Why Shakespeare and Chaucer would have struggled to understand one another
In short: Between the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries, the English language underwent a massive phonetic transformation. This period of linguistic upheaval, known as the Great Vowel Shift, fundamentally altered how long vowels were pronounced, creating a profound divide between the speech of Middle English and Early Modern English.
The Great V/owel Shift was not a random collection of errors, but a systematic series of parallel changes in the articulation of English long vowels. This phenomenon is viewed by linguists as a sequence of vertically ascending tongue movements linked by cause and effect. As the tongue moved from low to middle and middle to high positions, the phonetic qualities of the language's vowels changed dramatically.
The mechanics of this shift involved specific movements within the mouth. For vowels articulated with the tongue in a high position, the shift resulted in diphthongization—the transformation of single vowels into gliding combinations. To illustrate, the high-back /u:/ (found in 'fool') and high-front /i:/ in Middle English transformed into /au/ (as in 'house') and /ai/ (as in 'bide'). While the vertical position changed, the horizontal position—whether the vowel was front, center, or back—generally remained stable.
This movement created a vacuum in the mouth's phonetic landscape. As the highest vowels moved, they left the high-front and high-back positions 'open,' which were subsequently filled by vowels that had previously occupied the middle-front and middle-back positions. A notable example is the word 'sheep,' which in Middle English used a middle-front vowel similar to the modern 'shape,' but shifted to the middle-high position found in the modern word 'beet.'
Despite the detailed study of these phonetic changes, the exact causes of the Great Vowel Shift remain unknown to historians and linguists. Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a historical linguist from Denmark, originally recognised this event and created the name. The shift remains a defining marker of the transition from the era of Chaucer to the era of Shakespeare.
Opens the Intellect+ feed with this card first. Swipe up for the next one.
Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Great Vowel Shift and the History of Britain.
- Also: Great Vowel Shift | Definition, Examples, Middle English, Early Modern English, & Facts | Britannica
To cite this card, link to https://intellectplus.co.uk/app/history-the-great-vowel-shift-and-the-history-of-britain.
How we source, check and correct cards: Editorial standards.
General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.
Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?
Related
More in History · Latest · A–Z · All topics
