Until Middle English
This period is estimated to be c. AD 900–1400.
- Vowels were lengthened before /ld/, /mb/, /nd/, /rd/, probably also /ŋɡ/, /rl/, /rn/, when not followed by a third consonant or two consonants and two syllables.
- This probably occurred around AD 1000.
- Later on, many of these vowels were shortened again; but evidence from the Ormulum shows that this lengthening was once quite general.
- Remnants persist in the Modern English pronunciations of words such as child (but not children, since a third consonant follows), field (plus yield, wield, shield), old (but not alderman as it is followed by at least two syllables), climb, find (plus mind, kind, bind, etc.), long and strong (but not length and strength), fiend, found (plus hound, bound, etc.).
- Vowels were shortened when followed by two or more consonants, except when lengthened as above.
- This occurred in two stages, the first stage affecting only vowels followed by three or more consonants.
- Inherited height-harmonic diphthongs were monophthongized by the loss of the second component, with the length remaining the same.
- /æː/ and /ɑː/ became /ɛː/ and /ɔː/.
- /æ/ and /ɑ/ merged into /a/.
- /ʏ/ and /yː/ were unrounded to /ɪ/ and /iː/.
- /ɣ/ became /w/ or /j/, depending on surrounding vowels.
- New diphthongs formed from vowels followed by /w/ or /j/ (including from former /ɣ/).
- Length distinctions were eliminated in these diphthongs.
- Middle English breaking: Diphthongs also formed by the insertion of a glide /w/ or /j/ (after back and front vowels, respectively) preceding /x/.
- Many diphthong combinations soon merged.
- Trisyllabic laxing: Shortening of stressed vowels when two syllables followed.
- This results in pronunciation variants in Modern English such as divine vs divinity and south vs. southern (OE súðerne).
- Middle English open syllable lengthening: Vowels were usually lengthened in open syllables (13th century), except when trisyllabic laxing would apply.
- Remaining unstressed vowels merged into /ə/.
- Initial clusters /hɾ/, /hl/, /hn/ were reduced by loss of /h/.
- Voiced fricatives became independent phonemes through borrowing and other sound changes.
- /sw/ before back vowel becomes /s/; /mb/ becomes /m/.
- Modern English sword, answer, lamb.
- /w/ in swore is due to analogy with swear.
Read more about this topic: Phonological History Of English
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