Vowels
The following table shows the modern realisation of the various Scots vowels along with their pronunciation in Early Scots, the Early Middle English vowels they can largely be derived from, and the main Old English sources of these vowels. See also Middle English phonology for a more in-depth overview of the Old English sources of the Early Middle English vowels below. External sources are: For the principal Old English, Norse and Romance sources of the Early Scots vowels see Aitken, A.J, (Ed. Macafee C.) (2002) pp. 89–95; for an overview of the historical developments see Vowel systems of Scots: a rough historical outline in A History of Scots to 1700, p. lvii.
| Long vowels | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vowel # | Spelling | Realisation | Early Scots | Early Middle English | Main Source(s) | Examples |
| 1 | ⟨i.e,y.e,ey⟩ | short /əi/ long /aɪ/ |
/iː/ | OE í, ý | mine ('mine') | |
| 2 | ⟨ee,e.e⟩ | /i/ | /eː/ | OE é, éo | deed ('deed'), sene ('seen') | |
| 3 | ⟨ea,ei,e.e⟩ | /i, e/ | /ɛː/ | OE ǽ, éa | deid ('dead'), lene ('lean') | |
| 4 | ⟨a.e,ae⟩ | /e/ | /aː/ | OE á | bane ('bone') | |
| 5 | ⟨oa,o.e⟩ | /o/ | /oː/ | /ɔː/ | OE o (open) | cole ('coal') |
| 6 | ⟨ou⟩ | /u/ | /uː/ | OE ú | doun ('down') | |
| 7 | ⟨ui,eu⟩ | /ø/ | /øː/ (/yː/) | /oː/ | OE ó | guid ('good'), beuk ('book') |
| Diphthongs | ||||||
| Vowel # | Spelling | Realisation | Early Scots | Early Middle English | Main Source(s) | Examples |
| 8 | ⟨ai,ay⟩ | /eː/ | /ai/ | /ai/, /ɛi/ | OE a, æ (open); OF ai, ei | pain ('pain') |
| 9 | ⟨oi,oy⟩ | /oe/ | /oi/ | OF oi /ɔi/ | noise ('noise') | |
| 10 | ⟨oi,oy⟩ | /əi/ | /ui/ | OF oi /oi/ | point ('point') | |
| 11 | ⟨ee⟩ | /iː/ | /ei/ | OE eg̣ | ee ('eye') | |
| 12 | ⟨au,aw⟩ | /ɑː, ɔː/ | /au/ | OE ag, aw | law ('law') | |
| 13 | ⟨ow,owe⟩ | /ʌu/ | /ou/ | /ɔu/, /ou/ | OE og, ow | lown ('calm') |
| 14a | ⟨ew⟩ | /ju/ | /iu/ | /eu/, /iu/ | OE iw, ew | spew ('spew') |
| 14b | ⟨ew⟩ | /ju, jʌu/ | /ɛu, ɛou/ | /ɛu/ | OE ǽw, éaw | dew ('dew') |
| Short vowels | ||||||
| Vowel # | Spelling | Realisation | Early Scots | Early Middle English | Main Source(s) | Examples |
| 15 | ⟨i⟩ | /ɪ/ | /ɪ/ | OE i, y | pin ('pin') | |
| 16 | ⟨e⟩ | /ɛ/ | /ɛ/ | OE a, æ + alveolar | men ('men') | |
| 17 | ⟨a⟩ | /ɑ, a/ | /a/ | OE a, æ (closed); OE o + labial | man ('man') | |
| 18 | ⟨o⟩ | /ɔ/ | /o/ | OE o (closed) | fon ('folly') | |
| 19 | ⟨u⟩ | /ʌ/ | /u/ | OE u | gun | |
Read more about this topic: Phonological History Of Scots
Famous quotes containing the word vowels:
“These equal syllables alone require,
Though oft the ear the open vowels tire;”
—Alexander Pope (1688–1744)
“As no one can tell what was the Roman pronunciation, each nation makes the Latin conform, for the most part, to the rules of its own language; so that with us of the vowels only A has a peculiar sound.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Playing “bop” is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.”
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974)