French borrowings and were regularly used in
Anglo-Norman texts were adopted as new ways of indicating the sounds [u:], [e:],
and [t∫].

Apart from the above developments the short vowels of English have remained
remarkably stable throughout the history of the language, for instance Old English
cwic, god show the same vowels in Modern English. The two main changes which
occur later are (1) /ʊ/ > /ʌ/ after the mid-17th century and (2) an earlier raising of /ɛ/
to /ɪ/ before nasals as in think [θɪk] and English [ɪŋglɪʃ].

Letters indicating vowels Letters indicating consonants

Single letters
a [a] c [s] or [k]
y, as well as i [i] f [f]
o [o] or [u] g [d3] or [g]
j [d3]
k [k]
s [s] or [z]
v (often spelt as u) [v]
y [j]
Digraphs
ee [e:] or [ε:] ch, tch [t∫]
ie [e:] dg [d3]
oo [o:] or [‫ב‬:] gh [x] or [x’]
ou [u:j or [ou] qu [kw]
ow [u:] or [ou] th [θ] or [ð]
sh, sch, ssh [∫]
wh [hw]

2. I-Umlaut
 This involved the fronting or raising of vowels under the influence of /i(ː)/ or /j/
in the following syllable. Among its effects were the new front rounded
vowels /y(ː), ø(ː)/, and likely the diphthong /iy/ (see above). The original
following /i(ː)/ or /j/ that triggered the umlaut was often lost at a later stage.
The umlaut is responsible for such modern English forms as men, feet, mice
(compare the singulars man, foot, mouse), elder, eldest (compare old), fill
(compare full), length (compare long), etc.

i-mutation

i-mutated

Original Examples and notes

West Anglia
Kentish
Saxon n

æ, e > bacan "to bake", bæcþ "(he/she) bakes". a > e particularly

a æ, e
e before nasal consonants: mann "person", menn "people"

ā ǣ lār "teaching" (cf. "lore"), lǣran "to teach"

æ e þæc "covering" (cf. "thatch"), þeccan "to cover"

e i not clearly attested due to earlier Germanic e > i before i, j

o ø>e Latin olium, Old English øle > ele.

ō ø̄ > ē fōt "foot", fø̄t > fēt "feet".

u y y>e murnan "to mourn", myrnþ "(he/she) mourns"

ū ȳ ȳ>ē mūs "mouse", mȳs "mice"

ea ie > y e eald "old", ieldra, eldra "older" (cf. "elder")

ēa īe > ȳ ē nēah "near" (cf. "nigh"), nīehst "nearest" (cf. "next")

examples are rare due to earlier

eo io > eo Germanic e > i before i, j. io became eo in most later
varieties of Old English

examples are rare due to earlier

ēo īo > ēo Germanic e > i before i, j. īo became ēo in most later
varieties of Old English

*fiohtan "to fight", fieht "(he/she) fights". io became eo in

io ie > y io, eo most later varieties of Old English, giving alternations
like beornan "to burn", biernþ "(he/she) burns"

līoht "light", līehtan "illuminate". īo became ēo in most later

īo īe > ȳ īo, ēo varieties of Old English, giving alternations like sēoþan "to
boil" (cf. "seethe"), sīeþþ "(he/she) boils"

3. Reszkiewicz, Chapters V, VI and VII, especially Strong Verbs (Chapter VII)

and the Old English texts No. 58, 68 and 78.

NO.58
Hē sweorde ne mihte wunde ġewyrćan. He might not make wounds with a sword.
 Grendel ġenam on reste þrītiġ þeġna. Grendel took 30 thanes at resting place.
Bēowulf on reste ġeseah Grendel lićǵan. Beowulf saw Grendel lie at rest.

Hēr fōr se here up þurh þā bryćǵe æt Paris. Here went the Danish army up through the bridge at Paris.

Wīf sćeal wiþ wer wǣre ġehealdan. Wife should be faithful to her husband.

On þǣre stōwe wæs mićel gærs. In the place was great grass.

Ða wunda þāra þeġna wǣron maniġe. The wounds of the thanes were numerous.

Se cnith sæt ġeornlīće hlystende hiere tale. The boy sat eagerly listening to her tale.

Fӯr biþ þeof. Fire is a thief.

Cyning sćeal on healle bēagas dǣlan. King shall divide the rings in the hall.

Se cyning hēt ġewyrćan þā bryćǵe ofer Treontan. The king commanded the bridge to be built over Trent.
Ić eom Hrōþgāres ār and ambiht. I am Hrothgar’s messenger and servant.

Wē sint Hyġelāces bēodġenēatas. We are table-companions of Hygelac.

Hē sundorlīf wæs foreberende eallum þǣm arum. He preferred life in seclusion to all the honours.

Næs him āra þearf; him wæs reste þearf. He didn’t want honours; he wanted rest.

Ić eom weorþ werum, wīde funden, brungen of bearwum, of I am dear to me, widely found, brought from woods , from
denum and of dūnum. valleys and hills.

Wita sćeal ġeþyldiġ. A wise man must be patient.

Flota wæs on ӯþum, bāt under beorge. Ship was on waves, boat under the cliff.

Cyninges hunta ić eom and ić ġefō heorotas and bāras and rān and I am king’s hunter and I catch harts, and boars, and roes,
rǣġan and hwīlum haran. and does, and sometimes hares.

Sǣgenǵa fōr forþ ofer ӯþem bundestefna ofer brimstrēamas. Ship went forth over the waves, a ship with bound prow
over the sea.

Seō sunne is swīþe mićel; ac hēo þyncþ ūs swīþe unbrād, for þǣm The sun is very large; but she seems to us she is very
þē hēo is swīþe feorr fram ūrum ġesihþum. small, because she is very far from our sight.

Ēac swilće þā steorran þe ūs lӯtle þynćaþ sint swīþe brāde. And also the stars, that seem small to us, are very large.

Se mōna and ealle steorran underfōþ lēoht of þǣre sunnan. The moon and all stars receive light of the sun.

Wē hātaþ ānne dæġ fram sunnan upgange oþ ǣfen. We have one day from the sunrise up to evening.

Ðā hwelpas etaþ of þǣm crumum þe of hiera hlāforda bēodum The whelps eat crumbs that fall of their master’s table.
feallaþ.

We care of the crumbs of the bread.

Wē hēdaþ þāra crumena þæs hlāfes.

Mīn tunge mǣrde þīn weorc. My tongue glorifies your work.

 Hiera tungan sprecaþ fācen. Their tongues speak malice.

NO.78
Cynewulf oft mićlum ġefeohtum feaht wiþ Cynewulf often fought many battles with the
Bretwalum. Britons.
Hē āstāg on ānne munt and sæt þǣr. He ascended on a mountain and sat there.
Ðā sćiperas ġefēngon hine and wurpon hine on The sailors caught him, and threw him on
þone bāt and bundon hine and rēowon tō sćipe. the boat, and bound him and rowed to the
ship.
Ðā olfendas bǣron ġimmstānas and unġerīm The camels carried gems and countless gold.
gold.
Hēr sæt hǣþen here on Tenet and ġenāmon friþ In this year the Danish army encamped on
wiþ Cantwarum and Cantware him feoh gehēton the Isle of Thanet and made peace with the
wiþ þǣm friþe. Cantware, and the Cantware promised them
goods for peace.
Eart þū sē Bēowulf sē þe wiþ Brecan wunne? Are you the Beowulf that fought against
Breca?
Īs wierþ of wætre. Ice is made of water.
Ðēod winþ onġēan þēode and rīće onġēan rīće. Nation fights against nation and kingdom
fights against kingdom.
Hæġl cymþ of þǣm reġndropum þonne hīe Hail is made of the raindrops when they are
bēoþ ġefrorene upp on þǣre lyfte. frozen up in the air.
Snāw cymþ of þǣm þynnan wǣtan þe biþ Snow comes from the liquid that is drawn
uppātogen mid þǣre lyfte and biþ ġefroren ǣr with the air and is frozen before it has turned
þǣm þe hē tō dropum ġeurnen sīe. into drops.

4. Historical sources of modern irregular verbs and irregular plurals.

5. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - The General Prologue (translation, pronunciation and

related sound changes)

ORIGINAL TEXT MODERN TEXT

HERE BIGINNETH THE BOOK OF THE THE CANTERBURY TALES STARTS HERE
TALES OF CAUNTERBURY.
People want to go on religious pilgrimages to
Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote spiritual places in the springtime, when the April
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, rains have soaked deep into the dry ground to water
And bathed every veyne in swich licour, the flowers’ roots; and when Zephyrus, the god of
Of which vertu engendred is the flour; the west wind, has helped new flowers to grow
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth everywhere; and when you can see the
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth constellation Aries in the sky; and when the birds
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne sing all the time. Some people go to other
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, countries, but many people in England choose to
And smale fowles maken melodye, go to the city of Canterbury in southeastern
10That slepen al the night with open yë, England to visit the remains of Thomas Becket, the
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages): Christian martyr who had the power of healing
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages people.
(And palmers for to seken straunge strondes)
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.

Bifel that, in that seson on a day, Bifel that, in that seson on a day,
20In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay 20In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At night was come in-to that hostelrye At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a companye, Wel nyne and twenty in a companye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle, In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde; That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde, The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste. And wel we weren esed atte beste.
30And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, 30And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon, So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,
That I was of hir felawshipe anon, That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse, And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.

Great Vowel Shift – a major vocalic sound change (1350-1700)

a: > eI bake, make, dame

u: > au mouse, louse

i: > aI mice, lice

Great Vowel Shift – caused all the Middle English long vowels to be pronounced with a greater
elevation of the tongue. All the seven Middle English long vowels became closer in quality, and those
already as close as they could became dypthongs.

ɔ: > o: > ou > əu goat, hope

The half open /ɔ:/ sound, in Middle English became a close /o:/ sound.
The /o:/ later evolved into the dipthong /ou/ which has since become /əu/ as used now.

o: > u: > əu > au hu:s, mu:s

Middle English /o:/ became /u:/ sound. Modern English /u:/ evolved into a dipthong –
probably /əu/ at first and by the 17th century reached its present day quality /au/ (house).

Other examples:

a: > ɜ: > e: > eI

e: > i: meet, green, deed

i: > əI > aI mice, fire

Grimm’s Law – as Germanic diverged and evolved from Indooeuropean English, the stop
sounds of the parent language underwent a complete transformation. (Jacob Grimm 1822).

Grimm has made a description of something he observed.

Grimm’s Law describes the Indo-European plosive sounds as they’ve developed in

Germanic.

STOP/PLOSIVE CONSONANTS: b, p, d, t, g, k

B, p – bilabial
D, t – alveolar
G, k – velar

Those are called stop consonants because at some point there’s a stop of the air while
pronouncing those.

Grimm’s law explains why they all changed!! ^^^^^^^^

There are 3 stages of Grimm’s Law:

1.ASPIRATED PLOSIVES
Bh > b bratha > brother
Dh > d rudhira > red madhu > mead
G h> g

Bh, Dh, Gh are aspirated plosives which transform into voiced plosives - b, d, g.
2.VOICED PLOSIVES

B>p labia > lip

D>t dantha > teeth duo > two
G>k sagire > seek

B, d, g are voiced plosives which transform into voiceless plosives - b, d, g.

3.VOICELESS PLOSIVES

P>f pita>father piscis>fish

T > th (θ) tres>three frater>brother
K>h centrum>hundred corda>heart

P, t, k are voiceless plosives which transform into voiceless fricatives – f, th,

h.