Great Vowel Shift

The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in England between 1350 and 1700. The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term.

Because English spelling was becoming standardised in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for many of the peculiarities of English spelling.

Read more about Great Vowel Shift:  Effect, Causes, Effect On Spelling, Other Languages

Famous quotes containing the words vowel and/or shift:

    Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man only can utter consonants.
    Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

    The frantic search of five-year-olds for friends can thus be seen to forecast the beginnings of a basic shift in the parent-child relationship, a shift which will occur gradually over many long years, and in which a child needs not only the support of child allies engaged in the same struggle but also the understanding of his parents.
    Dorothy H. Cohen (20th century)