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 E;^bin OF 
 
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The Elements of Old 
 English 
 
 Consisting of 
 ELEMENTARY GRAMMAR 
 
 (with selections for reading) 
 
 REFERENCE GRAMMAR 
 
 By SAMUEL MOORE 
 
 University of Michigan 
 
 and 
 
 THOMAS A. KNOTT 
 
 University of Chicago 
 
 PRICE $1.50 
 
 GEORGE WAHR, Publisher 
 
 Ann Arbor, Michigan 
 
Historical Outlines of English Phonology 
 
 and 
 
 Middle English Grammar 
 
 FOR COURSES IN CHAUCER, MIDDLE ENGLISH, 
 AND THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE 
 
 By 
 
 SAMUEL MOORE 
 
 Associate Professor of English in the 
 
 University of Michigan 
 
 GEORGE WAHR 
 
 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 
 1919 
 
Copyright 1919 
 By 
 
 Samuel Moore 
 
 LOAN STACK 
 
 Cjg^,^. V5?/C 
 
 PRINTED AND BOUND BY 
 
 GEORGE SANTA PUBLISHING COMPANY 
 
 MANUFACTURING PUBLtSHERB 
 
 MENASMA, WISCONSIN 
 
t 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Inasmuch as this book is intended for use in three distinct courses 
 of the English curriculum — Chaucer, Middle EngUsh, and the history 
 of the EngUsh language — I hope I may be permitted a few words of 
 explanation as to the purpose its various parts are intended to serve in 
 relation to these courses. 
 
 The elementary course in Chaucer is usually the student's introduc- 
 tion both to the study of medieval literature and to the study of Middle 
 English. There will always, probably, be difference of opinion as to the 
 relative emphasis that should be placed on these two aspects of the 
 course, but its content must always be to some extent linguistic. All 
 teachers desire that their students shall learn to read Chaucer aloud with 
 a facihty comparable to that with which they read a modern poet and 
 with a fair degree of approximation to Chaucer's own pronunciation, 
 and most teachers desire that they shall acquire some notion of the 
 organic value of final e in Chaucer's language. The purpose of Part II 
 of this book is to enable the elementary student to acquire a sound and 
 accurate knowledge of Chaucer's language without the expenditure of art 
 inordinate amount of time, and to arouse the student's interest in this 
 part of his work by emphasising the principles that are illustrated in 
 the study of Chaucer's language. The treatment of the subject is in- 
 tended to be thoroly clear to students who have not studied Old Enghsh, 
 and yet to give such students some degree of real understanding of the 
 relation of Chaucer's language to Old Enghsh on the one hand and to 
 Modern Enghsh on the other. 
 
 Of all the languages taught in our universities Middle Enghsh fur- 
 nishes the best material for the study of language in the making, for the 
 direct observation of linguistic change; yet the pedagogical difficulties 
 involved in emphasising adequately this aspect of the study of Middle 
 English are such that our courses in Middle English have tended on the 
 whole to become mere translation courses. In Part IV of this book, 
 dealing with the historical development of Middle English inflections, 
 I have tried to unify for the student the apparent confusion of Early 
 Middle English forms by showing in detail how Old English developed 
 
 342 
 
into the Middle English of Chaucer thru the action of the two great causes 
 of change in language, sound change and analogy. The study of Part 
 IV is prepared for by the account of the history of English sounds which 
 is contained in Part III, and it is supplemented by the account of the 
 Middle English dialects which is contained in Part V. Parts III, IV, 
 and V, like Part II, are intended to be thoroly clear to students who have 
 not studied Old English, but they are equally well adapted to the needs 
 of the student who' has studied Old EngHsh. 
 
 The course in the history of the English language is usually intended 
 for students who have studied neither Old English nor Middle English, 
 and for that reason it presents certain difl&culties for the teacher. The 
 greatest difficulty is that of enabling such students to acquire anything 
 approaching a clear and definite knowledge of the changes of pronuncia- 
 tion that have taken place in English during the past thousand years. 
 The best method, I believe, of meeting this difficulty is to begin the 
 study of English phonology with the phonetic analysis of the student's 
 own speech, this analysis being accompanied by and based upon a study 
 of the elements of phonetics and practice in the use of a phonetic alpha- 
 bet. If then the Old English, Middle English, and Modern English words 
 that illustrate English sound changes are interpreted by means of the 
 phonetic alphabet which the student has learned, he can gain from a 
 study of them such a knowledge of the history of Enghsh sounds as he 
 could not possibly gain from a study of the same words in their ordinary 
 spellings. The Introduction to this book, dealing with the elements of 
 phonetics. Part I, dealing with Modern English sounds, and Part III, 
 dealing with the history of English sounds, furnish material for the 
 study of English phonology according to this method. The study of the 
 history of English inflections may be based on Part IV, which deals with 
 the historical development of Middle English inflections, for, tho the 
 inflections of Modern English are outside the scope of this book, it is not 
 difficult to show the student that the Modern English forms are virtually 
 those of Late Middle English minus the final e which was lost in the 
 fifteenth century. 
 
 The phonetic notation I have used in this book is a modification of 
 that of the International Phonetic Alphabet. Practical considerations, 
 however, have led me to depart from the International alphabet farther 
 than I originally intended. For the purposes of this book it seemed 
 clearly desh-able to use as the sign of vowel length the macron which is 
 
used by editors of Old and Middle English texts rather than the colon of 
 the International alphabet. There seemed also to be a distinct ad- 
 vantage in using as the s}Tnbols of "open o" and "open e" the char- 
 acters Q and § which are used in Middle English texts rather than the 
 International s\Tnbols. Some persons may possibly object to my use of 
 e and 6 as symbols for the vowel sounds of Modern English they and low. 
 My primary reason for using these symbols rather than symbols that 
 indicate the diphthongal nature of these vowels is that the amount and 
 kind of diphthongisation of these and other "long vowels " is by no means 
 uniform in American Enghsh. It therefore seemed best to use e, 6, etc. 
 as somewhat conventional s}Tnbols for these sounds and to explain their 
 diphthongal nature at appropriate places in the footnotes. 
 
 It would be impossible for me to acknowledge my indebtedness to all 
 the sources I have used in the preparation of this book, but I know that 
 I am under particular obhgations to Sweet's History of English Sounds, 
 New English Grammar, First Middle English Primer, Second Middle 
 English Primer, Sounds of English, and Primer of Spoken English ; Jes- 
 persen's Progress in Language with Special Reference to English and 
 Modern English Grammar, Part I {Sounds and Spellings); Wyld's His- 
 torical Study of the Mother Tongue and Short History of English ; Grand- 
 gent's English in America (Die Neueren Sprachen, II, 443 ff., 520 ff.); 
 Morsbach's Mittelenglische Grammatik; Kaluza's Historische Grammatik 
 der englischen Sprache; Stratmann's Middle English Dictionary (revised 
 by Bradley); Emerson's Middle English Reader; Child's Observations on 
 the Language of Chaucer; Kittredge's Observations on the Language of 
 Chaucer^ s Troilus; Ten Brink's Language and Metre of Chaucer (translated 
 by Smith) ; Liddell's grammatical introduction to his edition of Chaucer's 
 Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, Knightes Tale, etc. ; Skeat's Comphte 
 Works of Geofrey Chaucer (Oxford, 6 vols.); Cromie's Ryme-Index to the 
 Ellesmere Manuscript of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales; and Hempl's 
 Chaucer's Pronunciation. 
 
 I am much indebted to my colleague Prof. W. R. Humphreys for 
 help he has given me in reading proof. 
 
 I need scarcely say that I shall be grateful to those who will call my 
 attention to any omissions or errors which they may observe in their 
 use of this book or who can suggest any changes by which it may be 
 better adapted to the purposes for which it is intended. 
 
 S.M. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction: The Elements of Phonetics 1 
 
 Part I Modern English Sounds 6 
 
 Part II The Language of Chaucer 
 
 Pronunciation 12 
 
 Inflections 25 
 
 Final e 32 
 
 Part III The History of EngHsh Sounds 
 
 Pronunciation of Old EngHsh 36 
 
 Normal Development of Old EngHsh Vowels in ME and MnE 38 
 
 Special Developments in Middle EngHsh 40 
 
 Special Developments in Modern English 43 
 
 Consonant Sounds 47 
 
 Part IV Historical Development of Middle English Inflections 
 
 Nouns 49 
 
 Adjectives 55 
 
 Pronouns 57 
 
 Verbs 60 
 
 Part V Middle English Dialects 
 
 Distribution ; 71 
 
 Southern Dialect 71 
 
 Kentish Dialect 73 
 
 Midland Dialect 74 
 
 Non-Northern Dialect Characteristics 75 
 
 Non-Southern Dialect Characteristics 76 
 
 Northern Dialect , 77 
 
 Appendix: Middle English Spelling 79 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The Elements of Phonetics 
 
 1. Organs of Speech. Speech-sounds are produced by a stream of air 
 expelled from the lungs, which is modified in various ways by means of 
 the larynx, containing the vocal cords; the soft palate; the hard palate; 
 the teeth; the hps; the tongue; and the nasal passage. The hard and 
 soft palates form the roof of the mouth, the hard palate being in front, 
 the soft palate behind. By the varied activity of these organs, the 
 various consonant and vowel sounds are produced. 
 
 2. Voiced and Voiceless Sounds. With reference to the activity of the 
 vocal cords, soimds are either voiced or voiceless. All speech sounds are 
 produced by the expulsion of a stream of air from the lungs. In the pro- 
 duction of a voiceless or breath sound, the stream of air passes freely 
 thru the larynx; the vocal cords are wide open, so that they offer no im- 
 pediment to the stream of air and therefore do not vibrate. But in the 
 production of a voiced sound, the vocal cords are drawn close together so 
 that they are caused to vibrate by the stream of air which passes between 
 them. This vibration can be felt by placing the first two fingers upon the 
 larynx or "Adam's apple" while one is pronoimcing a vowel sound, or 
 the consonant v. AlWowel sounds are voiced, but consonants may be 
 either voiced or voiceless. It is voice that distinguishes g (as in get) from 
 k, d from t, b from p, v from f, z from s (as in soon), and the sound of 
 th in then from the sound of th in thin} 
 
 3. Stops and Spirants. With reference to the manner of their articula- 
 tion, consonants are distinguished as stopped consonants (or explosives) 
 
 1 By practice one may soon learn to distinguish voiced sounds from voiceless ones. 
 A good exercise for practice is to pronounce alternately s and z, f and v, and the two 
 sounds of th, taking care to pronounce the consonant sound alone without the aid of a 
 vowel. The sounds of t and d, p and b, etc., when pronounced without a vowel, will 
 also be felt and heard to be ver>- different in character. It will also be observed that 
 voiced sounds, whether vowels or consonants, are capable of being uttered with varia- 
 tions of musical pitch, whereas voiceless sounds are not. Of the following sounds, 
 distingmsh those that are voiced from those that are not: 1. m, n, r, sh. 
 
2 THE ELEMENTS OF PHONETICS 
 
 and open consonants (or spirants). In the production of stopped con- 
 sonants, the outgo of breath from the lungs is stopped at some point by 
 the complete closing of the mouth passage. The increasing pressure of 
 the breath then forces open the stoppage, causing an explosive sound. 
 In the production of open consonants or spirants, the mouth passage is 
 not completely stopped, but the air from the lungs is made to pass thru a 
 narrow opening with so much friction as to cause a buzzing or hissing 
 noise. Stopped consonants are Modern English g (as in get), k, d, t, b, 
 p; open consonants are z, s, th (as in then), th (as in thin), v, £.^ 
 
 4. The complete or partial closure required to produce stops and open 
 consonants is made by means of the tongue or lips, and the quality of the 
 various sounds is determined by the manner in which the closure is made. 
 Modern English g (as in get) and k are produced by pressure of the 
 tongue against the soft palate; y (as in yield), is made by an incomplete 
 closure between the tongue and the hard palate; d and t are made by the 
 pressure of the front of the tongue against the ridge above the upper front 
 teeth; z and s are made with an incomplete closure at the same point; 
 b and p are produced by means of a closure of the two lips; v and f are 
 produced by an incomplete closure between the lower lip and the upper 
 front teeth ; th as in then, and th as in thin are produced by causing air 
 to pass between the tip of the tongue and the backs or edges of the upper 
 front teeth. 
 
 5. According to the place of their formation, these consonants are there- 
 fore classified as back or velar consonants (g, k); front or palatal con- 
 sonants (y) ; dental consonants (d, t, z, s, th in then, th in thin) ; and 
 labial consonants (b, p, v, f). 
 
 6. Nasal and Oral Consonants. With reference to the activity of the 
 nasal passage, consonants are classified as oral or nasal. All of the con- 
 sonants mentioned in the preceding paragraph are oral consonants. The 
 nasal consonants are m, n, and ng (as in thing) . In the articulation of the 
 oral consonants, the passage from the throat to the nose is closed, so that 
 the steam of air emitted by the lungs can escape only thru the mouth. In 
 the articulation of the nasal consonants, however, the passage from the 
 throat to the nose is left open, so that air can escape freely thru the nose. 
 
 ' Are r, sh, and y open consonants or stopped consonants? 
 
THE ELEMENTS OF PHONETICS 3 
 
 At the same time the mouth passage is completely stopped, the closure 
 being made for m, n, and ng, precisely as for b, d, and g, respectively.^ 
 
 7. Vowels. Vowel sounds are more open than open consonant sounds. 
 In the formation of an open consonant, a stream of air is made to pass 
 thru an opening so narrow that the passage of the air causes friction and 
 therefore noise. In the formation of a vowel, however, the opening is 
 so wide that the air in passing thru the mouth causes no friction at all. 
 
 8. Open and Close Vowels. But the vowels are not all equally open 
 in their formation. If one pronounces in order the vowel sounds of the 
 words hat, hate, heat, he will observe that in pronouncing each of these 
 successive sounds the tongue is closer to the roof of the mouth. When 
 we pronounce the series, the tongue starts from a position considerably 
 below the roof of the mouth and ends ui a position quite close to the roof 
 of the mouth. This can be felt, and it can also be seen by pronouncing 
 the sounds before a mirror. The same thing can be observed in regard 
 to the vowels of the words law, low, loot. As we pronounce this series of 
 vowels, we can feel the tongue going higher in the mouth, and we can see 
 it indirectly by w^atching the upward movement of the lower jaw as we 
 pronounce the three sounds before a mirror. 
 
 9. This difference in openness or height is the basis of one of the most 
 important classifications of vowel sounds. We distinguish at least three 
 degrees in the height of vowel sounds. If the tongue is quite close to the 
 roof of the mouth, we call the vowel a high vowel. If the tongue occupies 
 a low position in the mouth, we call the vowxl a low vowel. If the tongue 
 is in a position about midway between its extreme high position and 
 its extreme low position, we call the vowel a mid vowel. So the vowels of 
 law and hat are low vowels, the vowels of low and hate are mid vowels, 
 and the vowels of loot and heat are high vowels. 
 
 10. Back and Front Vowels. When we pronounce in succession the two 
 series of vowels heard in law, low, loot, and hat, hate, heat, we can perceive 
 that the tongue Hes differently as we utter the two series. When we pro- 
 nounce the vowels of law, low, loot, it is the back of the tongue that is 
 closest to the roof of the mouth. When we pronounce the vowels of 
 
 ' Vowels are normally oral sounds, but they become nasalized when they are pro- 
 nounced with the passage from the throat to the nose open. The most familiar 
 examples of nasalized vowels are those of Modem French. 
 
4 THE ELEMENTS OF PHONETICS 
 
 hat, hate, heat, it is the front of the tongue that is closest to the roof of 
 the mouth. This can be felt, and it can also be seen by looking into the 
 mouth as we pronounce the two series of sounds before a mirror. We 
 therefore call the vowels of law, low, loot, back vowels, and the vowels of 
 hat, hate, heat front vowels. This is the second basis of the classification 
 of vowel sounds. 
 
 11. Combining the two classifications of vowel sounds, we say that the 
 vowel of hat is a low front vowel, that the vowel of hate is a mid front 
 vowel, that the vowel of heat is a high front vowel, that the vowel of 
 law is a low back vowel, that the vowel of low is a mid back vowel, 
 and that the vowel of loot is a high back vowel.^ 
 
 12. Round and Unround Vowels. If one pronounces before a mirror 
 the two series of vowel sounds heard in hat, hate, heat, and law, low, loot, 
 he will see that the action of the lips in pronouncing the two series is not 
 the same. In pronouncing the first series, the corners of the mouth are 
 drawn apart so as to make a wide opening. But in pronouncing the latter 
 series, the corners of the mouth are drawn together so as to make a more 
 or less rounded opening; in fact, one finds that he cannot pronounce this 
 series of vowels with the corners of the mouth drawn apart. We there- 
 fore make a further distinction between round and unround vowels, 
 and call the vowel of law a low back round vowel, the vowel of low a mid 
 back round vowel, and the vowel of loot a high back round vowel. 
 The vowels of hat, hate, heat, on the other hand, are unround vowels. 
 
 13. Generally speaking, back vowels tend to be round, and front vowels 
 to be unround. But unround back vowels and round front vowels also 
 occur. The vowel of Modern English far is a mid back unround vowel. 
 Front round vowels may be illustrated by Modern German kuhn and 
 milssen, in which are heard the long and short varieties of the high front 
 round vowel. The vowel of kilhn may be produced by pronouncing the 
 vowel of heat with the Hps rounded as if for pronouncing the vowel of loot. 
 The vowel of miissen may be produced by pronouncing the vowel of hit 
 with the hps rounded as if for pronouncing the vowel of pull. No front 
 round vowels occur in Modern Enghsh, but the two sounds just described 
 were frequent sounds in Old Enghsh. 
 
 * Some vowels, for example a in English Cuba, e in German gabe, e in French je, 
 are neither front vowels nor back vowels. They occur chiefly in unstressed syllables 
 and are generally termed mixed vowels. 
 
THE ELEMENTS OF PHONETICS 5 
 
 14. Quantity of Vowels. The foregoing classification of vowel sounds 
 has reference only to the quality of vowels. But vowels differ from each 
 other not only in quaUty but also in quanitiy or length of duration. 
 With regard to quantity, vowels are distinguished as long and short.^ 
 In Modern English the long vowel of meet differs from the short vowel of 
 met not only in quantity but also in quality, the former being a high 
 front vowel and the latter a mid front vowel. Likewise, the long vowel 
 in loot differs from the short vowel in look both in quality and in 
 quantity; both vowels are high back round vowels, but the latter is 
 slightly lower or more open in its formation than the former. On the 
 other hand, the long vowel of art differs from the vowel of the first syl- 
 lable of artistic in length or duration alone. 
 
 15. Diphthongs. A diphthong consists of two vowel sounds pro- 
 nounced in a single syllable. In Modern EngHsh we have diphthongs 
 in the words foil, foul, and file. 
 
 ' The student must guard against the phonetically incorrect use of the terms long 
 and short as they are appUed in modem English dictionaries. The vowel in mate is 
 called "long a," the vowel in mat is called "short a"; but the two vowels are not the 
 long and short varieties of one sound; they differ in quality as well as in length. 
 
PARTI 
 
 Modern English Sounds 
 
 16. Phonetic Alphabet. The sounds of Modern English are ex- 
 pressed in phonetic notation as follows: 
 
 a 
 
 like 
 
 a 
 
 in 
 
 father 
 
 a 
 
 }} 
 
 a 
 
 >> 
 
 artistic, o in 
 
 ae 
 
 }> 
 
 a 
 
 » 
 
 hat 
 
 b 
 
 }) 
 
 b 
 
 >> 
 
 be 
 
 d 
 
 >> 
 
 d 
 
 )j 
 
 do 
 
 e 
 
 >y 
 
 a 
 
 )> 
 
 mate 
 
 e^ 
 
 5> 
 
 a 
 
 )) 
 
 chaotic 
 
 1 
 
 5J 
 
 al 
 
 }) 
 
 airy 
 
 € 
 
 » 
 
 e 
 
 )y 
 
 met 
 
 f 
 
 » 
 
 f 
 
 » 
 
 fee 
 
 g 
 
 » 
 
 i 
 
 » 
 
 go 
 
 
 » 
 
 h 
 
 » 
 
 heed 
 
 
 >> 
 
 i 
 
 >> 
 
 machine 
 
 
 )) 
 
 i 
 
 5> 
 
 bit 
 
 
 )> 
 
 ia 
 
 >> 
 
 carriage 
 
 
 » 
 
 y 
 
 y> 
 
 yes 
 
 
 5J 
 
 k 
 
 » 
 
 kin 
 
 
 J> 
 
 I 
 
 » 
 
 let 
 
 m 
 
 >y 
 
 m 
 
 » 
 
 meet 
 
 n 
 
 }) 
 
 n 
 
 j> 
 
 net 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 ng 
 
 5> 
 
 sing 
 
 
 
 )) 
 
 
 
 >J 
 
 note 
 
 o« 
 
 )) 
 
 
 
 >> 
 
 donation 
 
 e 
 
 jj 
 
 a 
 
 J> 
 
 all 
 
 Q« 
 
 » 
 
 au 
 
 >> 
 
 audacious 
 
 p 
 
 )> 
 
 P 
 
 >> 
 
 pit 
 
 r 
 
 » 
 
 r 
 
 >> 
 
 rat 
 
 8 
 
 >> 
 
 s 
 
 >> 
 
 seat 
 
 Li. 
 
 »> 
 
 sh 
 
 >> 
 
 ship 
 
 • This sound occurs only in unstressed syllables and in syllables with secondary 
 stress; it does not occur in strongly stressed syllables. 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SOUNDS 
 
 
 u. 
 
 like 
 
 s 
 
 in 
 
 pleasure 
 
 
 t 
 
 )> 
 
 t 
 
 33 
 
 tone 
 
 
 \> 
 
 )} 
 
 th 
 
 33 
 
 th'n 
 
 
 tJ 
 
 )) 
 
 th 
 
 33 
 
 then 
 
 
 u 
 
 )) 
 
 00 
 
 33 
 
 boot 
 
 
 u 
 
 J) 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 push 
 
 
 A 
 
 J3 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 hut 
 
 
 5 
 
 33 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 urge 
 
 
 9« 
 
 33 
 
 a 
 
 33 
 
 about 
 
 
 V 
 
 33 
 
 V 
 
 33 
 
 vat 
 
 
 w 
 
 33 
 
 w 
 
 33 
 
 win 
 
 
 z 
 
 )> 
 
 z 
 
 33 
 
 zest 
 
 Dipththongs: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ai 
 
 33 
 
 i 
 
 33 
 
 find 
 
 
 au 
 
 )3 
 
 ou 
 
 33 
 
 ou 
 
 
 
 33 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 accuse, mute 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ju^ 
 
 33 
 
 u 
 
 33 
 
 accusation 
 
 
 QJ 
 
 33 
 
 oy 
 
 33 
 
 boy 
 
 Consonant combinations: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 hw 
 
 33 
 
 wh 
 
 in 
 
 why 
 
 
 tf 
 
 33 
 
 ch 
 
 33 
 
 chew 
 
 
 d? 
 
 33 
 
 3 
 
 33 
 
 jaw 
 
 For the representation of certain sounds which occurred in Old Eng- 
 lish and Middle EngUsh, but which do not occur in Modern EngUsh, the 
 following additional characters are needed: 
 h before consonants and after vowels hke ch in German ich, nacht'' 
 
 y 
 y 
 
 ce 
 
 " g ' 
 " iih ' 
 
 ' North German sagen 
 ' German kiihn 
 
 33 JJ 3 
 
 ' " miissen 
 
 33 y 3 
 
 ' " hbren 
 
 33 y 3 
 
 ' " wbrter 
 
 « This sound occurs only in unstressed syllables and in syllables with secondary 
 stress; it does not occur in strongly stressed syllables. 
 
 ' The sounds of ch which occur in German ich and nacht are of course altogether 
 different from the sound of h in heed, and are usually represented in phonetic notation 
 by the characters € and x respectively. The character h is used in our alphabet merely 
 for the sake of simphcity. 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SOUNDS 
 
 17. Keywords. The Modern English key-words given above are 
 written in phonetic notation as follows: 
 
 fatSar 
 
 g6 
 
 not 
 
 Sgn 
 
 aekjuz, sekiuz" 
 
 artistik 
 
 hid 
 
 done fan 
 
 but 
 
 mjut, mint* 
 
 fadar 
 
 m9fin 
 
 9I 
 
 puf 
 
 aekjuzefan 
 
 haet 
 
 bit 
 
 gdefas 
 
 hAt 
 
 bgi 
 
 bl 
 
 kaerld^ 
 
 pit 
 
 9rd5 
 
 hwai 
 
 du 
 
 JSS 
 
 raet 
 
 abaut 
 
 tfu 
 
 met 
 
 kin 
 
 sit 
 
 vaet 
 
 d^Q 
 
 keatik 
 
 l?t 
 
 fip 
 
 win 
 
 
 ?ri 
 
 mit 
 
 plggar 
 
 zgst 
 
 
 mgt 
 
 ngt 
 
 ton 
 
 faind 
 
 
 fi 
 
 sir) 
 
 \)'m 
 
 aut 
 
 
 18. Modern English in Phonetic Notation. The pronunciation 
 represented in the paragraphs printed below is the natural pronunciation 
 of the transcriber (who is a native of southeastern Pennsylvania) when 
 speaking at a rate about midway between slow, formal speech and rapid, 
 colloquial speech. In the transcriber's dialect the vowel [a]^^ is extremely 
 frequent and occurs in many situations where speakers from other local- 
 ties would use [i]. In studying the transcription the student should 
 observe that many words, especially pronouns, prepositions, and auxil- 
 iary verbs, have "strong" and "weak" forms. The strong forms are 
 used when these words are strongly stressed, the weak forms are used 
 when they are weakly stressed. For example, the strong form of who is 
 [hu], the weak form is [hu] or [u]. The student should also observe that 
 r, I, m, and n often form a syllable even when they are not accompanied 
 by a vowel; they do so, for example, in [papJ9l'r],Une 7; [pipl],line 7; and 
 [kanvarsefn], Hne 3. Syllabic r, 1, m, and n, when necessary for clear- 
 ness, are written ['r], ['{], ['in], and ['nj. In the conventional spelling 
 the first paragraph of the text transcribed below is as follows: 
 
 In every cultivated language there are two great classes of words 
 which, taken together, comprise the whole vocabulary. First, there are 
 those words with which we become acquainted in ordinary conversa- 
 tion, — which we learn, that is to say, from the members of our own family 
 
 * Both pronunciations occur in American English. 
 
 '* Here and elsewhere the brackets are used to indicate that the spellings they 
 enclose are phonetic spellings. 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SOUNDS 9 
 
 and from our familiar associates, and which we should know and use even 
 if we could not read or write. They concern the common things of life 
 and are the stock in trade of all who speak the language. Such words may- 
 be called "popular," since they belong to the people at large and are not 
 the exclusive possession of a Hmited class. 
 
 in gvri kAltavetad Ifijgwid^ Sgr ar tu gret klaesaz av wardz hwitf, 
 tekn taggSar, kmpraiz Sa hoi vakaebjalari. farst, Sgr 'r Soz wardz wat5 
 witf wi bilovm akwentad in grdan'ri kanvarsefn — hwitf wi lam, Saet 
 az ta se, fram Sa mgmbarz av ar on faemli an fram ar familjar aso fiats, 
 
 5 an witf wi fad no an juz ivn if wi kud nat rid an rait. Se kansarn Sa 
 kaman ]?igz av laif, and 'r Sa stak in tred av 9I u splk Sa lerjgwidg. 
 SAtf wardz me bi kgld "papjal'r," sins Se bal^rj ta Sa pipl at lard^ 
 and 'r nat Si ikskluziv pazgfn av a limatad klaes. 
 
 Qn Si .vSar haend, ar lfgg\\'id5 inkludz a mAltitud av wardz hwitf 
 
 10 'r kampsratavli sgldm juzd 'n ^rdanari kanvarsefn. Sgr minigz 'r 
 non tu gvri gd^aketad parsn, bat Sar az Htl ake2;n tu implpi Sam at hom 
 'r an Sa markat-ples. ar farst akwentans waS Sam L\mz nat fram ar 
 mASarz lips 'r fram Sa tgk av ar skiilmets, bat fram buks Sat wi rid, 
 Igktfarz Sat wi hir, gr Sa mgr fgrm'l kanvarsefn av haili gd^aketad 
 
 15 spikarz, hu 'r daskAsig SAm partikjalar tapik an a stall apropriath 
 ^lavetad abAV Si abitfual Igvl av gvride laif. SAtf wardz 'r kgl 
 "larnad, " 'n Sa dastigkfn batwin Sgm an "papjal'r" wardz iz av 
 gret amp^rtns tu a rait Andarstfndig av Uggwistik prases. 
 
 Sa dif'rns batwin papjal'r an larnad wardz me bi izali sin 'n a 
 
 20 fju agzaemplz. wi me daskraib a garl az "laivli" gr az "vavefas. " 
 in Sa farst kes, wi 'r juzig a netiv igghf fgrmefn fram Sa familjar naun 
 "laif." in Se laetar, wi 'r juzig a laetn darivativ hwitf haz prasaisli 
 Sa sem minii). jgt Si aetmasfir av Sa tu wardz az kwait dif'rnt. no 
 WAn §vr gat Si aedgiktiv "laivli" aut av a buk. It az a part av 
 
 25 gvribadiz vakaebjalari. wi kaenat ramgmbar a taim wgn wi did nat 
 no it, an vn fil fur Sat wi larnd at Igg bifgr wi war ebal ta rid. gn 
 (S ASar haend, wi mAStav paest sgv'ral jirz av ar laivz bifgr larnir) Sa 
 w5rd " vavefas. " wi me Ivn ramgmbar Sa farst taim wi sg it 'n print 
 gr h9rd at fram SAm gronAp frgnd hu waz tgklg ovr ar tfaildif hgdz. 
 
 30 bo)) "laivli" an "vavefas" ar gud igglif wardz, bat "laivli" Iz 
 "papjal'r" an "vavefas" az "larnad." 
 
 gvri gdgaketad parsan haez at list tu wez av spikig Iz mASar tAg . 
 
10 MODERN ENGLISH SOUNDS 
 
 (59 f5rst 9Z "Saet hwitf i implQiz an iz faemli, aniAg iz familjar frgnz, 'nd 
 gn Qrd'nari akegnz. Sa sgkand az '5aet hwitf i juzas 'n diskgrsig gn 
 
 35 mgr kampliketad sAbdgikts, 'nd an adrgsig p5rsnz wa3 hum i az l?s 
 intamatli akwentad. it az, 'n f^rt, Sa Ifggwidg witf i implgiz wan i 
 az "gn iz dignati," aez i puts Qn ivnig drgs waniiz goir) aut ta dain. 
 '5a dif'rns batwin Siz tu fgrmz av Ifggwidi^ kansists, 'n gret mggar, 
 in a dif'rns av vakaebjalari. 3a besas av familjar wardz mast bi (5a 
 
 40 sem 'n bo)?, bat Sa vakaebjalari apropriat ta Sa mgr fgrm'l ake2;n wal 
 anklud mgni t5rmz hwitf wad bi stiltad ar afgktad an grd'nari tQk. 
 '5ar az glso kansid'rabl dif'rns batwin familjar an dignafaid Igggwids; 
 'n Sa maenar av Atarans. kantraest Sa raepad Atarans av ar gvride 
 daial^kt, ful av kantraekfnz 'n klipt fgrmz, waS Sa mQr dastirjkt 
 
 45 anAnsiefn av Sa pulpat ar (5a plaetfgrm. (5as, an kanvarsefn, wi 
 abitfuali implgi SAtf kantraekfnz az "ail," "dont," "wont," "its," 
 "wid," "hid," 'n Sa laik, hwitf wi fad ngvar juz 'npAbliksplkir), 
 Anl^s ev s^t pSrpas, ta giv a markadli kalokwial tind^ ta wat wi haev 
 ta se. 
 (Transcribed from Greenough and Kittredge's Words and their 
 
 Ways in English Speech, pp. 19, 20, 27, 28.) 
 
 19. Phonetic Classification of Modern English Sounds. The 
 
 vowels of Modern EngUsh are classified phonetically, according to the 
 principles explained above in 7-14, as follows: 
 
 BACK VOWELS 
 
 MIXED VOWELS 
 
 FRONT VOWELS 
 
 Round 
 
 Unround 
 
 Unround 
 
 Unround 
 
 High u, u 
 
 
 
 i, i, J 
 
 Mid 6, 
 
 a, a, A 
 
 9 
 
 e, e, e 
 
 Low Q, Q 
 
 
 9 
 
 1, ae 
 
 The classification of the consonant sounds, according to the principles 
 
 explained above in 1-6, is as follows: 
 
 Velar Palatal Dental Labial 
 
 Stops 
 
 Voiced g d b 
 
 Voiceless k t p 
 
 Spirants 
 
 Voiced j ^, z, tJ . v 
 
 Voiceless f, s, J) f 
 
 Nasals 
 
 Voiced n n m 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SOUNDS 11 
 
 [1] is a "divided" consonant; it is produced by pressing the point of 
 the tongue against the hard palate and allowing the air from the lungs to 
 escape at the sides of the mouth; it is usually voiced, but sometimes voice- 
 less, as in play. 
 
 [r] is produced by turning the point of the tongue up towards the 
 hard palate; it is usually voiced, but sometimes voiceless, as in try. 
 
 [w] is a voiced, open, velar soimd made with a decided rounding 
 of the hps. 
 
 [hw] is a voiceless [w]. 
 
 [h] is a breath sound made with the tongue and lips in the position, 
 or approaching the position, which they will occupy in producing the 
 vowel that follows. 
 
PART II 
 
 THE LANGUAGE OF CHAUCER 
 
 Pronunciation of Chaucer's Language 
 
 20. Pronunciation of Chaucer: Phonetic Notation. The following 
 table shows the vowels and diphthongs of Chaucer's dialect of Middle 
 Enghsh, expressed in the phonetic notation given above in section 16, 
 and indicates also the spellings of those sounds which are usually 
 found in the best manuscripts of Chaucer's works. 
 
 Sound 
 [a] 
 [a] 
 [e] 
 [|] 
 f?] 
 [i] 
 [i] 
 [o] 
 
 [q] 
 [q] 
 
 [fi] 
 [u] 
 
 Pronunciation 
 like a in father 
 fodder 
 mate^° 
 airy 
 met 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 ai 
 
 e 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 aw 
 
 au 
 
 00 
 
 u 
 
 machine^" 
 
 bit 
 
 notei" 
 
 law 
 
 audacious o 
 
 boot^'^ ou, ow 
 
 full u, o 
 
 SpelUng 
 a, aa 
 a 
 
 ee, e 
 ee, e 
 e 
 
 i,y 
 
 i, y 
 
 00, o 
 00, o 
 
 Examples 
 bathed [baSad]^'' 
 that [bat] 
 swete [sweta] 
 heeth [h^\>] 
 wende [wgnda] 
 ryde [rid a] 
 swich [switf] 
 roote [rota] 
 hooly [hgli] 
 folk [fglk] 
 fowles [fulas] 
 Jul [ful] 
 
 ' The brackets indicate that the spellings they enclose are phonetic spellings. 
 
 "The Modem English sounds given as the equivalents of Chaucer's [e], [i], [o], 
 and [u] are only approximate equivalents, for the Modern English sounds which we 
 have represented by the symbols [e], [i], [6], and [u] are in reality diphthongs, not simple 
 vowels. The Modern English sounds which we have represented by [e] and [6] are 
 more accurately represented phonetically by the symbols [§e] or [ei] and [qo] or [ou]. 
 The Modem English sounds that we have represented by [i] and {u] may be more 
 accurately represented by the symbols [ij] and [uw]. Chaucer's [e], [i], [6], and [u] 
 were simple vowels, pronounced like the corresponding vowels of Modem German. 
 
[au] 
 
 }) 
 
 ou " out 
 
 [ei] 
 
 >y 
 
 k] plus [i]" 
 
 ku] 
 
 }> 
 
 [?] plus [u] 
 
 [iu] 
 
 }} 
 
 [i] plus [u]i2 
 
 [Qi] 
 
 j> 
 
 oy in boy 
 
 [Qu] 
 
 >> 
 
 [q] plus [nr 
 
 [qu] 
 
 5> 
 
 [q] plus u]" 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 13 
 
 [9] like a in about e sonne [sunns] 
 
 au, aw Jaught [fauht] 
 ai,ay,ei, ey day [dgi], wey [wgi] 
 eu, ew fewe [fgua] 
 u, eu, ew aventure [avgntiura], 
 
 reule [riula] 
 oi, oy coy [kgi] 
 
 ou, ow bowe [bgua] 
 ou, ow, o foughten [fQuhtan] 
 
 21. Pronunciation of Vowels, Diphthongs, and Consonants. The 
 
 pronunciation of the first 117 lines of Chaucer's Prologue is indicated in 
 the texts printed below on pages 14 ff . The text on the right hand pages 
 is transcribed in the phonetic notation which has been explained above 
 in sections 16 and 20. The text on the left hand pages is printed in the 
 spelling of the manuscripts, but with the addition of diacritics which 
 indicate the pronunciation of the vowels and diphthongs. The symbols 
 which are used in the diacritical text are for the most part the same as 
 those employed in the phonetic notation, but for greater convenience 
 they are all given below in alphabetical order. 
 
 Symbols Pronunciation Examples 
 
 a, aa like a in father bathed, baar 
 
 a " o " fodder that 
 
 ai, ay " § plus i, approximately ey in they^^ saide, day 
 
 au, aw " ou in house f aught, saw 
 
 e, ee " a " mate swete, seeke 
 
 §, §§ " ai " airy m^te, hggth 
 
 g " e " met wgnde 
 
 ei, ey " ? plus i, approximately ey in they^^ curteis, wey 
 
 " A fair approximation to this sound is the a of Modem English mate, for this 
 sound, as explained above in note 10, is in reality a diphthong, not a simple vowel. 
 " A fairly close approximation to this sound is the u of Modem English mute. 
 " If one cannot acquire this diphthong, he may substitute for it the simple vowel 
 
 [«]. 
 [«]. 
 
 " If one cannot acquire this diphthong, he may substitute for it the simple vowel 
 " See note 1 1 above. 
 
14 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 Symbols 
 
 Pronunciation 
 
 
 Examples 
 
 eu, ew like i in u, approximately u 
 
 in mute 
 
 reule, knew 
 
 €u, §w 
 
 ' « " u 
 
 
 f^we 
 
 », y ' 
 
 ' i in machine 
 
 
 whil, ryde 
 
 i,y 
 
 ' i " bit 
 
 
 swich, lystes 
 
 5, 00 ' 
 
 ' " note 
 
 
 d5n, roote 
 
 Q,QQ 
 
 ' aw " law 
 
 
 Qpen, hQQly 
 
 Q 
 
 ' au " audacious 
 
 
 fglk 
 
 Q plus gh or h ' 
 
 ' q plus u^" 
 
 
 bQghte 
 
 8 
 
 ' u in full 
 
 
 s5nne 
 
 oi, oy 
 
 ' oy " boy 
 
 
 coy 
 
 ou, ow ' 
 
 ' 00 " boot 
 
 
 hous, fowles 
 
 QU, QW 
 
 ' Q plus U^^ 
 
 
 SQule, hqwe 
 
 QU 
 
 ' Q " Ul« 
 
 
 fQughten 
 
 ii ' 
 
 ' i " u, approximately 
 
 u in mute 
 
 v^rtii 
 
 u ' 
 
 ' u in full 
 
 
 ful 
 
 Unaccented e, as in sSnne, saide, swete, etc., is pronounced like a in 
 Cuba. When this final e is written but is not pronounced in reading, 
 
 22. CHAUCER IN 
 
 Whan that Aprill? with his shoures soote 
 The droghte gf March hath perced to the roote, 
 And bathed |u?ry veyne in swich Ucour 
 Qf which vgrtii ^ng^ndred is the flour; 
 5 Whan Zgphirus ggk with his swete brggth 
 
 Inspired hath in |u?ry hglt and hggth 
 The t^ndre crQppes, and the yonge sonne 
 Hath in the Ram his halue cours yronne. 
 And smale fowles maken mglodye, 
 10 That slepen al the nyght with gpen ye, 
 
 Sq priketh hgm nature in hir corages; 
 Thann^ l^ngen fglk to gggn gn pilgrimages, 
 And palmgr^s fgr to seken straunge str^ndes, 
 To fgrne halwes kowthf in sondry Igndes. 
 
 " If one cannot acquire this diphthong, he may substitute for it the simple vowel [q]. 
 " If one cannot acquire this diphthong, he may substitute for it the simple vowel [«]. 
 '* This diphthong occurs only before gh or h; if one cannot acquire it, he may sub- 
 stitute for it the simple vowel [q]. 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 15 
 
 it is printed as e if it is elided before a word beginning with a vowel or 
 "weak h"; and as e if it is apocopated before a word beginning with a 
 consonant. Unaccented e occurring between two consonants of the 
 same word is also printed as e when it is not pronounced in reading, that 
 is when it is syncopated. For an explanation of elision, apocopation. 
 and syncopation see section 40 below. 
 
 Chaucer's consonant sounds are in general the same as those of Mod- 
 ern English. It should be observed, however, that gh is pronounced Uke 
 ch in German ich, nacht; e.g., nyght [niht]; initial th is always pronounced 
 like th in thin; e.g., that [bat]; final s is always pronounced [s], not [z]; 
 e.g., wan [was], shoures [furas]; k, 1, and w are never silent; e.g., 
 knyght [kniht], palmers [palmers], write [writa]; ng is pronounced like 
 ng in finger; e.g., yonge [jugga]; r is strongly trilled with the tip of the 
 tongue; consonants that are doubled in writing are usually pronounced 
 double, as in Modern Enghsh pen-knife; e.g., sonne [sunna], alle [alia]. 
 
 The letters u and v were interchangeable in Chaucer's time. For 
 example in the text printed below the letter u represents the sound of 
 [v] in euery (line 3), and the letter v represents the vowel [u] in Vnder 
 (Hne 105). 
 
 PHONETIC NOTATION" 
 
 hwan ])2X april wij? is furas sota 
 J?3 druht gf martf ha]? persad to Jja rota, 
 and baSad gvxi vgin in switl Ukur 
 Qf hwitf vgrtiu gnd^^ndrad is Jja flur; 
 5 hwan zgfirus |k wij> is sweta brgj? 
 
 inspirad ha}? in |vri hglt and hfj? 
 }?a t^ndar krgppas, and jja jugga sunna ' 
 
 ha)? in ]?a ram is halva kurs irunna, 
 and smala fulas makan mglodia, 
 10 \>2X slepan al |?a niht wi]? gpan la, 
 
 S2 prikaj? hgm natiur in hir kurad^as; 
 ]?an Igggan fglk to ggn gn pilgrimad^as, 
 and palmgrs fgr to sekan straund^a strgndas, 
 to fgrna halwas, kuS in sundri Igndas. 
 
 " The text used is that of Liddell, The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, etc., with 
 some changes of pimctuation. All other passages quoted from Chaucer's works 
 follow the text of Skeat's Student's Chaucer. 
 
 -7 
 
16 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 15 And specially frgm |u?ry shires §nde 
 
 Qf ^^ngelgnd to Caunturbury they w?nde, 
 The hQQly bHsful martir iqv to seke 
 That hgm hath hglpen whan that they w|r? seeke. 
 Bifil that in that sfson qn a day, 
 
 20 In Southwgrk at the Tabard as I lay 
 
 Rgdy to wgnden gn my pilgrymage 
 To Cauntgrbury with ful deuout corage, 
 At nyght was comf in to that hgstglrye 
 Wei nyne and twenty in a compaignye 
 
 25 Qf sondry fglk, by augnture y-falle 
 
 In felaw^shipe, and pilgrim^s wf re they alle, 
 That toward Cauntgrbury wglden ryde. 
 The chambres and the stables w|ren wyde, 
 And wel we wf ren |sed atte bgste. 
 
 30 And shgrtly, whan the sonne was to rgste, 
 
 Sq hadde I spoken with hgm guerychgn 
 That I was Qf hir fglaw^shipe angn, 
 And made fgrward ^rly fgr to ryse 
 To t ake our? wey thgr as I yow deuyse. 
 
 35 But nathelggs, whil I hau? tyme and space, 
 
 ^^r that I farther in this tale pace, 
 Me thynketh it acgrdaunt to r|soun 
 To tgUe yow al the CQndicioun 
 Qf gch of hgm sQ as it semed me, 
 
 40 And which? they w^re, and gf what degree, 
 
 And ggk in what array that they w^re inne; 
 And at a Knyght than wol I first bigynne. 
 
 A Knyght th^r was and that a worthy man, 
 That iiQ the tyme that he first bigan 
 
 45 To riden out he loued chiualrle, 
 
 Trguthe and hgnour, fredom and curteisie. 
 Ful worthy was he in his lordes wgrre, 
 And th|rt6 hadde he riden, no man f?rre, 
 As wel in cristendom as in hfthengsse, 
 
PRONUNCIATIOX OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 17 
 
 15 and spesiali frgm f \Ti firas gnda 
 
 pf gggalond to kaunturbri )7gi wgnda, 
 
 Jj9 h^li blisful martir iqr to seka 
 
 )?at hgm ha]7 hQlpan hwan j^at p^i wgr seka. 
 bifil J?at in )?at sfziin on a dgi, 
 20 in suSw^rk at )79 tabard as i Igi 
 
 r^di to wgndsn gn ml pilgrimad^a 
 
 to kaunturbri wilp ful devut kurad^a, 
 
 at niht was kum in to J?at ost^lrla 
 
 wel nln and twgnti in a kumpginia 
 25 qi simdri fglk, bi avgntiur ifalls 
 
 in felaufip, and pilgrims wer p^i alb, 
 
 Jjat toward kaimtgrburi w^ldan rida. 
 
 )?9 tfambars and Jja stabals wgran wida, 
 
 and wel we wfran |z3d atta bgsta. 
 30 and fgrtli, hwan }>9 sunna was to rgsta, 
 
 SQ had i spgkan wi)? gm gyritlgn 
 
 Jjat i was gf hir felaufip angn, 
 
 and mada fgrward |rli for to rlza 
 
 to tak ur wgi J?|r as i ju devlza. 
 35 but naSalgs, hwil i av tun and spasa, 
 
 |r )?at i fgrSar in jjis tale pasa, 
 
 me Jjigka)? it akgrdaunt to rfzun 
 
 to tglla ju al J)a kgndisiun 
 
 gf |tf gf hgm sq as it semad me, 
 40 and hwitf J?gi wfra, and gf hwat degre, 
 
 and fk in hwat arrgi )7at Jjgi wfr inna; 
 
 and at a kniht )7an wul i first biginna. 
 a kniht J?f r was and )?at a wurSi man, 
 
 Jjat frg Jja tima ]3at e first bigan 
 45 to ridan ut he luvad tfivalria, 
 
 trguS and gnur, fredom and kiu-tgizla. 
 
 ful wurSi was e in is Igrdas wgrra, 
 
 and Jjfrto had e ridan, uq man f^rra, 
 
 as wel in kristandom as in hf Sangssa, 
 
J8 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 SO And |v?re hpnoured fgr his wSrthyngsse. 
 
 At Alisaundre he was whan it was wonne; 
 Ful Qfte tym? he hadd? the bgrd bigonne 
 Abouen alle nacions in Priice. 
 In Lgttgw haddc he reysed and in Riice, 
 
 55 Nq cristen man sg qite gf his degree. 
 
 In Gernade at the seege ??k haddg he be 
 
 Qf Alggzir and riden in Bglmarye. 
 
 At Lyeys was he and at Satalye 
 
 Whan they w|re wonne, and in the Gr|te S?g. 
 
 60 At many a n^ble armee haddg he be. 
 
 At mgrtal batailles hadde he been fiftene, 
 And fgughten f qi oure feith at Tramyssene 
 In lystes thries, and ay slayn his fgg. 
 This ilke worthy knyght hadd§ been alsg 
 
 65 Somtyme with the l^rd of Palatye 
 
 AgayTi another h|then in Turkye; 
 And f uer^rnggr? he hadde a souereyn prys. 
 And thgugh that he w^r§ worthy, he was wys, 
 And gf his pgrt as meeke as is a mayde. 
 
 70 He nguere ygt ng vileyny^ ne sayde 
 
 In al his lyf vnto ng mangr wight. 
 He was a vgrray parfit, ggntil knyght. 
 But fgr to tgllen yow gf his array. 
 His hgrs w^r? goode, but he was nat gay; 
 
 75 Qi fustian he wgred a gypon 
 
 Al bismoter^d with his habergeon, 
 Fgr he was 1 ate y-com? f rgm his viage 
 And wgnte fgr to doon his pilgrymage. 
 
 With hym th^r was his sone, a yong Squler, 
 
 80 A louygrg and a lusty bachgler, 
 
 With Igkkes crulle, as they wgre leyd in prgsse. 
 
 Qf twenty yggr gf age he was, I g?sse; 
 
 Qf his statiir? he was gf gu^ne Igngthe 
 
 And wSnderly delyu^re and gf grggt strgngthe; 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 19 
 
 50 and |vr Qnurad fgr is wurSingssa. 
 
 at alisaundr e was hwan it was wunna ; 
 
 ful Qft9 tim he had Jja bgrd bigunna 
 
 abuv9n alb nasiuns in priusa. 
 
 in Igtgu had e rgizad and in riusa, 
 55 ng kristan man sg gft qi his degre. 
 
 in ggrnad at ps sedz; f k had e be 
 
 qi ald2;gzlr and ridan in bglmaria ; 
 
 at hgis was e and at satalia 
 
 hwan ]?gi w|r wun, and in jja gr|ta sj- 
 60 at mani a ngbal arme had e be. 
 
 at mQrtal batgils had e ben fiftena, 
 
 and fQuhtan fgr ur fgi)? at tramisena 
 
 in hstas }?rias, and gi slgin is fo. 
 
 Jjis ilka wurSi kniht had ben alsg 
 65 sumtlma wij? Ips Igrd gf palatia 
 
 aggin anoSar hgSan in turkia ; 
 
 and ^varmgr he had a suvrgin prls. 
 
 and pQuh \)aX he w|r wurSi, he was wis, 
 
 and qi is pgrt as mek as is a mgida. 
 70 he ngvar jgt ng vilgini na sgida 
 
 in al is lif unto ng mangr wiht. 
 
 he was a vgrrgi parfit, d^gntil kniht. 
 
 but fgr to tgllan ju qi his arrgi, 
 
 his hgrs wfr goda, but e was nat ggi; 
 75 qi fustian he wfrad a d^ipun 
 
 al bismutard wi]? is hab^rd^un, 
 
 fgr he was lat ikum frgm his viad^a 
 
 and wgnta fgr to don is pilgrimadga. 
 wi)? im )7|r was is sun, a jugg skwier, 
 80 a luvjgr and a lusti batfgler, 
 
 wijj Igkkas krul, as Ip^i wgr Igid in prgssa. 
 
 gf twgnti jgr gf ad;^ e was, I ggssa; 
 
 gf his statiur he was gf gvna Igggfja 
 
 and wundarH delivr and gf grft str§gg|ja; 
 
20 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 85 And he hadd? been sSmtyme in chyuachle 
 
 In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Pycardie, 
 And bgrn hym weel, as qf sg litel space, 
 In hgp? to stgnden in his lady grace. 
 ;^mbrouded was he, as it wgre a m??de 
 
 90 Al ful qi fr^sshe floures whyte and rggde; 
 
 SyngvTige he was gr floytyngc al the day; 
 He was as fr^ssh as is the months of May. 
 Shgrt was his gown?, with sleues Igngg and wyde; 
 Wei koudi" he sitte gn hgrs and faire ryde; 
 
 95 He koude sgnges make and wel gndite, 
 
 luste and §gk daunce, and weel purtreye and write. 
 Sg hggt? he loued that by nyghtertale 
 He sleep namggr? than dooth a nyghtyngale. 
 Curteis he was, Igw^ly and sgruysable, 
 
 100 And carf bifgrn his fader at the table. 
 
 A Yeman hadde he and sgruantz namg 
 At that tym?, fgr hym hste ride sgg. 
 And he was clad in cgte and hood gf grene. 
 A shggf gf pf cgk arwes, bright and kene, 
 
 105 Vnder his bglt he bar ful thriftily — 
 
 Wel koude he drgsse his takel yemanly. 
 His arwes drouped ngght with fgth? res Igwe — 
 And in his hand he baar a myghty bgwe. 
 A ngt hg^d hadde he, with a broun visage; 
 
 110 Qi woodecraft wel koudg he al the vsage. 
 
 Vpgn his arm he baar a gay bracer 
 And by his syde a swerd and a bok^ler, 
 And gn that oother syde a gay daggere 
 Harneised wel and sharp as point gf sp^re; 
 
 115 A Cristgphrg on his brest gf siluer sheene, 
 
 An hgrn he bar, the bawdryk was gf grene; 
 A forster was he soothly, as I ggsse. 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 21 
 
 85 and he had ben sumtim in tfivatfia 
 
 in flaundars, in artgis, and pikardia, 
 
 and bgrn im wel, as of sg htal spasa, 
 
 in hgp to stgndan in is ladi grasa. 
 
 gmbrudad was e, as it w|r a mfda 
 90 al f ul gf frgf a fluras h\\it and r|da ; 
 
 sir) gig g e was or flgitigg al )7a dgi; 
 
 he was as frgf as is )?a monj? gf mgi. 
 
 fgrt was is gun, vn]) slevas Iggg and wida; 
 
 wel kud e sit gn hgrs and f gire rida ; 
 95 he kuda sgggas mak and wel gndita, 
 
 d^ust and ^k dauns, and wel purtrgi and wrlta. 
 
 sg hot he luvad J?at bi nihtartala 
 
 he siep namgr jjan do J? a nihtirjgala. 
 
 kurtgis e was, Iguli and s^rvizabal, 
 100 and karf bifgrn is fader at Jja tabal. 
 
 a jeman had e and servants namg 
 
 at ]7at tun, fgr im Hsta rida sg, 
 
 and he was klad in kgt and hod gf grena. 
 
 a f|f gf pgkgk arwas, briht and kena, 
 105 undar is bglt e bar ful J?riftili — 
 
 wel kud e drgs is takal jemanll, 
 
 his arwas drupad nguht \np f§5ras Igua — 
 
 and in is hand e bar a mihti bgua. 
 
 a ngt hfd had e wij? a brun vizad^a; 
 110 gf wodakraft wel kud e al })a iuzad^a. 
 
 upgn is arm he bar a g§i braser 
 
 and bl is sId a swerd and a bukler, 
 
 and gn J^at oSar sid a ggi dagera 
 
 harngizad wel and farp as pgint gf spera; 
 115 a kristgfr gn is brest gf silvar fena, 
 
 an hgm e bar, J?a baudrik was gf grena; 
 
 a fgrstar was e soJjH, as i ggssa. 
 
22 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 23. Relation of Sounds to Spelling. The spelling of the vowels and 
 diphthongs in the manuscripts of Chaucer's works is far from phonetic. 
 In a phonetic system of spelling each character represents one sound, and 
 only one. In the manuscripts of Chaucer, however, 
 
 a represents [a] or [a] 
 
 e ' 
 
 [e], [I], or [§] 
 
 ee ' 
 
 [e] or [?] 
 
 i ' 
 
 [i] or [i] 
 
 ' 
 
 [o], [q], [q], [u], or [qu 
 
 00 ' 
 
 [o] or [q] 
 
 ou ' 
 
 [u], [qu], or [qu] 
 
 u ' 
 
 [u] or [iu] 
 
 y 
 
 [I] or [i] 
 
 But in spite of these ambiguities of spelling, the pronunciation of a word 
 in Chaucer's dialect can usually be inferred from the pronunciation of the 
 word in Modern English. 
 
 a represents [a] if in MnE the vowel is [e] ; ME name, MnE [nem] 
 a " [a] "" " " " " [ge];MEthat, MnE [Saet] 
 
 ee or e " [e] or 
 
 [|] " " " " " " [i]; ME swete, h§eth; MnE 
 
 [swit], [hib] 
 e " [?] "" " " " "[€];MEw€nde, MnE[wend] 
 
 iory " [i] "" " " " " [ai]; ME ryde, MnE [raid] 
 iory " [i] "" " " " " [i]; ME riden, MnE [ridan] 
 oooro " [6] "" " " " " [u]; ME rote, MnE [rut] 
 oooro " [q] " " " " " "[6]; ME liQQly, MnE [h5li] 
 o " [q] " " " " " " [a]; ME Qxe, MnE [aks]^'' 
 
 o " [u] " " " " " " [a]; me s5ne, MnE [sau] 
 
 o " [qu] " " " " " " [q]; me thoght, MnE [bQt] 
 
 ouorow " [u] "" " " " " [au]; ME hous, MnE [haus] 
 ouorow " [qu] " " " " " " [o]; ME bQwe, MnE [bo] 
 ou " [qu] " " " " " " [Q];MEfoughte, MnE [fQt] 
 
 u " [u] "" " " " " [A];MEunder, MnE[And»r] 
 
 a " [iu] " " " " " " [ju] or [u]; ME humour, rude; 
 
 MnE [hjumar], [rud] 
 
 " In the dialect of most parts of the United States, ME [q] has become [a], but 
 the ME vowel (or a vowel much like it) has been retained in the speech of England 
 and New England. 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 23 
 
 24. The basis of the statements just made is that tho the pronuncia- 
 tion of the EngHsh vowel sounds has changed greatly since Chaucer's 
 time, it has changed in a systematic and consistent way. Middle Eng- 
 lish [q] has regularly developed into Modern English [6] ; [HqU] has become 
 [holi], [bQt] has become [bot], [gpan] has become [opan], [sq] has become 
 [so]. That is, under the same conditions, a given Middle English sound 
 has always developed into a certain corresponding Modern English 
 sound. 
 
 But the conditions are not always the same. The development of a 
 sound is often afifected by the influence of other sounds which precede or 
 follow it. Thus, Middle EngUsh [u] regularly developed into Modern 
 English [a]; [sunna] has become [sAn], [undar] has become [Andor], [luva] 
 has become [Iav]. But when Middle Enghsh [u] was preceded by a Hp 
 consonant (b, p, f, or w) and was followed by I, it has been preserved in 
 Modern EngHsh; e.g., Middle EngHsh [bula], [pulla], [fid], and [wulf] are 
 Modern English [bul], [pid], [ful], and [wulf]. Moreover, vowels change 
 not only in quality, but also in quantity. Long vowels may become 
 short, and short vowels may become long. For example, in a number of 
 words Middle English [5], which has regularly become [u] in Modern 
 EngHsh, is represented by Modern EngHsh [u]. This is not because 
 Middle EngHsh [5] has in these words changed to [u] instead of [u], but 
 because, after [o] had become [ii], the [u] was shortened to [u]. Thus 
 we have Modern EngHsh [gud], [hud], and [stud] from Middle English 
 god, hod, and stod. So also with Modern English [brgj?] from Middle 
 EngHsh brfth; Middle English [|] regularly changed to Modern English 
 [i], but in this case [|] was shortened to [g] before the change to [i] oc- 
 curred. 
 
 25. The statements, therefore, that have been made with regard to 
 the relation between Middle English sounds and Modern English sounds 
 are not sufficient to enable us to determine the pronunciation of all 
 Middle EngHsh words. But where the evidence of the Modern EngHsh 
 pronunciation is not clear, it is almost always possible to determine 
 the Middle EngHsh pronunciation of a native EngHsh word from a knowl- 
 edge of its pronimciation in Old EngHsh.^^ 
 
 '1 Likewise, the pronunciation of ME words that were borrowed from French can 
 be deternuned from a knowledge of their pronunciation in Old French; the Modern 
 French pronunciation of such words is often different. 
 
24 PRONUNCIATION OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 a represents [a] if in OE the vowel was a or ae in an open syllable ;^^ 
 
 OE nama, faeder; ME name, fader 
 a " [a] if in OE the vowel was a or ae in a closed syllable;^* 
 
 OE banc, \>xt; ME thank, that 
 ee or e " [e] if in OE the vowel was e or eo; OE swete, beon; ME 
 
 swete, been 
 ee or e " [^] if in OE the vowel was ea, or e in an open syllable; 
 
 OE eac, mete; ME §gk, m|te 
 e " [g] if in OE the vowel was e or eo in a closed syllable; 
 
 OEhelpan, weorc; ME hglpen, wgrk 
 i or y " [i] if in OE the vowel was i or y; OE ridan, fyr; ME 
 
 riden, fyr 
 i or y " [i] if in OE the vowel was i or y; OE drincan, fyllan; ME 
 
 drinken, fillen 
 00 or o " [5] if in OE the vowel was 6; OE don; ME don 
 00 or " [q] if in OE the vowel was a, or o in an open syllable; 
 
 OE halig, stolen; ME HgQly, stglen 
 o " [q] if in OE the vowel was o in a closed syllable; OE 
 
 oxa; ME Qxe 
 o " [u] if in OE the vowel was u; OE sunu; ME sSne 
 
 on " [u] if in OE the vowel was u; OE bus; ME bous 
 
 u " [u] if in OE the vowel was u; OE under; ME under 
 
 By the application of the rules that have been given in this section of 
 the grammar the student will be able to ascertain the pronunciation of 
 the great majority of the words that occur in Chaucer's works. A more 
 systematic and detailed account of the history of English sotlnds will be 
 found in sections 42-45 below. 
 
 ^ An open syllable is one that ends in a vowel; in words of two or more syllables a 
 single consonant following a vowel belongs to the following syllable; so in OE nama, 
 fsder, mete, and stolen, a, ae, e, and o were in open syllables. 
 
 "^ A closed syllable is one that ends in a consonant; examples of vowels in closed 
 syllables are a, ae, e, and o in OE Jjanc, \>xt, helpan, and oxa. Every vowel which is 
 followed by two or more consonants is in a closed syllable. 
 
INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 25 
 
 INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 26. Declension of Nouns. The regular inflection of nouns in 
 Chaucer, as exemplified by dom, judgment, and ende, end, is as follows : 
 
 Sing. Nom., Dat., Ace. 
 
 dom 
 
 ende 
 
 Gen. 
 
 domes 
 
 endes 
 
 Plur. Nom., Gen., Dat., Ace. 
 
 domes 
 
 endes 
 
 The following exceptions occur: 
 
 1. The genitive singular of proper nouns ending in s is frequently 
 without ending; e.g., Epicurus owne sone, A 336. 
 
 2. The genitive singular of nouns of relationship ending in r is some- 
 times without ending; e.g., my fader soule, A 781; brother sone, 
 A 3084.23b 
 
 3. The genitive singular of nouns which belonged to the Old EngUsh 
 
 "weak" declension is sometimes without ending; e.g., his lady 
 grace, A 88; the sonne up-riste, A 105 1.^' 
 
 4. The plural sometimes ends in s instead of es; e.g., naciouns, A 53; 
 hunters, A 17S; fees, A 317; this is particularly common in words 
 of one syllable ending in a vowel and in words of two or more syl- 
 lables ending in a consonant. The ending -es is often written 
 when only s is sounded; e.g., yeddinges, A 237. 
 
 5. The plural of some nouns ends in en instead of es; e.g., eyen, A 152; 
 children, A 1193.^^ 
 
 6. The plural of monosyllabic nouns ending in s is usually without 
 ending; e.g., caas, A 323. 
 
 " These nouns had no ending in the genitive singular in Old English. 
 
 ^^ The Old English genitive singulars of Chaucer's lady and sonne were hl^efdigan 
 and sunnan, which in early Middle English became ladie(n) and sunne(n), the n in 
 parenthesis being a sound which was very often lost. The genitive singulars lady 
 and Sonne in Chaucer are the early Middle English forms without n, the three syl- 
 lables of early Middle English ladie having been contracted to two. 
 
 ^' Some of these nouns, such as eyen, from Old EngKsh cage, belonged in Old 
 EngUsh to the weak declension, which had the ending -an in the nominative and accusa- 
 tive plural. Others, such as children, from Old English cild, plural cildru, did not 
 belong in Old English to the weak declension but assumed the weak ending -en in 
 Middle EngUsh from the analogy of nouns which had been weak in Old English. 
 
26 INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 7. Some nouns which had no ending in the nominative and accusative 
 plural in Old English have no plural ending in Chaucer; e.g., hors, 
 A 74; swyn, A 598; yeer, A 82.26 
 
 8. The dative singular has the same form as the nominative-accusa- 
 tive singular, but in certain phrases consisting of a preposition 
 immediately followed by a noun the noun has the old dative ending 
 -e; e.g., of toimie, A 566." 
 
 27. Declension of Adjecitves. In Middle English, as in Modern 
 German, there are two declensions of the adjective, the strong and the 
 weak. The weak declension of the adjective is used when it is preceded 
 by the definite article the, by a demonstrative (this or that), by a pos- 
 sessive pronoun, or by a noun in the genitive case; e.g., the yonge sonne, 
 A 7 ; this ilke monk, A 175 ; his halfe cours, A 8 ; Epicurus ownes one, A 336 ; 
 the weak declension is also used when the adjective precedes a noun used 
 in direct address; e.g., f aire fresshe May, A 1511; it may also be used when 
 the adjective precedes a proper name not used in direct address; e.g., 
 faire Venus, A 2663. 
 
 The forms of the strong and weak declensions of the adjectives good 
 and swete are as follows: 
 
 Strong Declension 
 
 Singular 
 
 good 
 
 swete 
 
 Plural 
 
 goode 
 
 swete 
 
 Weak Declension 
 
 
 
 Singular 
 
 gocde 
 
 swete 
 
 Plural 
 
 goode 
 
 swete 
 
 It will be observed that (1) adjectives like swete are invariable in form; 
 (2) adjectives like good have in the strong declension the ending -e in the 
 plural; (3) adjectives like good have in the weak declension the ending 
 -e in both singular and plural. 
 
 The following exceptions occur: 
 
 1. Plural adjectives used predicatively are often not inflected, tho 
 such adjectives are frequently written with a final e even when the 
 e is not sounded; e.g., whiche they weren, A 40; And of another 
 thing they were as fayn, A 2101 . 
 
 ^ These were neuter nouns in Old English. 
 " See note 33 below. 
 
INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 27 
 
 2, Adjectives of two or more syllables ending in a consonant are 
 usually not inflected, either in the plural or in the circumstances 
 which call for the use of the weak inflection; e.g., mortal batailleSy 
 A 61; He which that hath the shortest shal biginne, A 836. 
 
 3. A trace of the old genitive plural of the adjective all appears oc- 
 casionally in the form aller, alder- (from Old English ealra, geni- 
 tive plural of eal) ; e.g., hir aller cappe, " the cap of them all, " A 586; 
 alderbest, "best of all," A 710. 
 
 28. Personal Pronouns The personal pronouns are inflected as 
 follows in Chaucer; forms that are rare are placed in parentheses. 
 
 1. First and second persons: 
 
 I, (ich) thou 
 
 my, myn thy, thyn 
 
 me the 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Dat., Ace. 
 Plur. Nom. 
 
 Gen. 
 
 Dat., Ace. 
 
 we 
 
 ye 
 
 2. Third person: 
 
 Dat., Ace. hym 
 
 our, cure, (cure) your [jur], youre, (youre) 
 us you [ju] 
 
 Sing. Nom. he she hit, it 
 
 Gen. his hir, hire, (hire) ; his 
 
 her, here, (here) 
 hir, hire, (hire); 
 her, here, (here) hit, it 
 Plur. Nom. they 
 
 Gen. hir, hire, (hire); her, here, (here) 
 
 Dat., Ace, hem 
 
 29. Demonstratives, The demonstratives this and that are in- 
 flected as follows in Chaucer; forms that are rare are placed in paren- 
 theses. 
 
 Sing, this that 
 
 Plur. this, thise, (thise) ; thes, these, (these) tho [\)q] 
 
 A trace of the old dative singular of that appears in the phrase for the 
 nones, A 379, from Old 'English for pcsm dnes (literally "for that once"); 
 the early Middle English form of this phrase was for then ones, which 
 by incorrect word division, came to be written in Chaucer's time for 
 
28 INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 the nones. A survival of the old instrumental case of that appears in 
 the adverbial the (Old English }pt)\e.g.,the more merry, A 802, literally 
 "more merry by that." 
 
 30. Strong and Weak Verbs. In Middle Enghsh, as in Old EngHsh 
 and all other Germanic languages, there are two conjugations of verbs, 
 the strong and the weak. Weak verbs form their preterit by means of 
 a suffix containing d or t. Strong verbs form their preterit by means 
 of a change in the vowel of the stem of the verb. For example, the 
 preterits of the weak verb loven and the strong verb riden are as follows: 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 lovede, loved rood 
 
 2 lovedest ride 
 
 » 3 lovede, loved rood 
 
 Plur. lovede(n)^^, loved ride(n) 
 
 Weak verbs may be recognized from the fact that their preterit indicative 
 first and third persons singular ends in -ede, -ed, -de, or -te and from the 
 fact that their past participle ends in -ed, d, or t. Strong verbs may be 
 recognized from the fact that their preterit indicative first and third 
 persons singular is without ending, and from the fact that their past 
 participle ends in -en or e. 
 
 31. Endings of Weak Verbs. There are two types of weak verbs in 
 Middle English. Weak verbs of Type I have preterits ending in -ede 
 or -ed and past participles ending in -ed. Weak verbs of Type II have 
 preterits ending in -de or -te and past participles ending in -ed, d, or t. 
 The principal parts of representative verbs are as follows: 
 
 Type I 
 Type II 
 
 love(n) 
 
 lovede, lovede, loved 
 
 loved 
 
 were(n) 
 
 werede, werede, wered 
 
 wered 
 
 here(n) 
 
 herde 
 
 hered 
 
 fele(n) 
 
 felte 
 
 feled 
 
 fede(n) 
 
 fedde 
 
 fed 
 
 seke(n) 
 
 soughte 
 
 sought 
 
 The endings of the weak verbs, exempUfied by love(n) of Type I and 
 here(n) of Type II, are as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 lov-e her-e 
 
 2 lov-est her-est 
 
 " e(n) indicates that the ending -en interchanges with the ending -e. 
 
INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 29 
 
 Plur. 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 
 2 
 3 
 
 Plur. 
 Pres. Subj. Sing. 
 
 Plur. 
 Pret. Subj. Sing. 
 
 Plur. 
 Imperative Sing. 
 
 Plur. 
 Infinitive 
 Gerund 
 Pres. Participle 
 
 lov-eth 
 
 lov-e(n) 
 
 lov-ede, lov-ede, lov-ed 
 
 lov-edest 
 
 lov-ede, lov-ede, lov-ed 
 
 lov-ede(n), lov-ede, lov-ed 
 
 lov-e 
 
 lov-e(n) 
 
 lov-ede, lov-ede, lov-ed 
 
 lov-ede(n), lov-ede, lov-ed 
 
 lov-e 
 
 lov-eth 
 
 lov-e (n) 
 
 to lov-e(n) 
 
 lov-inge, lov-inge, lov-ing 
 
 Past Participle lov-ed 
 
 her-eth 
 
 her-e(n) 
 
 her-de 
 
 her-dest 
 
 her-de 
 
 her-de (n) 
 
 her-e 
 
 her-e(n) 
 
 her-de 
 
 her-de (n) 
 
 her 
 
 her-eth 
 
 her-e (n) 
 
 to her-e(n) 
 
 her-inge, her-Inge, 
 
 her-ing 
 
 her-ed 
 
 32. Endings of Strong Verbs. Strong verbs form their preterit 
 by means of a change in the vowel of the stem of the verb. The vowel of 
 the preterit plural is often different from that of the preterit singular, so 
 that there are four principal parts, the infinitive, the preterit indicative 
 first person singular, the preterit indicative plural, and the past partici- 
 ple.^^ The principal parts of representative strong verbs are as follows : 
 
 ride(n) [rid an] 
 crepe(n) [krepan] 
 bmde(n) [bindan] 
 helpe(n) [hglpan] 
 sterve(n) [stgrvan] 
 bere(n) [b^ran] 
 
 speke(n) [spgkan] 
 
 rood [rgd] 
 creep [kr§p] 
 bond [bgnd] 
 halp [halp] 
 starf [starf] 
 bar [bar] 
 baar [bar] 
 beer [her] 
 spak [spak] 
 
 ride(n) [ridan] 
 crope(n) [krgpan] 
 bounde(n) [bundan] 
 holpe(n) [hQlpan] 
 storve(n) [stqrvan] 
 bere(n) [beran] 
 bare(n) [bar an] 
 
 speke(n) [spekan] 
 spake (n) [spakan] 
 
 ride(n) [ridan] 
 crope(n) [krQpan] 
 bounde(n) [bundan] 
 holpe(n) [hglpan] 
 storve(n) [stQrvan] 
 bore(n) [bgran] 
 
 spoke(n) [spgkan] 
 
 '' The vowel of the infinitive occurs also in the present indicative, present sub- 
 junctive, imperative, gerund, and present participle; the vowel of the preterit indicative 
 first person singular occurs also in the preterit indicative third person singular; the 
 vowel of the preterit indicative plural occurs also in the preterit indicative second 
 person singular and in the preterit subjunctive; the vowel of the past participle occurs 
 in that form only. 
 
io INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 shake(n) [fakan] shook [fok] shooke(n) [fokan] shake(n) [fakan] 
 slepe(n) [slepan] sleep [slep] slepe(n) [slepan] slepe(n) [slepan] 
 holde(n) [hQidan] heeld [held] heelde(n) [heldan] holde(n) [hQldan] 
 
 The endings of the strong verbs, exempUfied by ride(n) and bere(n), are 
 
 as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 rid-e ber-e 
 
 2 rid-est ber-est 
 
 3 rid-eth, rit [rit]^" ber-eth 
 Plur. rid-e(n) ber-e(n) 
 
 Fret. Ind. Sing. 1 rood bar 
 
 2 rid-e, rood ber-e, bar 
 
 3 rood bar 
 Plur. rid-e (n) ber-e (n) 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, rid-e ber-e 
 
 Plur. rid-e (n) ber-e (n) 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, rid-e ber-e 
 
 Plur. rid-e (n) ber-e (n) 
 
 Imperative Sing, rid ber 
 
 Plur. rid-eth ber-eth 
 
 Infinitive rid-e (n) ber-e (n) 
 
 Gerund to rid-e(n) to ber-e (n) 
 
 Pres. Participle rid-inge, rid-inge, rid-ing ber-inge, ber-inge, ber- 
 
 ing 
 
 Past Participle rid-e (n) bor-e(n) 
 
 33. Preteritive-Present Verbs. The preteritive-present (or strong- 
 weak) verbs have present indicatives which are like the preterit indica- 
 tives of strong verbs in that they have no ending in the first and third 
 persons singular. The preterits of these verbs are weak. The principal 
 forms of the more important preteritive-present verbs that occur in 
 Chaucer are as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 can, be able, know how dar, dare 
 
 2 canst darst 
 
 3 can dar 
 
 Plur. conne(n) [kunnan], can dorre(n) [durran], dar 
 
 '" Contracted forms like rit are frequent in verbs whose stems end in d or t; the 
 contraction originated in Old English. 
 
INFLECTIONS OF CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 31 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 kouthe[kut$d], koude [kuda] dorste [dursta] 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 may, be able moot, be permitted, 
 
 be under obligation 
 
 2 mayst most 
 
 3 may moot 
 
 Plur. mowe(n) [muwan], may mote(n), moot 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 mighte moste 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 shal, be about to, be under wot [wQt], know 
 obligation 
 
 2 shalt wost [wQst] 
 
 3 shal wot 
 
 Plur. shulle(n), shul, shal wite(n), wot 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 sholde [fulda], [fglda]; wiste 
 
 shulde 
 
 34. Anomalous Verbs. The forms of bee(n), be, are as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 am 
 
 2 art 
 
 3 is 
 
 Plur. bee(n), be 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 was 
 
 2 were 
 
 3 was 
 Plur. were(n) 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, be 
 
 Plur. bee(n), be 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, were 
 
 Plur. were(n) 
 
 Imperative Sing, be 
 
 Plur. beeth 
 
 Infinitive bee(n), be 
 
 Gerund to bee(n), to be 
 
 Pres. Participle being 
 
 Past Participle bee(n), be 
 
 The forms of wille(n), will, are as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 wil, wol [wul] 
 2 wilt, wok 
 
32 FINAL e IN CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 3 wil, wol 
 Plur. wille(n), wolle(n), wil, wol 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 wolde [wQida], [wulda] 
 
 2 woldest 
 
 3 wolde 
 Plur. wolde (n) 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, wolde 
 
 Plur. wolde (n) 
 Infinitive wille(n) 
 
 Past Participle wold 
 
 FINAL e IN CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 35. Inflectional and Etymological Final e. Final e in Chaucer's 
 language is either inflectional or etymological. Inflectional final e's 
 are those which occur in some forms of a word but not in others; their 
 occurrence or non-occurrence depending on grammatical considerations. 
 For example, the adjective good has no final e in such an expression as 
 A good man was ther of religioun (A 477), but it has a final e in the ex- 
 expressions His hors were gode (A 74) and his gode name (A 3049). 
 In A 74 gode has a final e because it is a plural adjective, in A 3049 it 
 has a final e because it is a weak adjective (see 27 above); but in A 477 
 good is without final e because it is neither plural nor weak. On the 
 other hand, the adjective lene has a final e in the expression As lene was 
 his hors as is a rake (A 287) tho it is neither plural nor weak. The ex- 
 planation of the final e in lene is not grammatical but etymological; the 
 word has a final e because it ended in e in Old EngHsh, being derived 
 from Old EngHsh hlane. Final e in goode is inflectional, final e in lene 
 is etymological. 
 
 36. Inflectional Final e. Inflectional final e occurs in adjectives 
 and verbs. 
 
 L Adjectives (see 27 above) 
 Final e occurs: 
 
 a. In the weak form of the adjective 
 
 b. In the plural form of the adjective^^ 
 
 " When it modifies a plural noun the pronoun his is very commonly written hise 
 in good manuscripts, and the final e is sometimes pronounced. This final e is from 
 the analogy of the final e of plural adjectives. So also is the final e of these, thise, 
 plural of thes, this (see 29 above). 
 
FINAL e IN CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 33 
 
 2. Verbs (see 31-33 above) 
 Final e occurs: 
 
 a. In the present indicative first person singular of strong and 
 weak verbs 
 
 b. In the preterit indicative first and third persons singular of 
 weak verbs 
 
 c. In the preterit indicative second person singular of strong verbs 
 
 d. In the present subjunctive singular of strong and weak verbs 
 
 e. In the preterit subjunctive singular of strong and weak verbs 
 
 f. In the imperative singular of many weak verbs 
 
 g. In the gerund of monosyllabic verbs, e.g., to done, F 334 
 h. In the present participle of strong and weak verbs 
 
 Final e interchanging with en occurs: 
 i. In the present indicative plural of strong and weak verbs 
 j. In the preterit indicative plural of strong and weak verbs 
 k. In the present subjunctive plural of strong and weak verbs 
 1. In the preterit subjunctive plural of strong and weak verbs 
 m. In the infinitive and gerund of strong and weak verbs 
 n. In the past participle of strong verbs^^ 
 
 37. Etymological Final e. Etymological final e occurs in nouns, 
 adjectives, pronouns, adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions. 
 1. Nouns 
 
 Final e occurs: 
 
 a. In nouns derived from Old English nouns which ended in a 
 
 vowel (a, e, or u); e.g., tyme, from OE tima (A 44); sonne, 
 from OE sunne (A 7) ; tale, from OE talu (A 36) 
 
 b. In nouns derived from Old English feminine nouns which 
 
 ended in a consonant; e.g., reste, from OE rest, fem. (A 30) 
 
 c. In some nouns derived from Old EngHsh nouns ending in -en; 
 
 e.g., mayde, from OE mse^den (A 69) 
 
 d. In nouns derived from Old French nouns ending in e; e.g., 
 
 corage, from OFr corage (A 22) 
 
 '2 For simplicity the preteritive-present verbs, are ignored in this paragraph. 
 Their preterits are like those of weak verbs, and their present indicative plural either 
 has the ending -e(n) or is without ending. (See 33 above.) 
 
34 FINAL e IN CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 
 
 e. In the "petrified" dative which occurs in certain phrases 
 consisting of a preposition immediately followed by a noun; 
 e.g., out of towne (A 566)^^ 
 
 2. Adjectives 
 Final e occurs: 
 
 a. In adjectives derived from Old English adjectives ending in 
 
 e; e.g., lene, from OE hl«ne (A 287) 
 
 b. In the comparative form of a few adjectives; e.g., more, from 
 
 OE mara, mare^^ 
 
 c. In the "petrified" dative which occurs in certain phrases 
 
 consisting of a preposition immediately followed by an 
 adjective used as a noun; e.g., with-alle (A 127) 
 
 d. In adjectives derived from Old French adjectives ending in e; 
 
 e.g., straunge, from OFr estrange (A 13) 
 
 3. Pronouns 
 
 Final e is usually written and occasionally pronounced in cure, 
 from OE ure; in hire, here {her), from OE hire; and in 
 hire, here {their) from OE hira, heora 
 
 4. Adverbs, Prepositions, and Conjunctions 
 Final e occurs: 
 
 a. In adverbs derived from adjectives; e.g., faire (A 94), from the 
 
 adjective fair (A 154) 
 
 b. In adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions whose originals 
 
 had a final vowel in Old English; e.g., sone, from OE sona 
 (B 1702); thanne, from OE bonne (D 2004); inne, from OE 
 inne (A 41); whanne, from OE hwonne (F 1406) 
 
 c. In adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions whose originals in 
 
 Old English ended in -an; e.g., bifore, from OE beforan 
 (A 377); with-oute, from OE wifjutan (A 343); sithe, from 
 OE sibban 
 
 •• The final e in of towne is not a genuine inflection in the English of Chaucer's 
 time. In early Middle English the dative singular always ended in e, but in the 
 course of time the accusative was substituted for the dative wherever the two cases 
 differed in form. A few phrases, however, like of towne, on live, to bedde, etc., were 
 in such constant use that they resisted change and were preserved unaltered long 
 after the dative form had become obsolete in the language as a whole. We find there- 
 fore that Chaucer says of towne in A 566, but of the toun in A 217. 
 
 ** The usual comparative ending is -er. 
 
FINAL e IX CHAUCER'S LANGUAGE 35 
 
 38. Inorganic Final e. A few nouns and adjectives in Middle 
 English had final e's (not inflectional) which cannot be explained upon 
 any of the grounds stated in 37; e.g., gate (C 729), from OE geat, neut.; 
 dale (B 4013), from OE d«l, neut.; weye (B 385), from OE weg, masc; 
 pere (F 678), from OFr per; bare (A 683), from OE baer; harde (D 2228), 
 from OE heard. Such final e's we call inorganic final e's. These words 
 acquired final e in early Middle English as the result of some analogy 
 or association which in most cases we are not able to trace with certainty. 
 
 39. Scribal e's. Occasionally even in the best and earliest manu- 
 scripts of Chaucer, and frequently in the poorer and later manuscripts, 
 final e's are written which were never pronounced in Aliddle English. 
 Such e's we call scribal e's. An example is month (A 92), from OE 
 monaj), masc; the word is written wdth final e in the EUesmere manu- 
 script, but is never pronounced with final e in Chaucer or in the language 
 of any other Middle English writer. 
 
 40. Elision, Apocope, and Syncope. If one pronounces in reading 
 Chaucer's verse all the final e's that are grammatically or etymologically 
 justifiable, the metrical structure of the verse is often seriously impaired 
 or entirely destroyed. It is clear that Chaucer did not intend that every 
 possible final e should be sounded. Final e is usually elided when the 
 following word begins with a vowel or "weak h";^" e.g., in couthe (A 14) 
 and dresse (A 106). Moreover, final e is often lost before words begin- 
 ning wth a consonant; e.g., wiste (A 224), tyme (A 102), mete (A 136). 
 The loss of final e before consonants is called apocope or apocopation. 
 This is to be distinguished from syncope or syncopation, which is the 
 loss of a vowel between two consonants of the same word; e.g., ''Cometh 
 neer, " qtwd he, "my lady prioresse" (A 839). In using apocopated forms 
 in his verse, however, Chaucer was not doing violence to the language 
 of his time, as a modern writer would be doing if he omitted the final 
 vowel of navy or china. In Chaucer's time the final e was beginning 
 to be lost, and by the end of the fifteenth century it had entirely dis- 
 appeared from the language. In Chaucer's time the final e was still 
 pronounced, but not universally, so that forms both with and without 
 final e were in use. Chaucer, therefore, tho he generally preferred the 
 forms with final e, used the forms without final e when it suited him to 
 do so. He always used the forms with final e in nme. 
 
 ^ "Weak h" is the h in words like he, him, hem, her, hath, hadde, etc., in which 
 the h was pronounced only when the word was strongly stressed, and the silent h in 
 French words like honour, etc. 
 
PART III 
 
 THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SOUNDS 
 
 40. Pronunciation of Old English. The pronunciation of the Old 
 English vowels and diphthongs is shown in the following table: 
 
 OE Spelling 
 
 Pronunciation 
 
 Examples 
 
 a 
 
 [a] 
 
 Stan, stone [stan] 
 
 a 
 
 [a] 
 
 man, man [man] 
 
 X 
 
 [?] 
 
 hse\>, heath [h^\>] 
 
 X 
 
 [ae] 
 
 \>set, that [M] 
 
 e 
 
 [e] 
 
 swete, sweet [swetg] 
 
 e 
 
 [«] 
 
 helpan, help [h^lpan] 
 
 i 
 
 [i] 
 
 ridan, ride [ridan] 
 
 i 
 
 [i] 
 
 drincan, drink [drigkan] 
 
 
 
 [o] 
 
 don, do [don] 
 
 
 
 [q] 
 
 crop, crop [krqp] 
 
 u 
 
 [u] 
 
 bus, house [hiis] 
 
 u 
 
 [u] 
 
 sunu, son [sunu] 
 
 y 
 
 [y] 
 
 iyr,fire [fyr] 
 
 y 
 
 [y] 
 
 l^ynne, thin [bynng] 
 
 ea 
 
 m 
 
 stream, stream [stream] 
 
 ea 
 
 [ae9] 
 
 hearpe, harp [hfearp?] 
 
 eo 
 
 [eo] 
 
 beon, be [beon] 
 
 eo 
 
 M 
 
 weorc, work [wgork] 
 
 ie 
 
 [ia] 
 
 bieran, hear [biaran] 
 
 ie 
 
 [ia] 
 
 ieldra, elder [iaidra] 
 
 The pronunciation of the Old English consonants is shown in the follow- 
 ing table: 
 
 OE Spelling 
 
 Pronunciation 
 
 Examples 
 
 c 
 
 [k] 
 
 cepan, keep [kepan] 
 
 c 
 
 m 
 
 cidan, chide [tfldan] 
 
PRONUNCIATION OF OLD ENGLISH 37 
 
 OE Spelling 
 
 Pronunciation 
 
 Examples 
 
 eg 
 
 [d?] 
 
 brycg, bridge [bryd^] 
 
 g 
 
 [s] 
 
 boga, bow [bQja] 
 
 i 
 
 ■ [J] 
 
 iiefan, give [jiavan] 
 
 ng 
 
 [flg] 
 
 singan, sing [siijgan] 
 
 sc 
 
 [f] 
 
 scip, ship [fip] 
 
 h before consonants and after vowels is pronounced like ch in Ger- 
 man ich, nacht; e.g., niht, night, heah, high. 
 
 i and s are pronounced like [v] and [z] when they occur between 
 vowels, as in §iefan, give, and risan, rise; like [f] and [s] when they are 
 initial or final, as in faeder, father, staef, staff, sunu, son, waes, was. 
 
 J> and S are used without distinction for the sounds [1j] and ['5]. They 
 are pronounced like [S] when they occur between vowels, as in cuSe, 
 knew, like []?] when they are initial or final, as in l>aet, that, cuj?, known. 
 
 r is strongly trilled with the tip of the tongue. 
 
 The other Old English consonants are pronounced as in Modern 
 English. But double consonants were pronounced double, as in Modern 
 English pen-knife, book-case. 
 
 41. Old English in Phonetic Notation. The Old English version 
 of the parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30-35, in the Old English 
 spelling and accompanied by a literal translation, is as follows: 
 
 Sum man ferde fram Hierusalem to Hiericho and becom on 
 A-certain man went from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among 
 
 )7a scaSan, \>a. hine bereafodon and tintregodon hine and forleton 
 the thieves, who him robbed and tortured him and left 
 
 hine samcwicne. pa gebyrede hit J^set sum sacerd ferde on 
 him half-alive. Then happened it that a-certain priest went on 
 
 J?am ilcan wege;and|?a he )?£et geseah, he hine forbeah. 
 
 the same way; and when he that saw, he from-him turned-away. 
 
 And eall swa se diacon, )>a he waes wiS ^a, stowe and Jjaet geseah. 
 And all so the deacon, when he was by the place and that saw, 
 
 he hine eac forbeah. J) a ferde sum Samaritanisc 
 
 he from-him also turned-away. Then went a-certain Samaritan 
 
 man wiS hine; ]>a. he hine '^fgeseah, 3a wearS he mid 
 
 man opposite him; when he him^^saw, then became he with 
 
38 PRONUNCIATION OF OLD ENGLISH 
 
 mildheortnesse ofer hine astyred. J)a genealaehte he and wracS 
 pity over him moved. Then approached he and bound 
 
 his wunda and on ageat ele and win and hine on his nleten sette 
 his wounds and in poured oil and wine and him on his beast set 
 
 and gelsedde on his Isecehtis and hine lacnode; and brohte ojjrum 
 and took into his hospital and him treated; and brought the-next 
 
 daege twegen peningas and sealde Jjam Isece and }7us cwaeS, 
 
 day two pennies and gave to-the physician and thus said, 
 
 "Beglem his; and sw a hwaet sw a )?u mare to gedest, 
 
 "Take-care-of him; and whatever thou more in-addition doest, 
 
 ))onne id cume, ic hit forgielde J^e. " 
 
 when I come, I it shall-repay thee. " 
 
 Transcribed in phonetic notation the Old English passage just given is 
 as follows: 
 
 sum man ferdg fram hiaruzalgm to hiarikg and bgkom qu \>a. faSan, pa. 
 hing bgrfavgdQn and tintrgsodgn hing and fgrletgn hing samkwikng. 
 pa. jgbyrgdg hit )?aet sum sakgrd ferdg gn Jjam ilkan wgjg; and Ipa. he )?aet 
 jgsaeah, he hing fgrbgah. and aeall swa se diakgn, pa he waes wij? J?a 
 stowg and pxt jgsaeah, he hing gak fgrbgah. J?a ferdg sum samaritanif 
 man mp hing; }7a he hing jgsaeah, )3a waear)? he mid mildhgortngssg gvgr 
 hing astyrgd. )7a jgnfalghtg he and wrap his wunda and gn ajgat gig 
 and win and hing gn his niatgn sgttg and jglgddg gn his Igtfghus and hing 
 lakngdg; and brohtg oSrum daejg twejgn pgniggas and saegldg J>am l|tfg 
 and Jjus kwsep, "bgjlam his; and swa hwaet swa )7u marg to jgdest, 
 t)gnng itf kumg, itf hit fgrjialdg )?e." 
 
 42. Normal Development of Old English Vowels. The normal 
 development^^ of the Old English vowel sounds in the Midland dialect 
 of Middle English and of the Middle English sounds in Modern EngHsh 
 is shown in the following table: 
 
 ^ The normal development of a vowel is that which took place when its develop- 
 ment was not afifected by the influence of neighboring sounds or by changes of quantity. 
 An account of the changes that took place in the English vowel sounds as a result of 
 these special conditions will be found below in sections 43 and 44. 
 
NORMAL DEVELOPMENT OF OLD ENGLISH VOWELS 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 Old English" 
 
 Middle English 
 
 Modern English 
 
 a 
 
 [5] 
 
 Stan 
 
 [stan] 
 
 [q] 
 
 ston 
 
 [stQn] 
 
 [5]39c 
 
 [ston] 
 
 a 
 
 [a] 
 
 l^anc 
 
 [baok 
 
 [a] 
 
 thank 
 
 [bagk] 
 
 [«] 
 
 [baegk] 
 
 ae 
 
 [ae] 
 
 jjat 
 
 [M] 
 
 [a] 
 
 that 
 
 [hat] 
 
 [«] 
 
 [Siet] 
 
 sb 
 
 [?] 
 
 IiJe|> 
 
 [h§W 
 
 [?] 
 
 heeth 
 
 [h?b] 
 
 [i]39c 
 
 [hib] 
 
 e 
 
 [e]3« 
 
 sM'ete 
 
 [swet^] 
 
 [e]38 
 
 swete 
 
 [sweta] 
 
 [i]39e 
 
 [swit] 
 
 e 
 
 k] 
 
 helpan 
 
 [hglpan] 
 
 k] 
 
 helpe(n) 
 
 [helpan] 
 
 [?] 
 
 [help] 
 
 i 
 
 [i]38 
 
 ridan 
 
 [ridan] 
 
 [ips 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 [ridan] 
 
 [ai] 
 
 [raid] 
 
 i 
 
 [i] 
 
 drincan 
 
 [drigkan] [i] 
 
 drinke(n) 
 
 [drigkan 
 
 ] [i] 
 
 [drigk] 
 
 
 
 [6]3« 
 
 foda 
 
 [foda] 
 
 [or 
 
 fode 
 
 [foda] 
 
 [U]39c 
 
 [fsd] 
 
 
 
 [q] 
 
 oxa 
 
 [Qksa] 
 
 [q] 
 
 oxe 
 
 [Qksa] 
 
 [a]3="^ 
 
 [aks] 
 
 u 
 
 [u]3« 
 
 hus 
 
 [hus] 
 
 [nV 
 
 hous 
 
 [hus] 
 
 [au] 
 
 [haus] 
 
 u 
 
 [u] 
 
 sunu 
 
 [sunu] 
 
 [u] 
 
 sone 
 
 [suna] 
 
 [a] 
 
 [sAn] 
 
 y 
 
 [y] 
 
 fyr 
 
 [fyr] 
 
 [i] 
 
 fyr 
 
 [fir] 
 
 [ai] 
 
 [fair] 
 
 y 
 
 [y] 
 
 fyllan 
 
 [fyllan] 
 
 [i] 
 
 fille(n) 
 
 [fillan] 
 
 [i] 
 
 [fil] 
 
 ea 
 
 [€9] 
 
 stream 
 
 [stream] 
 
 [|] 
 
 streem 
 
 [strgm] 
 
 [ij39c 
 
 [strim] 
 
 ea 
 
 [aea; 
 
 eami 
 
 [aearm] 
 
 [a] 
 
 arm 
 
 [sLimr'- 
 
 
 
 eo 
 
 [eo] 
 
 beon 
 
 [beon] 
 
 [6]^^=^ 
 
 bee(n) 
 
 [ben] 
 
 [J]39c 
 
 [bi] 
 
 eo 
 
 [€0] 
 
 weorc 
 
 [wgork] 
 
 kr^ 
 
 werk 
 
 [w€rk]39b 
 
 
 
 yvK ^ 
 
 " The Old English sounds which are taken as the basis of this table are those of 
 the Mercian dialect, which was that from which the Midland dialect of Middle Eng- 
 lish was derived. The sounds of the Mercian dialect differed in certain respects from 
 those of West-Saxon, which is the dialect in which most of the Old English literature is 
 preserved and upon which the Old EngUsh dictionaries are based. For example, the 
 Mercian dialect did not contain the West-Saxon diphthongs ie and ie, and it had the 
 vowel e in many words which in West-Saxon have the vowel x; e.g., West-Saxon d«d 
 was Mercian ded. In the Mercian dialect the vowel sb was always the result of umlaut. 
 
 38 The Modern English sounds given as the equivalents of Old and Middle English 
 e, i, 5, and u are only approximate equivalents, for (as explained above in note 10) the 
 Modern EngHsh sounds which we have represented by the symbols [e], [i], [6], and [u] 
 are in reality diphthongs, not simple vowels. Old and Middle English e, i, 5, and u 
 were simple vowels, pronounced like the corresponding vowels of Modern German. 
 
 39* It is probable that OE eo and eo first changed (at least in some locaUties) to 
 early ME [ce] and [oe], and that [oe] and [oe] developed later into [e] and [e]. The sym- 
 bols [ce] and [oe] represent respectively the vowels of German horen and worter. 
 
 ^s*" The Modem English development of the vowel in this word is due to the 
 that follows it; see 44, 1 below. 
 
 "" The Modem English sounds which we represent by the symbols [e] [i], [o] and 
 [u] are in reaUty, as explained above in notes 3S and 10, diphthongs, not simple vowels. 
 
 3"^ ME [q], or a vowel much like it. has been preserved in the speech of England 
 and New England, but it has become [a] in most parts of the United States. 
 
40 
 
 SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 The following table shows the normal development in Modern English 
 of certain sounds which developed in Middle English as the result of 
 certain special conditions which will be explained below in section 43. 
 
 
 Middle EngUsh 
 
 
 Modern Enghsh 
 
 [5] 
 
 name 
 
 [namd] 
 
 
 [er 
 
 [nem] 
 
 [au] 
 
 faught 
 
 [fauht] 
 
 
 [Q] 
 
 im 
 
 ki] 
 
 they 
 
 [bei] 
 
 
 [e]4o 
 
 im 
 
 [«u] 
 
 fewe 
 
 [fgua] 
 
 
 [J5] 
 
 [fju] 
 
 [iu] 
 
 humour 
 
 [hiumur] 
 
 , rude [riuda] 
 
 [ju] or 
 
 [u] [hjumar], [rud] 
 
 [Qi] 
 
 boy 
 
 [bQi] 
 
 
 [Qi] 
 
 [bQi] 
 
 [qu] 
 
 bowe 
 
 [bQua] 
 
 
 [6]^« 
 
 [bo] 
 
 [qu] 
 
 thoght 
 
 [bQuht] 
 
 
 [q] 
 
 [m 
 
 43. Special Developments in Middle English. The most important 
 special developments of the Old Enghsh vowel sounds in Middle EngUsh 
 are as follows: 
 
 1. Changes in the quantity of vowels. 
 
 a. Shortening of long vowels. Old Enghsh long vowels were shortened 
 in early Middle English (before the end of the twelfth century) when 
 they were followed by a double consonant or by a group of two or more 
 consonants;"^ e.g., OE Isedde, ME ledde [l^dda]; OE lassa, ME lesse 
 [Igssa]; OE cepte, ME kepte [kgpta]; OE wisdom, ME wisdom [wisdom]. 
 
 Old Enghsh long vowels were also frequently shortened in Middle 
 Enghsh when the second syllable of the word was [I]; e.g., OE aenig, 
 ME eny [§ni]; OE sarig, ME sory [sQri]. 
 
 *" The Modern English sounds which we represent by the symbols e and o are 
 in reality, as explained above in notes 38 and 10, diphthongs, not simple vowels. 
 
 ^' Shortening of long vowels did not take place, however, before the consonant 
 groups (see note 42 below) which caused lengthening in late Old English. Nor did 
 it take place before the combination st imless a third consonant followed; it is for this 
 reason that we have MnE [kraist] from Old English Crist, but MnE [krismas] from 
 Old English cristmaesse. 
 
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH 41 
 
 b. Lengthening of short vowels.^^ In the thirteenth century the 
 short vowels a, e, and o were lengthened in open syllables/^^ so that a 
 became [a],''^'' e became [g], and q became [q]; e.g., OE nama, ME name 
 [nama]; OE faeder, ME fader [fadar]; OE mete, ME mete [mgtaj; OE 
 stolen, ME stolen [stQlan]. This lengthening did not take place, how- 
 ever, when the second syllable of the word was [i]; e.g., OE hefig, ME 
 hevy [hgvi]; OE bodig, ME body [bgdi]. And we often find short a, 
 e, and o in open syllables when the second syllable of the word ended in 
 
 1, r, m, or n; e.g., OE sadol, ME sadel [sadal]; OE waeter, ME water 
 [watar]; OE heofon, ME heven [hgvan]. 
 
 2. Development of new diphthongs. 
 
 As may be seen from the table of sound changes given above in section 
 42, the Old English diphthongs ea, ea, eo, and eo became simple vowels 
 in Middle English. In Middle English, however, there developed a new 
 series of diphthongs: [ai], [gi], [au], [^u], [iu], [gi], [qu], and [qu]. The 
 principal sources of these diphthongs in the Midland dialect were as 
 follows: 
 
 [ai] developed out of Old EngHsh ae followed by [j], spelled g; e.g., 
 OE daeg [daej], ME dai; OE saegde [sfejdg], ME saide. In early Middle 
 English this diphthong had the sound of [ai], but in late Middle English 
 it became identical in sound with the diphthong [gi]. 
 
 *- In late Old English all short vowels were lengthened when they were followed 
 by one of the consonant combinations Id, mb, nd, ng, rd, rn, and rtJ. Many long 
 vowels which originated in this way remained long thruout the Middle English period 
 and have developed in Modern English like the other Middle Enghsh long vowels; e.g., 
 OE feld, ME feeld [feld], MnE [fild]; OE findan, ME finde(n) [finden], MnE [falndj; 
 OE grund, ME ground [grund], MnE [graund]. Modern English [5ld] is from Middle 
 English [Qld], which developed regularly from late Old EngUsh aid, eariier aid (West- 
 Saxon eald). But in a great many words these lengthened vowels were shortened in 
 Middle English. Shortening always occurred when the consonant group was followed 
 by a third consonant; e.g., OE cild, MnE [tfaild] from ME [tfild], but MnE [tfUdran] 
 from ME [tfildran]. 
 
 *' For a definition of open syllable see note 22 above. 
 
 *^^ Previous to the period when short vowels were lengthened in open syllables, 
 Old English a had become [q] in Middle EngHsh, and for a certain period, therefore, the 
 sound [a] did not e.xist in the language. But when a was lengthened in open syllables 
 the sound [a] was reintroduced. The [a] which originated in this way never became [q]. 
 
42 SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 [fi] developed out of Old English e, e or se, followed by [j], spelled 
 g; e.g., OE we^ [wgj], ME wey [wgi]; OE twegen [twejgn], ME tweie(n); 
 OE ieg [|j], ME ei [^i]. 
 
 [au] developed: 
 
 (1) out of Old English a followed by w;e.g.,OE clawu [klawu], ME 
 clawe [klaud]; 
 
 (2) out of Old English a followed by [5], spelled g;'" e.g., OE dragan 
 [drasan], IME drawe(n) [drauan]; 
 
 (3) out of Old English ea followed by h; e.g., OE feaht, ME f aught 
 [fauht]. 
 
 [§u] developed out of Old English ea followed by w; e.g., OE feawe 
 [fgawa], ME fewe [fgua]. 
 
 [iu] developed out of Old English i followed by w; e.g., OE stiweard 
 [stiwaeard], ME stiward [stiuard]. But the commonest source of [iu] in 
 Middle EngHsh was the French vowel [y], which was written u. The 
 sound [y] did not occur in the jMidland dialect of Middle English, and 
 therefore French loan-words which contained this sound were pronounced 
 with the diphthong [iu], which was the nearest English equivalent; e.g. 
 ME nature [natiura], from Old French nature [natyra]." 
 
 [Qi] occurs almost exclusively in French loan words; e.g., ME joie 
 from Old French joie. 
 
 [qu] developed: 
 
 (1) out of Old English a or 6 followed by w; e.g., OE cnawan [knawan], 
 Middle English knowe(n) [kuQusn]; OE growan [growan], ME growe(n) 
 [grQuan]. 
 
 *• This sound, the g of North German sagen, is not a stop consonant (like g in go) 
 but an open consonant or spirant which somewhat resembles English w but is made 
 without any rounding of the lips. 
 
 *^ A diphthong spelled ew also developed out of OE eo followed by w, e.g., in ME 
 knew from OE cneow. Some scholars are of opinion that this diphthong had the 
 sound of [eu] or [eu]. It no doubt had this sound in very early ME, but it seems 
 probable that in Chaucer's time it had become [iu]. This may be inferred from the 
 fact that French loan words which had [y] in Old French are very frequently spelled 
 in Middle English with ew instead of u, e.g., vertew, crewel, instead of vertu, cruel, 
 and also from the fact that the [iu] which developed in INIE out of OE iw was also 
 spelled ew or u instead of iw or iu, e.g., steward and Tuesday (from OE Tiwes dae^). 
 
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN ENGLISH 43 
 
 (2) out of Old English a followed by [5], spelled g; e.g., OE agen 
 [ajgn], ME owe(n) [Quan]. 
 
 (3) out of Old English o when it was in an open syllable followed by 
 [jj; e.g., OE boga [bQja^, ME bowe [bgua]. 
 
 [qu] developed out of Old English o, 6, or a followed by ht; e.g., OE 
 bohte, ME boughte [bQuhta]; OE sohte, ME soghte [sQuhta]; OE ahte, 
 ME oughte [Quht9].^« 
 
 44. Special Developments in Modern English. The normal devel- 
 opment of the Middle English vowel sounds in Modern English has been 
 shown above in section 42. The most important special developments 
 that took place as the result of the influence of neighboring sounds or 
 changes of quantity are these: 
 
 1. Special developments before r 
 
 Middle English [§] followed by r often changed to [a] in late Middle 
 English or very early Modern English and later developed into [a]; e.g., 
 ME sterve(n) [stgrvan], early MnE [starv], MnE [starv]. 
 
 Middle English [a] followed by r has become [a] in Modern English; 
 e.g., ME hard [hard], MnE [hard]. 
 
 Middle English [q] followed by r has become [q] in Modern English; 
 e.g., ME for [iqr], MnE [fQr]. 
 
 Middle English [ir] and [ur] have regularly, and Middle English [gr] 
 has frequently, become [ar] in Modern English; e.g., ME first [first], 
 MnE [farst]; ME curse(n) [kursan], MnE [ksrs]; ME lerned [l^rnad], 
 MnE [larnad]. 
 
 Middle English [a] and [gi] followed by r have become Modern Eng- 
 lish [f]; ME spare(n) [sparan], MnE [sp§r];ME fair [fgir], MnE [fgr]. 
 
 Middle English [?] has frequencly been preserved before r in Modern 
 English; e.g., ME bere(n) [bfran], MnE [b§r]. 
 
 Modern English [1] and [u] before r, for example in [hir] and [fur] 
 are not the [i] and [u] of [It] and [but], but a little more open; in quahty 
 they approximate to lengthened [i] and [u]. 
 
 *' The 6 of OE sohte was shortened before ht (se; 43, la above) ; the a of OE ahte 
 first became [q] and was then shortened to [q] before the ht. 
 
44 SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN ENGLISH 
 
 Middle English [6] and [q] followed by r have become [q] in Modern 
 Enghsh; e.g., ME swoor [swor], MnE [swQr], ME more [mQra], MnE 
 [mgr]." 
 
 2. Special developments before I. 
 
 Middle English [a] followed by I plus another consonant or final 1 
 was diphthongised to [au] in early Modern Enghsh; this diphthong then 
 developed, like Middle English [au], into [q]; e.g., ME smal [smal], early 
 MnE [smaul], MnE [sdiqI]; ME bald [bald], early MnE [bauld], MnE 
 [hqldV 
 
 Middle English [q] followed by 1 was diphthongised to [qu] in early 
 Modern English; this diphthong then developed, like Middle Enghsh 
 [qu], into Modern English [6]; e.g., ME folk [f^lk], early MnE [iqulk], 
 MnE [fok]. 
 
 3. Special developments after [w]. 
 
 When preceded by w Middle English [a] (including the [a] which 
 developed from [g] before r) became [q] in the seventeenth century and 
 has since developed into Modern English [q] or [a]; e.g., ME water 
 [watar], MnE [wQtr]; ME warm [warm], MnE [wgrm]; ME washen 
 [wafan], MnE [waf].^^ 
 
 4. Development of Modern English [a]. 
 
 In standard British English and in the dialect of southern New Eng- 
 land, Middle Enghsh [a] has developed with more or less regularity into 
 [a] when followed by 
 
 Im, 
 
 e.g., 
 
 MnE [kam 
 
 M, 
 
 )) 
 
 " [kaf] 
 
 Iv, 
 
 )) 
 
 " [sav] 
 
 [f], final 
 
 J) 
 
 " [tfaf] 
 
 *' Long vowels before r in Modern English are really diphthongs to a greater or 
 less degree; e.g., starve, for, fair, hear, and sure are rather [staarv], [fQsr], [f^ar], [hiar], 
 and [fuar] than [starv], [iqr], [f|r], [hir], and [fur]. 
 
 *'But before Im, If, and Iv Middle English [a] has developed into [a] or [|]; see 
 44, 4 below. 
 
 *' British standard English has [q] for American [a] in these words, but both in 
 England and America there is a good deal of fluctuation between [§] and [q] or [a]. 
 
SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN ENGLISH 
 
 45 
 
 m, 
 
 e.g., 
 
 Ml 
 
 lE [fatSar] 
 
 [W, 
 
 j> 
 
 
 ' [paW 
 
 [ft], 
 
 » 
 
 
 [aftar] 
 
 [s], final 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 ' [gias] 
 
 St, 
 
 » 
 
 
 [past] 
 
 sk, 
 
 5> 
 
 
 ' [ask] 
 
 sp, 
 
 JJ 
 
 
 ' [klasp] 
 
 [sf], 
 
 ,J 
 
 
 ' [blasflm] 
 
 mp, 
 
 „ 
 
 
 ' [§gzampl] 
 
 nt, 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 [tfant] 
 
 nd, 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 ' [ksmand] 
 
 [ns] 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 ' [dans] 
 
 [ntf], 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 [stantf] 
 
 In American English the great majority of these words have the vowel 
 [ae] or [?], e.g., [pse\>], [pl\)]; [aesk], [?sk], etc. 
 
 5. Preservation of Middle English [u] and [u]. 
 
 Middle English [u] has been preserved in Modern English before lip 
 consonants (b, p, m, f, v); e.g., ME stoupe(n) [stupan], MnE [stup]; ME 
 toumbe [tumba], MnE [turn]. In some words this [u] before lip con- 
 sonants was shortened to [u] and afterwards changed to [a]; e.g., ME 
 shouve(n) [fuvan], MnE [Iav]; ME double [dubal], MnE [dAbI]; ME 
 roum [rum], MnE [rum], also [rum]. 
 
 Middle EngHsh [u] has been preserved in Modern English under the 
 following circumstances: regularly between lip consonants and I; e.g.,, 
 ME bole [bula], MnE [bul]; ME ful [ful], MnE [ful]; ME wolf [wulf], 
 MnE [wulf]; and frequently between lip consonants and consonants 
 other than 1; e.g., ME wode [wuda], MnE [wud]; ME putte(n) [puttan], 
 MnE [put]. 
 
 6. [u] for Middle English [iu]. 
 
 Middle English [iu] has become [u] under the following circumstances: 
 regularly after r, and after 1 preceded by another consonant; e.g., ME 
 rude [riuda], MnE [rud]; ME blew [bliu], MnE [blu]; and frequently after 
 I, s, t, d, and n; e.g., ME lute [liuta], MnE [lutj; ME Susanne [siuzanna], 
 MnE [suzan]; ME Tuesday [tiuasdgi], MnE (especially American^ 
 [tuzdi]; ME due [diua], MnE (especially American) [du]; ME newe [niua]^ 
 MnE (especially American) [nu]. 
 
46 SPECIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN MODERN ENGLISH 
 
 7. [i] for Middle English [5]. 
 
 Middle English [g] has become [i] when followed by n plus another 
 consonant or combination of consonants (not [b] or [tf], e.g., MnE 
 strength, bench); e.g., ME Engelond [fggdlgnd], MnE [iggbnd]. 
 
 8. Shortening of Middle English [§]. 
 
 Before Middle English [§] had become [i] it was often shortened in 
 Modern English when it was followed by d, t, or [\>]; e.g., ME deed 
 [did], MnE [d§d]; ME swete(n) [sw^tan], MnE [swgt]; ME deeth [d§b], 
 MnE [d€b]. 
 
 9. Shortening of [u] from Middle English [o]. 
 
 After Middle English [6] had become [u], the [u] was in a great many 
 words shortened when it was followed by d, t, or k; in some words the 
 result of this shortening is [u], but in others the [u] has undergone the 
 further change of [u] to [a]; e.g., ME good [god], MnE [gud]; ME blood 
 [blod], MnE [bUd]; ME foot [fot], MnE [fut]; ME book [bok], MnE [buk]. 
 
 10. Lengthening of [i] before [h]. 
 
 When [h] in the combination ht was lost, a preceding [i] was lengthened 
 to [i] and was afterwards changed to [ai]; e.g., ME right [riht], MnE 
 [rait]. 
 
 11. Lengthening of Middle English [q] and [a]. 
 
 Middle English [q] has frequently been lengthened in Modern Eng- 
 Ush to [q] when followed by [f], [s], or [bj; e.g., ME of [qI], MnE [qi]; ME 
 Ids [Iqs], MnE [Iqs]; ME motthe [mgbba], MnE [mgb]- 
 
 In American English, Middle English [q] has commonly been 
 lengthened to [q] when followed by [gg]; e.g., ME long [Iggg], MnE 
 [Iqo]; it is also often lengthened when followed by [g]; e.g., ME frogge 
 [ffQgga], MnE [frgg], also [frag] and (in New England) [frQg]. 
 
 In American English, Modern EngHsh [ae] from Middle English [a] 
 has commonly been lengthened to [g] when followed by d, [g], m, n, ng; 
 e.g., ME glad [glad], MnE [gl|d], ME land [land], MnE [l?nd]; ME 
 »ang [sagg], MnE [slg]. 
 
CONSONANT SOUNDS 47 
 
 45. Vowels in Unaccented Syllables. The sound changes which 
 have been explained in the preceding sections are those which were 
 undergone by vowels in accented syllables. The changes which were 
 undergone in Middle EngUsh by the Old English vowels of unaccented 
 syllables are very much simpler in their character, and will be considered 
 later in connection with the inflections of Middle English.^" 
 
 46. Consonant Sounds. The most important changes that have 
 taken place in the consonant sounds of English are these : 
 
 1. Middle English changes. 
 
 Old Enghsh final m in unstressed syllables became Middle English 
 n; e.g., OE endum, ME enden. 
 
 Final n was very frequently lost in unstressed syllables, so that the 
 common inflectional ending -en was very often reduced to -e; e.g., OE 
 singan, ME singen or singe. 
 
 Old English initial hn, wl, hi, and hr became Middle English n, I, 1, 
 and r; e.g., OE hnecca, AIE necke; OE wlispian, ME lispen; OE hlaf 
 ME lof; OE bring, ME ring. 
 
 Old EngHsh initial [j], which was an open consonant or spirant, be- 
 came in Middle EngHsh the stop consonant [g];^^ e.g., OE god [jod], ME 
 good [god]. But when it was preceded by a consonant and followed by 
 a vowel. Old English [s] became [w]; e.g., OE halgian, ME balwie(n). 
 
 2. Modern Enghsh changes. 
 
 Initial \\>] changed to [3] in a number of pronouns and particles which 
 were commonly pronounced without stress, e.g., tbe, tbey, tbem, thou, 
 tbee, tby, that, those, this, these, then, than, there. 
 
 Final [f], [s], and fb] became [v], [z], and [3] if they were preceded by 
 a vowel that was without stress or if they occurred in words that were 
 commonly pronounced without stress in the sentence; e.g., ME actif, 
 MnE active; ME of [qi], MnE [3y]f- ME faces [fasas], MnE [fesaz]; 
 ME his [his], MnE [hiz]; ME with [wij)], MnE [wiS]. 
 
 ^° See section 48 below. 
 
 " When it was not initial but was preceded by a vowel, [5] lost its consonantal 
 quality and united mth the vowel to form a diphthong; see section 43, 2 above. 
 
 "Modem EngUsh off [Qf] is the stressed form of of; in of the [f] changed to [v] 
 because of lack of stress, but in off the [f] remained unchanged. 
 
48 CONSONANT SOUNDS 
 
 Initial gn and kn have become n and initial wr has become r ; e.g., ME 
 gnawe(n) [gnauan], MnE [iiq]; ME knight [kniht], MnE [nait]; ME 
 write(n) [writan], MnE [rait]. 
 
 Final mb has been reduced to m; e.g., ME domb [dumb], MnE [d.vm]. 
 
 Final [gg] has been reduced to [g]; e.g., ME thing [bigg], MnE [big]. 
 
 1 has been lost before k and the lip consonants m and f when the 
 vowel that preceded it was Middle Enghsh [a] or [q]; e.g., ME talke(n) 
 [talkan], MnE [tgk]; ME folk [fglk], MnE [fok]; ME palm [palm], MnE 
 [pam] ; ME half [half], MnE [haf]. 
 
 [h] has been lost before consonants and after vowels; e.g., ME night 
 [niht], MnE [nait]; ME saugh [sauh], MnE [sq].^^ 
 
 Middle Enghsh double consonants have become single in Modern 
 Enghsh; e.g., ME sonne [sunna], MnE [sAn]; ME sitte(n) [sittan], MnE 
 [sit]. 
 
 [sj] and zj] have become [f] and [z}; e.g., early MnE special [sp^sjal], 
 MnE [sp§(l]; early MnE mission [misjon], MnE [mifan]; early MnE 
 portion [pgrsjon], MnE [pQrfan];^^ early MnE vision [vizjon], MnE [vizan]. 
 
 [tj] and [dj] have become [tf] and [d^] ; e.g., early MnE fortune [fQrtjun], 
 MnE [fgrtfan]; early MnE cordial [kgrdjael], MnE [kgrd^l]. 
 
 r in Modern Enghsh has lost its trilled sound and has become a 
 vowel-hke sound which tends to disappear before consonants. 
 
 " In some words Middle English [h] has become [f] in Modern English; e.g., ME 
 laughe(n) [lauhan], MnE [laf]; ME tough [tuh], MnE [tAf]; in these words the vowel 
 has also been modified in a special way; in the examples just given ME [au] has become 
 [a] instead of [q], and ME [u] has been shortened to [a]. 
 
 " The suffix- -tion is merely a Latinised spelUng of the suffix which was spelled 
 -cioun or -cion in Middle English. 
 
PART IV 
 
 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 INFLECTIONS 
 
 47. Declension of Nouns. The declension of nouns in Old English 
 was rather complex; there were four cases, nominative, genitive, dative, 
 and accusative; two numbers, singular and plural; and three genders, 
 masculine, feminine, and neuter, which, like those of modern German, 
 were largely independent of sex. In the late Middle English of Chaucer, 
 on the other hand, the declension of nouns is extremely simple. The 
 simpUfication which took place in the inflection of nouns in Middle 
 English was the result of two causes, sound change and analogy. 
 
 48. Sound Change in Unaccented Syllables. The Middle English 
 sound changes that were undergone by vowels in accented syllables 
 have been explained in sections 42 and 43, The changes undergone by 
 vowels in unaccented syllables were very much simpler in character and 
 may be briefly stated as follows: 
 
 Old English a, e, o, and u became in unaccented syllables the vowel 
 which was commonly written e and which probably was pronounced 
 [a];" e.g. 
 
 OE belle [beUe] ME beUe [bgUa] 
 
 OE oxa [Qksa] ME oxe [qkss] 
 
 OE nacod [nakgd] ME naked [naksd] 
 
 OE sunu [sunu] ME sune [suna] 
 
 This change in the pronunciation of vowels of unaccented syllables is 
 the most important difference between Old English and Middle Enghsh, 
 
 " This unstressed vowel was also frequently written i, particularly in the North of 
 England; it is probable that this variation of spelling represents a variation of pro- 
 nunciation between [a] and fil. 
 
50 NOUNS 
 
 49. Analogy. Analogy is the regularising, simplifying tendency of 
 the human mind manifesting itself in language. The child who says 
 mans for men, fools iorfeet, <ind fighied iox fought is making use of analogy. 
 In Modern English the preterits dreamed and lighted have been substituted 
 for the older forms dreamt and lit because of the analogy of the great 
 number of weak verbs which have the same vowel in the preterit as in the 
 present. So in the Middle English noun declensions, many forms which 
 were merely the Old English forms pronounced in a new way were dis- 
 placed by different forms that were suggested by analogy. For example, 
 in Old English and early Middle English the dative singular and the 
 accusative singular were identical in the great majority of nouns. But 
 in some nouns the dative singular ended in e and the accusative singular 
 ended in a consonant. In these nouns, therefore, the analogy of the 
 other nouns caused the old dative singular to be superseded by a form 
 which was identical with the accusative. The Middle English forms 
 that were developed from the Old English forms by sound change alone 
 are called historical forms. Forms that were substituted for these his- 
 torical forms by the process of analogy are called analogical forms. 
 
 NOUNS 
 
 50. Development of the Middle English Noun Declensions. The 
 
 development of the Middle English noun declensions is shown in the 
 tables printed below. In the first column are given the Old English 
 forms. In the second column are given the historical Middle English 
 forms that developed from the Old English forms by the process of sound 
 change alone. In the third column are given analogical forms that dis- 
 placed some of the historical forms. In the fourth column are given 
 the late Middle English forms which we find (for example) in Chaucer; 
 in this column the historical forms are printed in Roman type and the 
 analogical forms in italics. The words in the first column exemplify 
 the eleven principal types of noun declension in Old English: the strong 
 masculine nouns dom {judgment) and ende {end) ; the u-declension noun 
 sunu {son); the strong feminine nouns lufu {love) and hwil {time); the 
 strong neuter nouns lim (/imft), hors {horse), and wite {punishment); the 
 weak masculine noun hunta {hunter); the weak feminine noun sunne 
 {sun) ; and the weak neuter noun eare {ear). 
 
NOUNS 
 
 51 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 Late 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 51. dom, masculine: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. dom 
 
 doom 
 
 
 doom 
 
 Gen. domes 
 
 doomes 
 
 
 doomes 
 
 Dat. dome 
 
 doome 
 
 doom 
 
 doom 
 
 Ace. d5m 
 
 doom 
 
 
 doom 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. domas 
 
 doomes 
 
 
 doomes 
 
 Gen. doma 
 
 doome 
 
 doomes 
 
 doomes 
 
 Dat. domum^^ 
 
 doome(n)-'' 
 
 doomes 
 
 doomes 
 
 52. ende, masculine: 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 ende 
 
 ende 
 
 
 ende 
 
 Gen. 
 
 endes 
 
 endes 
 
 
 endes 
 
 Dat. 
 
 ende 
 
 ende 
 
 
 ende 
 
 Ace. 
 
 ende 
 
 ende 
 
 
 ende 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. 
 
 endas 
 
 endes 
 
 
 endes 
 
 Gen. 
 
 enda 
 
 ende 
 
 endes 
 
 endes 
 
 Dat. 
 
 endum 
 
 ende(n) 
 
 endes 
 
 endes 
 
 53. sunu, masculine: 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 sunu 
 
 sune 
 
 
 sone^ 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 suna 
 
 sune 
 
 sunes 
 
 sones 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 suna 
 
 sune 
 
 
 sone 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 sunu 
 
 sune 
 
 
 sone 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 , Ace. 
 
 suna 
 
 sune 
 
 sunes 
 
 sones 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 suna 
 
 sune 
 
 sunes 
 
 sones 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 sunum 
 
 sune(n) 
 
 sunes 
 
 sones 
 
 5^ See 46, 1 above for change of OE final m to ME final n in unstressed syllables. 
 
 " As stated above in section 46, 1 the ending -en was very frequently reduced to 
 -e thru the loss of the final n; in these tables, therefore, the ending is printed -e(n). 
 
 5« In this column the forms are given in their late Middle English spelling; in the 
 two former columns the forms are given in their early Middle English spsUing. 
 
52 
 
 NOUNS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENG 
 
 LISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 Late 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 54. lufu, feminine: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. lufu 
 
 luve 
 
 
 love 
 
 Gen. lufe 
 
 luve 
 
 luves 
 
 loves 
 
 Dat. lufe 
 
 luve 
 
 
 love 
 
 Ace. lufe 
 
 luve 
 
 
 love 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. lufa 
 
 luve 
 
 luves 
 
 loves 
 
 Gen. lufa 
 
 luve 
 
 luves 
 
 loves 
 
 Dat. lufum 
 
 luve(n) 
 
 luves 
 
 loves 
 
 55. hwil, feminine: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. Jbwil - 
 
 hwil 
 
 hwile , 
 
 whiUA 
 
 Gen. hwile 
 
 hwile 
 
 kwiles 
 
 whiles^ 
 
 Dat. hwile 
 
 hwile 
 
 
 while 
 
 Ace. hwile 
 
 hwile 
 
 
 while 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. hwila 
 
 hwile 
 
 Irwiles 
 
 whiles 
 
 Gen. hwila 
 
 hwile 
 
 kwiles 
 
 whiles 
 
 Dat. hwilum 
 
 hwile (n) 
 
 hwiles 
 
 whiles 
 
 56. Km, neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. lim 
 
 lim 
 
 
 lim 
 
 Gen. limes 
 
 limes 
 
 
 limes 
 
 Dat. lime 
 
 lime 
 
 lim 
 
 lim 
 
 Ace. lim 
 
 lim 
 
 
 lim 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. limu 
 
 lime 
 
 limes 
 
 limes 
 
 Gen. lima 
 
 lime 
 
 limes 
 
 limes 
 
 Dat. limum 
 
 lime(n) 
 
 limes 
 
 limes 
 
 57. hors, neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. hors 
 
 hors 
 
 
 hors 
 
 Gen. horses 
 
 horses 
 
 
 horses 
 
 Dat. horse 
 
 horse 
 
 hors 
 
 hors 
 
 Ace. hors 
 
 hors 
 
 
 hors 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. hors 
 
 hors 
 
 horses 
 
 horses 
 
 Gen. horsa 
 
 horse 
 
 horses 
 
 horses 
 
 Dat. horsum 
 
 horse (n) 
 
 horses 
 
 horses 
 
NOUNS 
 
 S3 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 Late 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 58. wite, neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. wite 
 
 wite 
 
 
 wite 
 
 Gen. wites 
 
 wites 
 
 
 wites 
 
 Dat. wite 
 
 wite 
 
 
 wite 
 
 Ace. wite 
 
 wite 
 
 
 wite 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. witu 
 
 wite 
 
 ■wites 
 
 wites 
 
 Gen. wita 
 
 wite 
 
 wites 
 
 wites 
 
 Dat. witum 
 
 wite(n) 
 
 wites 
 
 wites 
 
 59. hunta, weak masculine: 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 hunta 
 
 hunte 
 
 
 hunte 
 
 Gen. 
 
 huntan 
 
 hunte(n) 
 
 huntes 
 
 huntes 
 
 Dat. 
 
 huntan 
 
 hunte (n) 
 
 himtd'^ 
 
 hunte 
 
 Ace. 
 
 huntan 
 
 hunte (n) 
 
 hunte'^ 
 
 hunte 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. huntan 
 
 hunte (n) 
 
 huntes 
 
 huntes 
 
 Gen. 
 
 huntena 
 
 huntene 
 
 hmtes 
 
 huntes 
 
 Dat. 
 
 huntum 
 
 hunte (n) 
 
 huntes 
 
 huntes 
 
 60. sunne, weak feminine: 
 
 Sing. Nom. sunne 
 
 Gen. sunnan 
 
 Dat. sunnan 
 
 Ace. sunnan 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. sunnan 
 
 Gen. sunnena 
 
 Dat. sunnum 
 
 sunne 
 
 
 Sonne 
 
 sunne (n) 
 
 sunnes 
 
 sonnes 
 
 sunne (n) 
 
 sunne'^ 
 
 Sonne 
 
 sunne (n) 
 
 sunn^^ 
 
 Sonne 
 
 sunne (n) 
 
 sunnes 
 
 sonnes 
 
 sunnene 
 
 sunnes 
 
 sonnes 
 
 sunne (n) 
 
 sunnes 
 
 sonnes 
 
 " Inasmuch as the early Middle EngUsh ending -en was always liable to undergo 
 reduction to -e thru loss of final n (see note 57 above), sound change was no doubt an 
 important factor in the establishment of this form. 
 
54 
 
 NOUNS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 Late 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 61. eare, weak neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 eare 
 
 ere 
 
 
 ere 
 
 Gen. 
 
 earan 
 
 ere(n) 
 
 eres 
 
 eres 
 
 Dat. 
 
 earan 
 
 ere(n) 
 
 ere^^ 
 
 ere 
 
 Ace. 
 
 eare 
 
 ere 
 
 
 ere 
 
 Plur. Nom., Ace. 
 
 earan 
 
 ere(n) 
 
 eres 
 
 eres 
 
 Gen. 
 
 earena 
 
 erene 
 
 eres 
 
 eres 
 
 Dat. 
 
 earum 
 
 ere(n) 
 
 eres 
 
 eres 
 
 62. An analysis of the tables given above shows that the analogical 
 changes that took place in the inflection of nouns were these: 
 
 1. The nominative singular became identical with the accusative 
 singular in the strong feminine nouns ending in a consonant, which in 
 Old English had different forms for the two cases. 
 
 2. The ending -es became the ending of the genitive singular of nouns 
 which in Old English had other endings. 
 
 3. The dative singular became identical with the accusative singular 
 in those nouns which had different forms for the two cases. 
 
 4. The accusative singular became identical with the nominative 
 singular in the weak masculine and feminine nouns, which in Old English 
 had different forms for the two cases. 
 
 5. The ending -es became the ending of the nominative-accusative 
 plural of those nouns which in Old English had other endings. 
 
 6. The genitive and dative plural became identical with the nomina- 
 tive-accusative plural. 
 
 63. Retention and Extension of the Weak Noun Inflection. One 
 
 other statement is needed, however, to complete this account of the 
 Middle English noun inflections. A few nouns that belonged to the Old 
 EngHsh weak declension retained their weak inflection, at least in part, 
 even in Late Middle English. The development of this type of inflec- 
 
 *° Inasmuch as the early Middle English ending -en was always liable to undergo 
 reduction to -e thru loss of final n (see note 57 above), sound change was no doubt an 
 important factor in the establishment of this form. 
 
ADJECTIVES 
 
 55 
 
 tion, as exemplified by Old English oxa (ox), is shown in the following 
 table: 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 Historical Analogical Late 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 oxa 
 
 oxe 
 
 
 oxe 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 oxan 
 
 oxe(n) 
 
 oxes 
 
 oxes- 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 oxan 
 
 oxe(n) 
 
 cx^^ 
 
 oxe 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 oxan 
 
 oxe(n) 
 
 oxe^^ 
 
 oxe 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 , Ace. 
 
 oxan 
 
 oxe(n) 
 
 
 oxen 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 oxena 
 
 oxene 
 
 oxen 
 
 oxen 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 oxum 
 
 oxe(n) 
 
 
 oxen 
 
 Sometimes this type of inflection was extended to nouns that were not 
 weak nouns in Old English; as the plural of sune we sometimes find, for 
 example, sunen instead of sune or sunes. Likewise the weak genitive 
 plural ending -ene was sometimes extended to nouns that were not weak 
 in Old English; e.g., kingene king king of kings. 
 
 64. Summary. The endings, both historical and analogical, which 
 appear (in various combinations) in the strong noun declensions are as 
 follows: 
 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 — , -e 
 
 -e 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 -es, -e 
 
 -es 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 -e 
 
 — 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 — , -e 
 
 
 Plur. Nom.. 
 
 , Ace. 
 
 -es, -e, — 
 
 -es 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 -e 
 
 -es 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 -e(n) 
 
 -es 
 
 ADJECTIVES 
 
 65. Declension of Adjectives. In Old English, as in Modern Ger- 
 man, every adjective was inflected according to either one of two declen- 
 sions, the strong or the weak. The weak declension was used if the 
 adjective was preceded by a definite article, a demonstrative, or a posses- 
 
 '5 Inasmuch as the early Middle English ending -en was always liable to undergo 
 reduction to -e thru loss of final n (see note 57 above), sound change was no doubt an 
 important factor in the establishment of this form. 
 
56 
 
 ADJECTIVES 
 
 sive, or if the adjective modified a noun used in direct address; the strong 
 declension was used except under conditions that required the use of the 
 weak. In Middle English the two declensions of the adjective were 
 retained, but with much simplification of forms. As in the declension 
 of nouns, the simplification that took place in the inflection of adjectives 
 was the result of two causes, sound change and analogy. The historical 
 development is shown in the tables printed below: 
 
 66. Strong Declension. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 
 Historical Analogical 
 
 Late 
 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 
 
 
 (Early ME) 
 
 
 
 Masculine : 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 god 
 
 good 
 
 
 good 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 godes 
 
 goodes 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godum 
 
 goode(n) 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 godne 
 
 goodne 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. 
 
 gode 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 g5dra 
 
 goodre, gooder 
 
 goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Femine: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 god 
 
 good 
 
 
 good 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 godre 
 
 goodre, gooder 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godre 
 
 goodre, gooder 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 gode 
 
 goode 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. 
 
 goda 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 godra 
 
 goodre, gooder 
 
 goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 
 god 
 
 good 
 
 
 good 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 godes 
 
 goodes 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 good 
 
 good 
 
 Ace. 
 
 
 god 
 
 good 
 
 
 good 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. 
 
 g5de 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 
 godra 
 
 goodre, gooder goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 •" Inasmuch as the early Middle EngUsh ending -en was always liable to undergo 
 reduction to -e thru loss of final n (see note 57 above), sound change was no doubt an 
 important factor in the establishment of this form. ' 
 
PRONOUNS 
 
 57 
 
 67. Weak Declension. 
 
 ol; 
 
 D ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Anological 
 
 Late 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 ME 
 
 
 
 (Early ME) 
 
 
 
 Masculine: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 goda 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode(n) 
 
 goode''^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode-^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Ace. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode'^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. g5dan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godena 
 
 goodene 
 
 goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^'^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Feminine: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 gode 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^° 
 
 goode 
 
 Ace. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godena 
 
 goodene 
 
 goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Neuter: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 gode 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godan 
 
 goode(n) 
 
 good^^ 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 g5dan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 good^° 
 
 goode 
 
 Ace. 
 
 gode 
 
 goode 
 
 
 goode 
 
 Plur. Nom., 
 
 Ace. godan 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode''" 
 
 goode 
 
 Gen. 
 
 godena 
 
 goodene 
 
 goode 
 
 goode 
 
 Dat. 
 
 godum 
 
 goode (n) 
 
 goode^" 
 
 goode 
 
 PRONOUNS 
 68. Declension of Pronouns. The development of the Middle 
 English pronouns is more complex than that of the noun and adjective 
 inflections. One reason is that the Old English pronouns had a good 
 many variant forms, any one of which might become the basis of a cor- 
 responding ^liddle English form. Another reason is that pronouns are 
 
 ^•^ Inasmuch as the early Middle EiigUsh ending -en was always liable to reduction 
 to -e thru loss of final n (see note 57 above), sound change was no doubt an important 
 factor in the establishment of this form. 
 
58 
 
 PRONOUNS 
 
 often weakly stressed, and the sound changes that take place in weakly 
 stressed syllables are not always the same as those that take place in 
 strongly stressed syllables. In the following tables, as in those given 
 above, the historical forms that developed by sound change are printed 
 in Roman type, analogical forms in italics." 
 
 > 69. First Personal Pronoun. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 
 MI 
 
 DDLE EN< 
 
 GLISH 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 ic 
 
 
 ich 
 
 m, 
 
 I[i] 
 
 Gen. 
 
 min 
 
 
 mi(n) 
 
 
 
 Dat. 
 
 me 
 
 
 me 
 
 
 
 Ace. 
 
 me 
 
 
 me 
 
 
 
 Plur. Nom. 
 
 we 
 
 
 we 
 
 
 
 Gen. 
 
 ure 
 
 
 ure 
 
 
 
 Dat., Ace. 
 
 us 
 
 
 us 
 
 [us], [us] 
 
 
 70. Second Personal Pronoun. 
 
 
 
 
 Sing. Nom. 
 
 tfi 
 
 
 I>u 
 
 
 
 Gen. 
 
 \nn 
 
 
 bi(n) 
 
 
 
 Dat. 
 
 n 
 
 
 he 
 
 
 
 Ace. 
 
 he 
 
 
 he 
 
 
 
 Plur. Nom. 
 
 ge 
 
 
 5e 
 
 m 
 
 
 Gen. 
 
 eower 
 
 
 eower 
 
 [eouar], ower [guar], jur [jur] 
 
 Dat., Ace. 
 
 eow 
 
 
 eow 
 
 [eou], ow 
 
 [qu], 5u [ju] 
 
 71. Third Personal Pronoun. 
 
 
 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 Masculine SinguL 
 
 ar: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nom. he 
 
 
 he 
 
 
 
 
 Gen. his 
 
 
 his 
 
 
 
 
 Dat. him 
 
 
 him 
 
 
 
 
 Ace. hine 
 
 
 hine 
 
 
 
 him. 
 
 Feminine Singula 
 
 x: 
 
 
 
 
 
 Nom. heo, hi 
 
 
 heo, he [he], ho [ho], hi [hi] 
 
 
 Gen. hire 
 
 
 hire 
 
 
 
 here 
 
 Dat. hire 
 
 
 hire 
 
 
 
 here 
 
 Ace. hi, heo 
 
 
 hi [hi]; heo, he [he], ho [ho] 
 
 hire, here 
 
 •' These tables do not attempt to give all the Middle English pronominal forms, 
 but only the commoner and more characteristic ones. No account is taken of mere 
 variations of spelling. 
 

 PRONOUNS 
 
 5 
 
 Neuter Singular: 
 
 
 
 Nom. hit 
 
 hit 
 
 
 Gen. his 
 
 his 
 
 
 Dat. him 
 
 him 
 
 hit 
 
 Ace. hit 
 
 hit 
 
 
 Plural (all genders) : 
 
 
 
 Nom. hi, heo 
 
 hi [hi]; heo, he [he], ho [ho] 
 
 
 Gen. hira, heora 
 
 hire, here 
 
 
 Dat. him, heom 
 
 him, hem 
 
 
 Ace. hi, heo 
 
 hi [hi]; heo, he, [he], ho [ho] 
 
 him, hem 
 
 72. Demonstrative Pronoun and Definite Article. 
 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 Analogical 
 forms 
 
 Masculine Singular: 
 
 
 
 Nom. se 
 
 se 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Gen. I^aes 
 
 bes, bas 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Dat. J>jem, J)am 
 
 ben, ban 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Ace. bone, jjaene 
 
 bone, bene, \>saie 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Inst. J)y, Jjon, jje 
 
 bi, bon, be 
 
 
 Feminine Singular: 
 
 
 
 Nom. seo 
 
 seo, se 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Gen. bare 
 
 bere, bare 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Dat. \>xTe 
 
 bere, bare 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Ace. \)a 
 
 bo [\>q], ba [ba] 
 
 Pe, pat 
 
 Neuter Singular: 
 
 
 
 Nom. \>set 
 
 bet, bat 
 
 Pe 
 
 Gen. \>ses 
 
 bes, bas 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Dat. \>sbm, \)am 
 
 ben, ban 
 
 pe, pat 
 
 Ace. \>set 
 
 bet, bat 
 
 pe 
 
 Inst. \>y, |jon, be 
 
 bi, bon, be 
 
 
 Plural (all genders) : 
 
 
 
 Nom. ba 
 
 bo [bg], ba [ba] 
 
 Pe 
 
 Gen. ^aia, \>xTa 
 
 bare, bere 
 
 pe,po 
 
 Dat. \>sbm, \fam 
 
 ben, ban 
 
 pe,po 
 
 Ace. \>a 
 
 bo, ba 
 
 Pe 
 
 59 
 
60 VERBS 
 
 VERBS 
 
 73. Weak Verbs. In Middle English, as in Old English and all 
 other Germanic languages, there are two conjugations of verbs, the 
 strong and the weak. Weak verbs form their preterit by means of a 
 sufhx containing d or t followed by endings indicative of person and 
 number. From the point of view of their development in Middle English, 
 we may say that there were two types of weak verbs in Old English, 
 Verbs of the first type had preterits ending in -ede or -ode and past 
 participles ending in -ed or -od; for example, 
 
 fremman (make) 
 
 fremede 
 
 fremed 
 
 erian (plow) 
 
 erede 
 
 ered 
 
 lufian (love) 
 
 lufode 
 
 lufod 
 
 In Middle EngUsh the distinction between lufian, with preterit in -ode, 
 and fremman and erian, with preterits in -ede, was done away with by 
 the process of sound change, so that the earliest Middle English forms 
 of these verbs were 
 
 fremme(n) 
 
 fremede 
 
 fremed 
 
 erie(n) 
 
 erede 
 
 ered 
 
 luvie(n) 
 
 luvede 
 
 luved 
 
 These verbs, which we shall call weak verbs of Type I, therefore had in 
 Middle English preterits ending in -ede and past participles ending in 
 -ed. In early Middle English the infinitive of these verbs ended in 
 -e(n) or -ie(n), but in late Middle English, by the process of analogy, 
 the ending -ie(n) was displaced by the commoner ending -e(n). 
 
 Old English verbs of the second type had preterits ending in -de or 
 -te and past participles ending in -ed, -d, or -t; for example: 
 
 deman (judge) demde demed 
 
 felan (feel) felde feled 
 
 fedan (feed) fedde feded, fedd 
 
 wendan (turn) wende wended, wend 
 
 cepan (keep) cepte ceped 
 
 metan (meet) mette meted, mett 
 
 settan (set) sette seted, sett 
 
 secan (seek) sohte soht 
 
 l^encan (think) \>ohte J^oht 
 
VERBS 
 
 61 
 
 In Middle English these verbs developed, according to the regular laws 
 of sound change, as follows: 
 
 deme(n) [deman] 
 
 demde [demda] 
 
 demed [demad] 
 
 £ele(n) [febn] 
 
 felte [fglta] 
 
 feled [felad] 
 
 fede(n) [fedan] 
 
 fedde [fgdda] 
 
 fed [f?d] 
 
 wende(n) [wgndan] 
 
 wente [wgnta] 
 
 went [wgnt] 
 
 kepe(n) [kepan] 
 
 kepte [k?pta] 
 
 keped [kepad] 
 
 mete(n) [metan] 
 
 mette [mgtta] 
 
 met [mgt] 
 
 sette(n) [sgttan] 
 
 sette [sgtta] 
 
 set [s^t] 
 
 seche(n) [setfan] 
 
 soughte [sQuhta] 
 
 sought [sQuht] 
 
 }7enche(n) [[;gntfan] 
 
 })oughte [|)Quhta] 
 
 fought [bQuht] 
 
 These verbs, which we shall call weak verbs of Type II, therefore had in 
 Middle EngUsh preterits ending in -de or -te and past participles ending 
 in -ed, d, or t. It will be observed that (in accordance with the sound 
 law stated above in section 43, la) the long vowels of felen, feden, kepen, 
 and meten are shortened in the preterit, where they were followed by a 
 double consonant or a combination of consonants. 
 
 74. Strong Verbs. Strong verbs form their preterit, not by the 
 addition of a sufiSix, but by means of a change in the vowel of the stem of 
 the verb. This change is called "ablaut, " and the strong verbs are fre- 
 quently-called "ablaut verbs." The preterit plural of these verbs 
 usually has a different vowel from the preterit singular; the principal 
 parts therefore are the infinitive, the preterit indicative first person singu- 
 lar, the preterit indicative plural, and the past participle. 
 
 In Old English there were seven classes of strong verbs; the principal 
 parts of verbs representative of these seven classes are as follows: 
 
 I. 
 
 ridan {ride) 
 
 rad 
 
 ridon 
 
 riden 
 
 II. 
 
 creopan (creep) 
 
 creap 
 
 crupon 
 
 cropen 
 
 III. 
 
 bindan (bind) 
 
 band, bond 
 
 bundon 
 
 bunden 
 
 
 helpan (help) 
 
 healp 
 
 hulpon 
 
 holpen 
 
 
 sterfan {die) 
 
 stearf 
 
 sturfon 
 
 storfen 
 
 IV. 
 
 beran (bear) 
 
 bier 
 
 b^ron 
 
 boren 
 
 V. 
 
 specan (speak) 
 
 spaec 
 
 sp«con 
 
 specen 
 
 VI. 
 
 scacan (shake) 
 
 scoc 
 
 scocon 
 
 scacen 
 
 VII. 
 
 sl^pan (sleep) 
 
 slep 
 
 slepon 
 
 slapen 
 
 
 healdan (hold) 
 
 heold 
 
 heoldon 
 
 healden 
 
62 
 
 VERBS 
 
 By the operation of the sound changes which have been explained in sec- 
 tions 42 and 43, these Old English forms developed into the following 
 Middle English forms r"^ 
 
 I. ride(n) [ridan] 
 11. crepe(n) [krepan] 
 
 III. binde(n) [bindan] 
 
 helpe(n) [hglpan] 
 sterve(n) [stgrvan] 
 
 IV. bere(n) [bgran] 
 V. speke(n) [sp^kan] 
 
 VI. shake(n) [fakan] 
 
 VII. slepe(n) [slepan] 
 
 holde(n) [hgldan] 
 
 rod [rQd] 
 creep [kr|p] 
 band [band] 
 bond [bgnd] 
 halp [halp] 
 starf [starf] 
 bar [bar] 
 spak [spak] 
 shook [fok] 
 sleep [slep] 
 heeld [held] 
 
 ride(n) [ridan] 
 crupe(n) [krupan] 
 bunde(n) [bundan] 
 
 hulpe(n) [hulpan] 
 sturve(n) [sturvan] 
 bere(n) [beran] 
 speke(n) [spekan] 
 shooke(n) [fokan] 
 sleepe(n) [slepan] 
 heelde(n) [heldan] 
 
 ride(n) [ridan] 
 crope(n) [krgpan] 
 bunde(n) [bundan] 
 
 holpe(n) [hglpan] 
 storve(n) [stgrvan] 
 bore(n) [bgran] 
 speke(n) [spekan] 
 shake (n) [fakan] 
 slepe(n) [slepan] 
 holde(n) [hQldan] 
 
 75. Analogical Forms. The forms that developed from the Old 
 English forms by sound change are those that occur in early Middle 
 English, but in later Middle English we meet with a good many ana- 
 logical forms. The most important results of analogy were these: 
 
 1. Strong verbs often acquired weak preterits; e.g., crepte [krgpta], 
 slepte [slgpta], in place of creep, sleep. 
 
 2. The vowel of the preterit plural was often substituted for the 
 vowel of the preterit singular; e.g., beer [ber], with the vowel of the 
 preterit plural, displaced bar. 
 
 3. The vowel of the preterit singular was often substituted for the 
 vowel of the preterit plural; e.g., bare(n) [baran], with the vowel of the 
 preterit singular (lengthened when it came to stand in an open syllable) ,^^ 
 displaced bere(n) [beran]. 
 
 4. The vowel of the past participle was often substituted for the 
 vowel of the preterit plural; e.g., crope(n) [krgpan], with the vowel of 
 the past participle, displaced crupe(n). 
 
 •*The Middle English forms here given are those of the Midland dialect; the Old 
 English forms given above are those of the West-Saxon dialect (see note 37 above) 
 The Mercian dialect of Old English, which was that from which the Midland dialect 
 of Middle English was derived, had some forms which differed from those of the 
 West-Saxon dialect. In place of b^ron, sp^con, and slepan it had beron, specon 
 and slepan, and in place of healdan and healden it had haldan and balden. 
 
 " See section 43, lb, above. 
 
VERBS 
 
 63 
 
 5. In the past participles of verbs of Class V the vowel o [q] was sub- 
 stituted for the original vowel e, from the analogy of the past participle 
 of verbs of Class IV; e.g., spoke(n) [spQkan], with the vowel of bore(n) 
 [bgran], displaced speke(n) [spgkan]. 
 
 76. Endings of Weak Verbs. The historical development of the 
 Middle English forms of the weak verb is shown in the tables printed 
 below. Weak verbs of Type I are exemplified by Old English erian 
 {plow) and iufian (love) ; weak verbs of Type II are exemplified by Old 
 English deman {judge). 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 erie 
 
 erie 
 
 ere 
 
 2 crest 
 
 erest 
 
 
 3 ere)? 
 
 ere}? 
 
 
 Plur. eriab 
 
 erie]) 
 
 erep, ere{n)^^ 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 erede 
 
 erede 
 
 
 2 eredest 
 
 eredest 
 
 
 3 erede 
 
 erede 
 
 
 Plur. eredon 
 
 erede (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, erie 
 
 erie 
 
 ere 
 
 Plur. erien 
 
 erie(n) 
 
 ere{n) 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, erede 
 
 erede 
 
 
 Plur. ereden 
 
 erede (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 2 ere 
 
 ere 
 
 
 Plur. 2 eriaj) 
 
 eriel> 
 
 erep 
 
 Infinitive erian 
 
 erie(n) 
 
 ere{n) 
 
 Gerund to erienne 
 
 to eriene 
 
 to erene, to ere{n) 
 
 Pres. Participle eriende 
 
 eriende, eriinde^^ erende, erinde,^^ 
 
 Past Participle ered 
 
 ermge 
 ered 
 
 " The ending -e(n) in the present indicative plural is a characteristic of the Mid- 
 land dialect; the ending -e\> is a characteristic of the Southern dialect. 
 
 " The ending -inde is a characteristic of the Southern dialect, the ending -ende 
 of the Midland dialect. 
 
64 
 
 VERBS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 lufie 
 
 luvie, luvi 
 
 luve 
 
 2 lufast 
 
 luvest 
 
 
 3 lufab 
 
 luve|> 
 
 
 Plur. lufiab 
 
 luviel? 
 
 luvep, luve(ny* 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 lufode 
 
 luvede 
 
 
 2 lufodest 
 
 luvedest 
 
 
 3 lufode 
 
 luvede 
 
 
 Plur. lufodon 
 
 luvede (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, lufie 
 
 luvie, luvi 
 
 luve 
 
 Plur. lufien 
 
 luvie (n), luvi(n) 
 
 luve(n) 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, lufode 
 
 luvede 
 
 
 Plur. lufoden 
 
 luvede (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 2 lufa 
 
 luve 
 
 
 Plur. 2 lufiab 
 
 luviej) 
 
 luvep 
 
 Infinitive lufian 
 
 luvie (n), luvi(n) 
 
 luve(n) 
 
 Gerund to lufienne 
 
 to luviene 
 
 to luvene, 
 to luve{n) 
 
 Pres. Participle lufiende 
 
 luviende, luviinde^ luvende, luvinde} 
 
 
 
 luvinge 
 
 Past Participle lufod 
 
 luved 
 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 deme 
 
 deme 
 
 
 2 deme St, demst 
 
 demest, demst 
 
 
 3 demeb, dem|j 
 
 demel>, deml> 
 
 
 Plur. demal> 
 
 demeb 
 
 demeinY'^ 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 demde 
 
 demde 
 
 
 2 demdest 
 
 demdest 
 
 
 3 demde 
 
 demde 
 
 
 Plur. demdon 
 
 demde (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, deme 
 
 deme 
 
 
 Plur. demen 
 
 deme(n) 
 
 
 " The ending -e(n) in the present indicative plural is a characteristic of the Mid- 
 land dialect; the ending -e\> is a characteristic of the Southern dialect. 
 
 *^The ending -inde is a characteristic of the Southern dialect, the ending -ende 
 of the Midland dialect. 
 
VERBS 
 
 65 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing 
 
 demde 
 
 demde 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 demden 
 
 demde (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 
 
 2 dem 
 
 dem 
 
 deme 
 
 Plur. 
 
 2 demaj) 
 
 demeb 
 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 deman 
 
 deme(n) 
 
 
 Gerund 
 
 to demenne 
 
 to demene 
 
 to deme(n) 
 
 Pres. Participle 
 
 demende 
 
 demende, 
 
 
 
 
 deminde*'^ 
 
 demin^e 
 
 Past Participle 
 
 demed 
 
 demed 
 
 
 77. Endings of Strong Verbs. The historical development of the 
 Middle Enghsh forms of the strong verb, exemplified by Old English 
 ridan {ride) and bindan {bind), is shown in the tables printed below. ■ 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 ride 
 
 
 ride 
 
 
 2 ridest, 
 
 ritst 
 
 ridest, ritst 
 
 
 3 ridel?, 
 
 ritt 
 
 ridej>, rit 
 
 
 Plur. ridaj? 
 
 
 ridejj 
 
 ride{ny^ 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 rad 
 
 
 rood 
 
 
 2 ride" 
 
 
 ride 
 
 rood 
 
 3 rad 
 
 
 rood 
 
 
 Plur. ridon 
 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, ride 
 
 
 ride 
 
 
 Plur. riden 
 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, ride 
 
 
 ride 
 
 
 Plur. riden 
 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 2 rid 
 
 
 rid 
 
 
 Plur. 2 ridah 
 
 
 rideb 
 
 
 ^ The ending -inde is a characteristic of the Southern dialect, the ending -ende 
 of the Midland dialect. 
 
 ^ The ending -e(n) in the present indicative plural is a characteristic of the Mid- 
 land dialect; the ending -e\> is a characteristic of the Southern dialect. 
 
 *' It should be observed that the preterit indicative 2 singular of the strong verbs 
 has the vowel of the preterit plural. 
 
66 
 
 VERBS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 Historical Analogical 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 ridan 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 
 Gerund 
 
 to ridenne 
 
 to ridene 
 
 to ride{n) 
 
 Pres. Participle 
 
 ridende 
 
 ridende, ridinde®^ 
 
 ridinge 
 
 Past Participle 
 
 riden 
 
 ride(n) 
 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 
 
 1 binde 
 
 binde 
 
 
 
 2 bindest, bintst 
 
 bindest, bintst 
 
 
 
 3 binde}), bint 
 
 bindeb, bint 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 binda]? 
 
 bindej) 
 
 hinde{n)^ 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 
 
 1 band, bond 
 
 band, bond 
 
 
 
 2 bunde«' 
 
 bunde 
 
 hand, bond 
 
 
 3 band, bond 
 
 band, bond 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 bundon 
 
 bunde (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing 
 
 binde 
 
 binde 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 binden 
 
 binde (n) 
 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, 
 
 bunde 
 
 bunde 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 bunden 
 
 bunde (n) 
 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 
 
 2 bind 
 
 bind 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 2 bindaj) 
 
 binde 1> 
 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 bindan 
 
 binde (n) 
 
 
 Genmd 
 
 to bindenne 
 
 to bindene 
 
 to binde(n) 
 
 Pres. Participle 
 
 bindende 
 
 bindende, 
 bindinde^^ 
 
 hindinge 
 
 Past Participle 
 
 bunden 
 
 bunde (n) 
 
 
 78. Preteritive-Present Verbs. The preteritive-present (or strong- 
 weak) verbs have present indicatives which are like the preterit indica- 
 tives of strong verbs in that they have no ending in the first and third 
 persons singular and have the ending -e(n) (from Old English -on) in 
 
 "The ending -inde is a characteristic of the Southern dialect, the ending -ende 
 of the Midland dialect. 
 
 •* The ending -e(n) in the present indicative plural is a characteristic of the Mid- 
 land dialect, the -ej» ending is that of the Southern dialect. 
 
 " It should be observed that the preterit indicative 2 singular of the strong verbs 
 has the vowel of the preterit plural. 
 
VERBS 
 
 67 
 
 the plural. The preterits of these verbs are weak. The indicative 
 forms of Middle English shal, for example, are as follows: 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 
 
 1 shal 
 
 
 2 shah 
 
 
 3 shal 
 
 Plur. 
 
 shule(n) 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 
 
 1 sholde 
 
 
 2 sholdest 
 
 
 3 sholde 
 
 Plur. 
 
 sholde (n' 
 
 The most important of the preteritive-present verbs are: 
 
 owen, own, be under obligation 
 
 cunnen, know, be able 
 
 muwen, be able 
 
 moten, be permitted, be under obligation 
 
 shulen, be under obligation, be about to 
 
 when, know 
 
 79. The historical development of the preteritive-present verbs is 
 
 shown in the following tables: 
 
 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 ah, ag 
 
 ouh [Quh], ow [qu] 
 
 owe [qu9] 
 
 2 ahst 
 
 ouhst [Quhst] 
 
 owest [Quast] 
 
 3 ah, ag 
 
 ouh [Quh], ow [qu] 
 
 owep [qu3})] 
 
 Plur. agon 
 
 owe(n) [Quan] 
 
 owep [Qual>]^* 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 ahte 
 
 ouhte [Quhta] 
 
 
 Infinitive agan 
 
 owe(n) [gudn] 
 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 cann, conn 
 
 can, con 
 
 
 2 canst, const 
 
 canst, const 
 
 
 3 cann, conn 
 
 can, con 
 
 
 Plur. cunnon 
 
 cunne(n) 
 
 
 '* This form occurs only in the Southern dialect. 
 
68 
 
 VERBS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 cu|)e 
 
 cul^e [kutJa] 
 
 cude [ku( 
 
 Infinitive cunnan 
 
 cunne(n) 
 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 maeg mai, mei 
 
 2 meaht, miht maht, maiht, meiht, maist 
 
 mauht, mouht, miht 
 
 3 maeg mai, mei 
 
 Plur. magon, mugon*^^ mawe(n), muwe(n) 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 meahte, mihte mahte, maihte, muhle 
 
 meihte, mauhte, 
 mouhte, mihte 
 Infinitive magan, mugan'" mawe(n), muwe(n) 
 
 Pres. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 mot 
 
 mot 
 
 
 
 2 most 
 
 most 
 
 
 
 3 mot 
 
 mot 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 moton 
 
 mote(n) 
 
 Pret. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 moste 
 
 moste 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 
 motan 
 
 mote(n) 
 
 Pres. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 sceal 
 
 shal, shel 
 
 
 
 2 scealt 
 
 shalt, shelt 
 
 
 
 3 sceal 
 
 shal, shel 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 sculon 
 
 shule(n) 
 
 Pret. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 scolde 
 
 sholde 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 
 sculan 
 
 shule(n) 
 
 Pres. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 wat 
 
 wot 
 
 
 
 2 wast 
 
 wost 
 
 
 
 3 wat 
 
 wot 
 
 
 Plur. 
 
 witon 
 
 wite(n) 
 
 Pret. Ind. 
 
 Sing. 
 
 1 wiste 
 
 wiste, wuste 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 
 witan 
 
 wite(n) 
 
 shulde 
 
 •' The form mugon is not recorded in Old English, but is inferred from the Middle 
 English forms. 
 
 '" The form mugan is not recorded in Old English, but is inferred from the Middle 
 English forms. 
 
VERBS 
 
 69 
 
 80. Anomalous Verbs. The historical development of the Middle 
 English verb bee(n), be, was as follows: 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 eora, beo 
 eam^^ 
 
 2 eart bist 
 
 3 is h\\> 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 Historical Analogical 
 
 forms 
 
 em, 
 am 
 art 
 is 
 
 Plur. sindon, beol? sinde(n), 
 
 be 
 
 bist 
 
 bib 
 
 bee|> 
 
 forms 
 
 beest 
 beep 
 bee(ny* 
 
 earon'-^ 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 waes 
 
 2 wiere 
 
 3 was 
 Plur. wjeron 
 
 Pres. Subj. Sing, sie 
 Plur. sien 
 
 Pret. Subj. Sing, ware 
 Plur. wjeren 
 
 Pres. Imp. Sing. 2 
 Plur. 2 
 
 Infinitive 
 
 beo 
 
 are(n)'^^ 
 wes, was 
 were 
 wes, was 
 were(n) 
 si 
 
 beon si(n) 
 were 
 were(n) 
 
 beo 
 
 beob 
 
 beon 
 
 be 
 
 bee(n) 
 
 be 
 
 beeb 
 
 bee(n) 
 
 The historical development of the Middle English verbs don, dj, 
 and willen, will, in the indicative was as follows: 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 do 
 
 2 des 
 
 3 dej> 
 Plur. dob 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 Historical Analogical 
 
 forms forms 
 do 
 
 dest (iost 
 
 deb dop 
 
 dob Mny^ 
 
 '' earn is the Mercian form, eom the West-Saxon. 
 
 '= earon is the ^lercian form, sindon was used in all the Old EngUsh dialects. 
 
 '^ are(n) was not used in the Southern dialect, but only in the Midland and North. 
 
 '« bee(n) is a Midland form; it was not used in the South. 
 
 " do(n) is the Midland form; it was not used in the South. 
 
70 
 
 VERBS 
 
 OLD ENGLISH 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH 
 
 
 Historical 
 
 Analogical 
 
 
 forms 
 
 forms 
 
 Pret. Ind, Sing. 1 dyde 
 
 dide, dude [dyda] 
 
 
 2 dydest 
 
 didest, dudest 
 
 
 3 dyde 
 
 dide, dude 
 
 
 Plur. dydon 
 
 dide(n), dude(n) 
 
 
 Past Participle don 
 
 don 
 
 
 Pres. Ind. Sing. 1 wille 
 
 wille, wulle 
 
 wile, wide 
 
 2 wilt 
 
 wilt, wult 
 
 
 3 wile 
 
 wile, wule 
 
 wille, wulle 
 
 Plur. willal> 
 
 wille}?, wullej) 
 
 wille{n), 
 wulle{ny^ 
 
 Pret. Ind. Sing. 1 wolde 
 
 wolde 
 
 wulde 
 
 2 woldest 
 
 woldest 
 
 wuldest 
 
 3 wolde 
 
 wolde 
 
 wulde 
 
 Plur. woldon 
 
 wolde (n) 
 
 wuldein) 
 
 '• wille(n) and wulle(n) are Midland forms. 
 
PART V 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH DIALECTS 
 
 81. Distribution of the Middle English Dialects. There were four 
 chief dialects of Middle Enghsh, the Southern, the Kentish, the Midland, 
 and the Northern. The Southern dialect was spoken south of the 
 Thames, except in Kent. The Midland dialect was spoken in the dis- 
 trict which lay (roughly) between the Thames on the south and the 
 mouth of the Humber on the north. The Northern dialect was spoken 
 in the district which lay (roughly) north of the mouth of the Humber; 
 this district included Yorkshire and its adjacent counties and the low- 
 lands of Scotland. The territory of the Midland dialect is further 
 divided into the North and the South Midland and the East and the West 
 Midland. 
 
 82. The Southern Dialect. The most important characteristics of 
 the Southern dialect are the following: 
 
 I. Vowel Sounds. The development of the Old English vowels and 
 diphthongs in the Midland dialect of Middle English has been given 
 above in 42. The development of the Old English vowel sounds in the 
 Southern dialect was the same as in the Midland dialect except that 
 Old Enghsh y and y, which had the sound of [y] and [y], preserved their 
 original quality in the Southern dialect, tho the sounds were spelled in 
 Middle Enghsh with u or ui instead of y; e.g., OE fyr. Southern ME vur, 
 vuir; OE fyllan. Southern ME vuUen." 
 
 " In many words the Southern dialect has [«] where the Midland and Northern 
 dialects have [e]. This dialect difference originated in Old Enghsh, for West-Saxon 
 X appears in the Anglian dialect as e unless the x. is the result of unilaut. In Southern 
 Middle English we therefore have [d?d] from West-Saxon dfed, but in the Midland 
 and Northern dialects we have [ded] from Anglian ded. In all three dialects, however, 
 we have Middle Enghsh [h|l>] from West-Saxon and Anglian h£e|>. See note 37 above. 
 The Anglian dialect of Old English included the Mercian dialect, from which the Mid- 
 land dialect of Middle English was derived, and the Northumbrian dialect, from which 
 the Northern dialect of Middle English was derived. 
 
72 SOUTHERN DIALECT 
 
 II. Consonant Sounds. The Old English initial voiceless spirants 
 [f], [s], and [\)] changed to the corresponding voiced spirants [v], [z], and 
 [tJ]; e.g., OE for, Southern ME vor; OE song, Southern ME zong; OE 
 \>set [\>xt], Southern ME bat [Sat]J^ 
 
 III. Final e. Final e was retained in pronunciation thruout the 
 fourteenth century. 
 
 IV. Inflections. 
 
 1. Nouns. 
 
 (a) The historical forms of the noun declensions (see 49 ff. 
 above) were displaced only slowly by analogical forms. Geni- 
 tive and dative singulars in e, nominative, genitive, and 
 accusative plurals in e, and dative plurals in e(n) are common 
 in texts of the thirteenth century and occur occasionally in 
 texts of the fourteenth century. 
 
 (b) The distinctions of grammatical gender were maintained 
 with a considerable degree of correctness thruout the first half 
 of the thirteenth century, and relics of grammatical gender 
 are found even in texts of the first half of the fourteenth 
 century. 
 
 2. Adjectives. 
 
 The historical forms of the genitive, dative, and accus- 
 ative in the strong adjective declension (see 65 ff. above) 
 were displaced only slowly by analogical forms; the historical 
 forms occur frequently in texts of the first half of the thir- 
 teenth century. 
 
 3. Pronouns. 
 
 (a) The historical forms of the genitive, dative, and accusa- 
 tive of the definite article and demonstrative \)e (se), \)af^ 
 (see 72 above) were displaced only slowly by analogical 
 
 '* The initial [v] is indicated prett}' consistenth' ia the spelling of Southern Middle 
 English texts; the initial [z] is indicated by the spelling of one text only, for the letter z 
 was Uttle used by the Middle English scribes. The initial [tJ] is not indicated by 
 spelling at all, for the scribes had no way of distinguishing the sounds of [S] and [|j] 
 in writing. 
 
 " In the Southern dialect !>at is used as the definite article as well as the demon- 
 strative; in the Midland and Northern dialects hat is used only as the demonstrative. 
 
KENTISH DIALECT 73 
 
 forms; the historical forms are common in the first half of 
 the thirteenth centm-y and occasional until the middle of the 
 fourteenth century. 
 
 (b) The pronouns ha {he, she, they, them), hare {her, their), 
 and ham {them) were in frequent use. 
 
 4. Verbs. 
 
 (a) The ending of the present indicative plural of strong 
 verbs was -e|); the ending of the present indicative plural 
 of weak verbs was -e}? or -ie}>.^'^ 
 
 (b) The ending of the present participle of strong verbs was 
 -inde, later -inge; the ending of the present participle of weak 
 verbs was -inde, later -inge, or -iinde, later -inge. 
 
 (c) Weak verbs Hke erien and luvien (see 76 above) preserved 
 their historical endings, -ie, -ie(n), etc., thruout the four- 
 teenth century with little substitution of analogical forms. 
 
 83. The Kentish Dialect. The characteristics of the Kentish dia- 
 lect are the same as those of the Southern dialect except with regard 
 to vowel sounds. The development of the Old English vowels and diph- 
 thongs in the Kentish dialect differs in the following respects from the 
 development which these sounds underwent in the Southern and Mid- 
 land dialects: 
 
 1. Old Enghsh^^ y and y became Kentish [e] and [§]; e.g., OE fyr, 
 Kentish ME ver [ver]; OE fyllan, Kentish ME vellen [vgllan]. 
 
 2. Old English ea became in Kentish a sound which is spelled ea, 
 ia, ya, yea; the pronunciation of this sound is uncertain, but it is 
 generally supposed to have been a diphthong, not a simple vowel; 
 e.g., OE stream, Kentish ME stream, striam, etc. 
 
 3. Old EngHsh eo became in Kentish a sound which is spelled ie, ye 
 i, y ; the pronunciation of this sound is uncertain, but it is generally 
 supposed to have been a diphthong; e.g., OE beon, Kentish ME 
 bien, byen, etc. 
 
 ••Likewise, bee|j is the Southern form of the present indicative plural of bee(n), 
 
 *' By Old English is meant here the West-Saxon dialect of Old English (see note 
 37 above). The Kentish dialect of Old EngUsh already had e and e where the West- 
 Saxon and Anglian dialects had y and y. 
 
74 MIDLAND DIALECT 
 
 4, Old English ie^^ (which in the other Middle English dialects gener- 
 ally became [e]) became in Kentish a sound which is spelled ie, ye ; 
 the pronunciation of this sound is uncertain, but it is generally- 
 supposed to have been a diphthong; e.g., OE nied, Kentish ME 
 nied, nyed; OE diere, Kentish ME diere, dyere.**^ 
 
 84. The Midland Dialect. The most important characteristics of 
 the Midland dialect are the following: 
 
 I. Final e. Final e was to a great extent retained in pronunciation 
 thruout the fourteenth century, but apocope of final e began before the 
 end of the thirteenth century. 
 
 II. Inflections. 
 
 1. Nouns and Adjectives. 
 
 (a) The analogical changes that took place in the inflection 
 of nouns (see 49 ff. above) and adjectives (see 65 ff.) were 
 carried out before the end of the twelfth century. 
 
 (b) The distinctions of grammatical gender were lost before 
 the end of the twelfth century. 
 
 2. Pronouns. 
 
 (a) The historical forms of the genitive, dative, and accusative 
 of the definite article and demonstrative \)e (se), {jat (see 72 
 above) were displaced by analogical forms before the end of 
 the twelfth century. 
 
 (b) The historical forms of the accusative of the third personal 
 pronoun (see 71 above) were displaced l)y dative forms before 
 the end of the twelfth century. 
 
 3. Verbs. 
 
 (a) The ending of the present indicative plural of strong and 
 weak verbs was -e(n). 
 
 *^The diphthong ie occurs only in the West-Saxon dialect of Old English; in 
 place of ie the other dialects had e, io, or co. 
 
 *'The Kentish dialect of Old English had e where the West-Saxon dialect had a; 
 in many words, therefore, Kentish Middle English has e where Southern IMiddle 
 English has §. , 
 
NON-NORTHERN DI.\LECT CHARACTERISTICS 75 
 
 (b) The ending of the present participle of strong and weak 
 verbs was -ende, later -inge or -ing. 
 
 (c) The historical endings (ie, ie(n), etc.) of weak verbs like 
 erien and luA-ien (see 76 above) were for the most part dis- 
 placed by analogical forms before the end of the twelfth cen- 
 tury. 
 
 85. Non-Northern Dialect Characteristics. The Southern and the 
 Midland dialects have in common certain characteristics which are not 
 shared by the Northern dialect: 
 
 I. Sounds. Old English a became [q] in Southern and Midland Mid- 
 dle English; e.g., OE stan, Southern and Midland ME stoon.^* 
 
 II. Inflections. 
 
 1. Pronouns. 
 
 (a) Both the Southern and the Midland dialects employed the 
 pronouns he, hi, ho {she, they) ; hem {them) ; and hire, here 
 {their) }^ 
 
 (b) Both the early Southern and the early Midland dialects 
 employed the pronoun his, is {her, it, them). 
 
 2. Verbs. 
 
 (a) The past participle of strong and weak verbs often had 
 the prefix i, y, from Old Enghsh ge; e.g., icume(n), past par- 
 ticiple of cume(n); the prefix is commoner in the Southern 
 dialect, however, than in the Midland. 
 
 (b) The difference of ablaut in the preterit singular and pre- 
 terit plural which existed in most of the strong verbs was on 
 the whole retained without much disturbance from analogy 
 (see 74 above). 
 
 " Old English ae is often spelled in early Southern and Midland ME with the 
 letter e; e.g., OE seitex, early ]ME efter; in later Middle English the sound is almost 
 uniformly spelled with a. 
 
 **The Southern dialect employed these pronouns exclusively, but the Midland 
 dialect also employed she, she; l^el; J)elr; ];eim, Jjem. See 86, II, 1 below. 
 
76 NON-SOUTHERN DIALECT CHARACTERISTICS 
 
 86. Non-Southern Dialect Characteristics. The Midland and the 
 Northern dialects have in common certain characteristics which are not 
 shared by the Southern dialect: 
 
 I. Sounds. Old English y and i became [i] and [i] in Midland and 
 Northern Middle Enghsh; e.g., OE fyr, Midland and Northern ME fir; 
 OE fyllan, Midland and Northern ME fillen.ss 
 
 II. Inflections. 
 
 1. Pronouns. 
 
 (a) Both the Midland and the Northern dialects employed the 
 pronoun she, sho {she)}'' 
 
 (b) Both the Midland and the Northern dialects employed the 
 pronouns l^ei {they)\ j^eir {their); beim, I?em {them)}^ 
 
 2. Verbs. 
 
 (a) Both the Midland and the Northern dialects employed 
 are(n) as the present indicative plural of the verb bee(n).8^ 
 
 (b) Both the Midland and the Northern dialects employ -es 
 as the ending of the present indicative second and third per- 
 sons singular of verbs.^" 
 
 *• For the relation between the vowels [e] and [g] in Southern on the one hand 
 and Midland and Northern on the other see note 77 above. 
 
 *' The Northern dialect employed she, sho, exclusively as the feminine nomina- 
 tive pronoun, but the Midland dialect employed both she and he, hi, ho (see 85, 11, 
 1 above). The pronoun she was on the whole commonest in the northern part of 
 the Midland territory, the pronoun he, hi, ho was commonest in the southern part 
 of the Midland territory. 
 
 **The Northern dialect employed jjei; J)eir; l>eim, l)em exclusively as the plural 
 pronouns of the third person, but the Midland dialect also employed he, hi, ho; hire, 
 here; hem (see 85, II, 1 above). The pronoun J>ei, etc. was most commonly used in 
 the northern part of the Midland territory, the pronoun he, etc. was commonest in 
 the southern part of the Midland territory. 
 
 *' The Midland dialect also employed the form bee(n) or be as the present indica- 
 tive plural of bee(n); are(n) was commonest in the northern part of the Midland 
 territory. 
 
 '"The ending -es was the regular ending of the present indicative second and 
 third persons singular in the Northern dialect (see 87 below) ; the Midland dialect 
 used regularly the endings -est and -el>, and the ending -es (especially for the third 
 person) occurs chiefly in the northern part of the Midland territory. 
 
NORTHERN DL\LECT 77 
 
 87. The Northern Dialect. The most important characteristics of 
 the Northern dialect are the following: 
 
 I. Sounds. 
 
 1. Old English a did not change to [q] but remained [a]; e.g., 
 OE Stan, Northern ME stan, Midland and Southern ME stoon. 
 By the end of the fourteenth century, however, the [a] seems to 
 have become [^] or [e].^^ 
 
 2. [g] and [k] appear in many words which have [j] and [tf] in 
 the Southern and Midland dialects; e.g.. Northern gif. Southern 
 and Midland yif; Northern kirk(e). Southern and Midland 
 chirche.^^ 
 
 3. Old EngHsh sc [i] became [s] in unaccented syllables and in 
 words that were generally pronounced with Httle stress; e.g 
 OE englisc, Northern ME inglis. Southern and Midland ME 
 english; OE sceal. Northern ME sal. Southern and Midland 
 ME shal; OE scolde, Northern ME solde, sulde, Southern 
 and Midland ME sholde, shulde. 
 
 4. Old English hw was spelled in the North qu; e.g., OE hwaet, 
 Northern ME quat, Southern and Midland ME what, wat. 
 The sound represented by the qu was probably that of a spirant 
 [h] followed by or combined with [w]. 
 
 II. Final e and e(n). Final e was entirely lost by about the middle 
 of the fourteenth century. Final n of the ending e(n) was lost before 
 the beginning of the fourteenth century, except in the past participles 
 of strong verbs. 
 
 III. Inflections.^^ 
 
 1. Adjectives. With the loss of final e about the middle of the 
 fourteenth century, all inflection of the adjective was lost. 
 
 " In the North the long vowels [a], [e], and [6] were often spelled ai, ay; ei, ey; 
 and 01, oy, particularly in the fifteenth century. 
 
 '2 This might better perhaps be considered a non-Southern than a Northern 
 characteristic, for g and k forms occur also m the Midland territor>'; they are more 
 numerous, however, in the North. 
 
 " With regard to the displacement of historical forms by analogical forms in the 
 inflection of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs, and with regard to the loss of 
 grammatical gender, the Northern dialect was even less conservative than the Mid- 
 land dialect. 
 
78 NORTHERN DIALECT 
 
 2. Pronouns, The plural of |>is (this) is l)ir or J^er. 
 
 3. Verbs. 
 
 (a) The ending of the'present indicative first person singular 
 and of the present indicative plural was -es unless the subject 
 of the verb was a personal pronoun whicli immediately preceded 
 or followed the verb, in which case the verb was without 
 ending or had the ending -e. The present indicative forms of 
 the verb find(e), for example, were 
 
 (1) Sing. 1 I find(e) 
 
 2 thou findes Plur. we, ye, they find(e) 
 
 3 he findes 
 
 (2) Sing. 1 I that findes 
 
 2 thou that findes Plur. we, ye, they that findes 
 
 3 he that findes 
 
 (b) The ending of the present participle was -and(e). 
 
 (c) The ending of the imperative plural was -es. 
 
 (d) The preterit singular and preterit plural of strong verbs 
 had the same vowel, the difference of ablaut which had existed 
 in most of the strong verbs (see 74 above) being done away 
 with by analogy; in most verbs the preterit plural took the 
 vowel of the preterit singular. Thus, with the loss of the end- 
 ing -e(n), the preterit singular and the preterit plural became 
 identical in form; e.g.. Northern he sang, we sang. Southern 
 and Midland he sang, we sunge(n). 
 
 (e) The ending of the past participle of strong verbs was 
 -en (never -e). 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 Middle English Spelling 
 
 88. Influence of Old English Spelling. In the beginning of the 
 Middle English period (roughly between 1050 and 1150) there occurred 
 a large number of changes of pronunciation, particularly in the vowel 
 sounds. Old English ae became [a]; Old Enghsh a became [q]; the Old 
 English diphthongs ea, ea, eo, and eo became the simple vowels [|], [a], 
 [e] and [§]; and a number of new diphthongs — [ai], [gi], [au], etc. — devel- 
 oped out of Old English sirnple vowels followed by g, w, h, etc.^^ While 
 these changes were going on and for some time after they had been 
 carried out, people continued to spell words in the way they had been 
 spelled in Old Enghsh. For example, Old English j^aet was spelled with 
 ae, Old Enghsh beon^^ was spelled with eo, Old English stream was spelled 
 with ea, and Old English stan was spelled with a after the pronunciation 
 of these words had become [\>at], [ben], [str|m], and [stqn]. But the 
 changes that had taken place in pronunciation were so numerous that 
 it proved to be impossible to maintain the old system of spelling. Con- 
 fusion in spelling soon arose. Since words that were spelled with eo 
 and with e came to have the same sound in Middle Enghsh, people re- 
 garded the two signs as interchangeable; they would therefore spell Old 
 English beon and weorc with e, and Old English swete and helpan with 
 eo. Moreover, ea and eo were enough alike in appearance to be confused 
 in use, so that [ben], from Old English beon was sometimes spelled with 
 ea and [str|m], from Old Enghsh stream was sometimes spelled with 
 eo. As a result, the spelling of the vowel sounds in the earliest Middle 
 
 ^* For an account of these sound changes see 42, 43, 46 above. 
 
 '^ The Old English manuscripts as a rule make no distinction between long and 
 short vowels and diphthongs; been, for example, with a long diphthong, and weorc, 
 with a short diphthong, are both spelled with eo. The marks of length are added by 
 modern editors. Nor do the manuscripts distinguish c (i.e., [tf]) from c (i.e., [k]) or 
 ^ (i.e., [j]) from g (i.e., [s]). The dot is added by modern editors. 
 
80 MIDDLE ENGLISH SPELLING 
 
 English texts exhibits great confusion, which gradually diminished, how- 
 ever, as the digraphs ea and eo fell more and more into disuse and as the 
 character ae gave place to a as a means of representing the vowel [a]. 
 
 89. Influence of Old French Spelling. There is no doubt that in the 
 course of time the confusion of early Middle English spelling would 
 have been done away with and that a good system of spelling Middle 
 English would have been evolved on the basis of the Old English system 
 if the English people had been left to themselves. But they were not 
 left to themselves. French was the language of the superior class from 
 1066 to the middle of the fourteenth century. Educated people read 
 French books and were expected to be able to write as well as speak the 
 French language; French words were adopted into the language and kept 
 their French spelUngs when used in writing. As a result, people began to 
 spell certain English sounds according to the French system of spelling. 
 The most important changes that came about were these: 
 
 1. [§], spelled in OE with ae and in early ME with ae or ea, came to 
 be spelled with e, as in French; e.g., early ME hsd]>, later ME he]> 
 or heeth. 
 
 2. [u], spelled in OE and early ME with u, was often spelled with 
 o in later ME, particularly in proximity with letters like n, m, v, 
 and w; e.g., early ME sune, later ME sone. 
 
 3. [u], spelled in OE and early ME with u, was usually spelled in late 
 ME with ou; e.g., early ME hus, late ME hous. 
 
 4. [y] and [y], which were spelled in OE with y and had the sound of 
 French u, were spelled in Southern ME with u, as in French; [y] 
 was sometimes spelled ui; e.g., OE fyllan. Southern ME vulle(n); 
 OE fyr, Southern ME vur, vuir. 
 
 5. [e], spelled in early ME with e or eo is often spelled in late ME 
 with ie; e.g., OE spedan, early ME spede(n), late ME spede(n) 
 or spiede(n). 
 
 6. [v], spelled in OE and in the earliest ME with f, came to be spelled 
 with V, as in French; e.g., OE life, ME live. 
 
 7. [tf], spelled in OE with c, came to be spelled in ME with ch, as in 
 French; e.g., OE cidan,**^ ME chide (n). 
 
 8. [kw], spelled in OE with cw, came to be spelled in ME with qu, as 
 in French; e.g., OE cwen, ME quen or queen. 
 
 •* As to c, see the preceding note. 
 
MIDDLE ENGLISH SPELLING 81 
 
 The influence of French spelUng on English spelling began soon after 
 the Norman conquest, but the changes which it brought about were not 
 completed until after the middle of the thirteenth century. 
 
 90. Spelling of Middle English Vowels and Diphthongs. The table 
 given below shows the spellings which are most commonly used in Middle 
 EngUsh manuscripts to represent the various vowels and diphthongs 
 The first column contains the sounds as represented in phonetic notation; 
 the second column contains the spellings by which these sounds are repre- 
 sented in the earHer Middle Enghsh manuscripts (roughly, before 1250); 
 the third column contains the spellings by which these same sounds are 
 represented in the later Middle English manuscripts (roughly, after 
 1250). Spellings which are decidedly less frequent than the others are 
 placed in parentheses. 
 
 ME Sound Early ME Spelling Late ME Spelling 
 
 a, aa 
 a 
 
 e, ee, (ie) 
 e, ee 
 e 
 
 i, ii, y 
 i, y 
 
 O, 00 
 O, 00 
 
 o 
 
 ou, (o) 
 
 U, V, 
 
 u, V, ui 
 
 U, V 
 
 au, aw 
 
 ei, ai, ey, ay 
 
 " [a] does not occur in the earliest ME, for the OE [a] became [q] in ME. The ME 
 [a] was the result of the lengthening of [a] in open syllables; see 43, lb above and note 
 43b. 
 
 '' The letters u and v were used interchangeably by the Middle English scribes. 
 
 ^' The diphthong [ai] occurs only in early ME; in late ME it became identical in 
 sound with [^i]. 
 
 Laj^' 
 
 
 [a] 
 
 a, ae, ea 
 
 [e] 
 
 e, eo 
 
 m 
 
 se, ea, e, (eo) 
 
 [€] 
 
 e, eo, (ae) 
 
 [i] 
 
 i, (y) 
 
 [i] 
 
 i, (y) 
 
 [o] 
 
 
 
 [q] 
 
 a, 0, (oa) 
 
 [q] 
 
 
 
 [u] 
 
 u, v^s 
 
 [u] 
 
 U, V 
 
 [y] 
 
 U, V, ul 
 
 [y] 
 
 u, V 
 
 [ai] 
 
 ai, aei, ei, aj, sdf^ 
 
 [au] 
 
 au, aw, a5, ag, agh 
 
 ki] 
 
 ei, aei, e;, 263 
 
82 ji MIDDLE ENGLISH SPELLING 
 
 ME Sound ^- Early ME Spelling Late ME Spelling 
 [€«] eu, ew eu, ew 
 
 [iu] iu, iw, eu, ew, eou, eow iu, iw, eu, ew, u, ui 
 
 [qu] au, aw, 35, ag, agh, ou, ow, 05, og, ou, ow 
 
 [qu] ou, ow, o ou, ow, o 
 
 [<flY°' oi, oy, (ui)io2 
 
 The student should remember that all diacritical marks which he finds 
 in Middle English texts are supplied by modern editors. 
 
 91. Spelling of Middle English Consonants. The table given below 
 shows the spellings which are most commonly used in Middle English 
 manuscripts to represent consonant sounds, so far as the spelling of 
 these sounds differs from that of Modern English. 
 
 LME Spelling 
 gh, h, 5, ch 
 wh 
 
 y, 5 
 
 "" The Middle English diphthongs are variously spelled in early Middle English 
 for two reasons. First, the sounds of which they were composed were variously 
 spelled, [q], e.g., being spelled either a or o. Second, the diphthongs themselves were 
 of various origin (see 43, 2 above), [aul, e.g., developing out of OE a followed by w or 
 g, or out of OE ea followed by h. Many of the early Middle English spellings of these 
 diphthongs are etymological spellings which do not represent adequately the true 
 nature of the sounds. See also note 104 below. 
 
 "oi The diphthong [qi] occurs only rarely in early Middle EngUsh; it is therefore 
 given only in the third column. 
 
 "^The tables given in 90 and 91 are not intended to include all of the spellings 
 that occur in Middle Enghsh manuscripts, but only those that are fairly common. 
 No accoimt is taken of spellings that are rare or eccentric. And no account is taken 
 of spellings that may represent differences of pronunciation; such spelUngs are dealt 
 with in the account of Middle English dialects which is given in 81 ff. 
 
 '"' That is, [h] before consonants and after vowels. 
 
 >•** The character j was called 50 j [JQh], and was a slight modification of the Old 
 English form of the letter g. The Old English g represented two sounds, that of [j], 
 e.g., in daeg, and that of [5], e.g., in agen; this sound is a spirant like the g of North 
 German sagen. In Middle English the sound of [j] was preserved if it occurred at 
 the beginning of a word, as in je, from OE ge. But when it was preceded by a vowel 
 it united with the vowel to form a diphthong, as in ME dai from OE d«g. The Old 
 EngUsh sound [5] became [w] in early ME when it was preceded by a vowel, and then 
 it united with the preceding vowel to form a diphthong, as in ME owen [qusoI from 
 
 ME Sound 
 
 EME SpeUing 
 
 [hj^o' 
 
 h,5/''^g 
 
 [hw] 
 
 hw, wh 
 
 [j] 
 
 5/''^g 
 
MIDDLE ENGLISH SPELLING \ \ 83 
 
 ME Sound 
 
 EME Spelling 
 
 
 LME Spelling 
 
 [f] . 
 
 sc, ss, s 
 
 
 sch, ssch, sh, ssh 
 
 [W 
 
 I>,i05 ^m ■ 
 
 
 b,th 
 
 [«] 
 
 h« 
 
 
 Kth 
 
 [v] 
 
 f, V, u 
 
 
 V, u 
 
 [w] 
 
 w (initially) 
 
 
 w 
 
 [w] 
 
 w, 5, g, gh (medially) 107 
 
 w 
 
 OE agen. In the few words in which it was followed by a vowel and preceded by a 
 • consonant, OE [5] became [w] in ME, e.g., in halwien, from OE halgian. OE 
 initial [5] however, became in ME a stop consonant like the g in ]Modem English 
 good. This stop g was then spelled with a new variety of the letter g which was very 
 much like the modern g. The Old English form of the letter g, slightly modified, 
 was then used to spell the sounds other than stop g which had developed out of 
 the two Old EngUsh sounds of g. That is, it was used to represent: 
 
 1. The sound of [j], e.g., in je, from OE ^e; 
 
 2. The sound of [w], e.g., in haljien, from OE halgian; 
 
 3. The second element of the diphthongs [ai] and [gi], e.g., in daj from OE dsei 
 
 and we J from OE weg; 
 
 4. The second element of the diphthongs [au] and [qu], e.g., in drajen from OE 
 
 dragan and ajen or ojen from OE agen. 
 It was also used to represent: 
 
 5. The soimd of [h] before consonants and after vowels, e.g., in nijt from OE niht. 
 
 1"* The name of the letter \> is "thorn. " 
 
 *"* The name of the letter tJ is "crossed d" or "eth" [gtS]. 
 
 "' [w] is spelled 3 or gh when it developed out of OE [g], e.g., in haljien, halghien 
 from OE halgian. See note 104 above. 
 
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