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The '''Great Vowel Shift''' (GVS) - named so by Danish linguist [[Otto Jespersen]] - was a period of shifts in the pronunciation of vowels the [[English language]]. It took place approximately from the 15<sup>th</sup> century (the late [[Middle English]] period) until the 18<sup>th</sup> century (the [[Early Modern English]] period).<ref>Dobson E.J. 1968. ''English Pronunciation 1500–1700''. 2 vols, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press. (vol. 2, 594–713 for discussion of long stressed vowels).</ref><ref>Nordquist, Richard 2018. [https://www.thoughtco.com/great-vowel-shift-gvs-1690825]</ref> This is the main reason why English words often sound different from how they are spelled.
Furthermore, coinciding with the development of [[Printing press|print]], the Great Vowel Shift and the increasing production of printed materials have brought about the standardisation of the [[English language]] as we know it today. <ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language.|last=Crystal|first=David|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2010}}</ref>
== Changes ==
This change was often divided into two phases (with a following third period in [[Early Modern English]] with less critical, minor changes) and varied slightly throughout [[English dialects]]. It concerned long [[Vowel|vowels]], short [[Vowel|vowels]] and [[Diphthong|diphthongs]] and from the [[15th century|1400s]] continued for several centuries. Some [[Consonant|consonants]]’ [[pronunciation]] changes as well and these changes are sometimes described by scholars when discussing the Great Vowel Shift.
[[File:Great Vowel Shift2b.svg|thumb|
During the period of [[Middle English]], there were five short and seven long vowels. Through the GVS, the long vowels ''/i:/'' and ''/u:/'' gained counterparts they did not have before, restoring the balance in the vowel system. This attempt to achieve balance is thought to be one of the reasons for the start of the GVS. Along with other theories, like the '''pull-chain''' and the '''push-chain theories'''.
* The '''pull-chain''' theory suggests that the first to leave their positions were the higher vowels which then pulled the lower vowels to move too. The '''push-chain''' theory offers the opposite solution suggesting that the lower vowels were first to move and after they were raised, they pushed the higher vowels up from their previous positions.
[[File:The International Phonetic Alphabet (2015 version) (cropped) (only vowels).svg|left|thumb|
The change of pronunciation during the GVS affected long [[Stressed vowels|'''stressed''' vowels]]. Therefore, ''“y”'' in ''“only”'' didn’t change pronunciation because it is not stressed. But the same vowel changes pronunciation in the word ''“my”'' because it is stressed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Harvard's Geoffrey Chaucer Website|url=https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/great-vowel-shift
It is important to note that distinguishing the [[Middle English]] [[pronunciation]] is just an approximation done by scholars because there aren’t any recordings of spoken language from that period.<ref name=":0" />
== Examples ==
▲====== The following tables show the changes in vowel pronunciation on specific examples.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Great Vowel Shift|url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=A Concise History of English.|last=Chamonikolasová|first=Jana|publisher=Masaryk University|year=2014|location=Brno}}</ref> ======
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== Historical Division of the GVS ==
Most generally, the researchers of the GVS have divided it into two phases, which coincidentally correspond with the periods of writings of the two famous English writers: [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] and [[William Shakespeare]]. Consequently, [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer]]’s and [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]’s writings are often employed as the most representative examples of the Great Vowel Shift’s changes.
== Social and Cultural Influences ==
The exact pinpointing of the period of the Great Vowel Shift and the reason for its occurrence remains unknown to this day. However, there are several theories which are the most frequent, the most widely accepted, and also interconnected through the notions of social emancipation and elitism.
* '''[[Black Death|Plague]]''' or '''the [[Black Death]]''', fast-tracked the levels of '''migration in [[England]]''', with the [[London|capital]] and [[South England]] as the final destinations. The explanation for this choice of destination of migration might be that despite the infection being present everywhere throughout [[England]], the death rates differed - with the southern part of [[England]] as the area with the lowest levels of casualties. The reason behind this is that this area had been majorly inhabited by the royals and the [[aristocracy]], which meant better hygienic conditions and higher levels of health care - essentially presenting better chances to resist, counter and overcome the plague.<ref name=":1" /> Furthermore, the surplus of inhabitants in the capital might have fuelled the urge in the original inhabitants to differentiate themselves from and place themselves above the migrants culturally and socially, through a “more advanced” pronunciation of vowels.
* '''[[Hundred Years' War|The Hundred Years War]]''' and due to it, the presence of [[French people|Frenchmen]] and with it the '''influence of [[French language|French]] loan words''' during the [[Middle English]] period, which due to thousands of borrowings (mainly vocabulary connected to the [[government]], [[war]], [[Church of England|church]], [[law]], [[cuisine]], and clothes), transformed the [[English language]], including its pronunciation.<ref name=":2" />
* Another factor might have been the '''middle-class hypercorrection''' as an effort to imitate the [[aristocracy]]’s more prestigious [[French language|French]] pronunciation, as [[French language|French]] was the language of [[aristocracy]], [[diplomacy]], and [[law]], spoken by the [[British royal family|ruling class]]. Inversely, the shift might have also been influenced by the '''anti-French sentiment''' in [[England]] caused by the wars with [[France]] and the people’s efforts of distancing themselves from the [[French language|French]] way of speaking.<ref>{{Cite web|date=17 May 2022|title=What Was the Great Vowel Shift and Why Did it Happen?|url=https://www.discoveryuk.com/mysteries/what-was-the-great-vowel-shift-and-why-did-it-happen/|access-date=1 Feb 2023}}</ref>
== References ==
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