PR 
 
 19^5 
 
 H37 
 
 
 
 ^^ ^ 
 
 
 
 A^ 
 
 CO 
 
 m 
 
 1_ 
 
 (J ^ 
 
 
 = 
 
 =^ 33 
 
 3 S 
 
 O 
 
 : :^ 
 
 4 ^ 
 
 
 6 m 
 
 n 
 
 8 m 
 
 
 8 s 
 
 ^— -E> 
 
 5 ^ 
 
 —4 
 
 ^= 
 
 
 ' 1 
 
 
 Chaucer's 
 
 Pronuriciation 
 
 ©. 
 
 &thfe SpeHtngof the 
 
 Ei;LESMERE M5, by D^ O*^' 
 ^tem|/l tlie ftiniorProifessor of 
 
 ^ EngHf h in ih^ Vi^iuerslty 6f Michff«"' 
 Publfeh^ea by 1 M^feith &■ C '' atb^oJtti 
 
 «ir.-i6t?»l in liosl^oii.Matisacliius.ett.'* & atf.s 
 & 1 6 i?auisi*ck St C^uenj: (iarUen Lcm^on 
 
 Arin Arb. CCCXCIli 
 
 -■^*^--* " ^**C.* y? , . "^ fl g 
 
 J 
 
   i 
 
 California 
 
 gional 
 
 cility
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY 
 OF 
 
 ELI SOBEL
 
 ^y /jtr \.^y^ y^^
 
 CHAUCER'5 
 
 PRONUNCIATION 
 
 AND THE SPELLING OF THE 
 
 ELLESMERE MS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE HEMPL PhD 
 
 PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 
 
 gcfv oxtt of olbc felbta aa nxen «rutlj 
 
 ©otneth ai tljia neiue corit front iteve to V(cve 
 
 3tni» oitt of ol&c boUca ttt o*'*^^ fcutli 
 
 ffiontrtlj ol tljia jxcwe science iljat uxetx leve 
 
 Parlcment of Fowles 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 D C HEATH & CO 
 
 1893
 
 COPYRJGnT 
 
 ANN AKBOK MICHIGAN
 
 1>\< 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 There are various ways of reading Chaucer. Not a few 
 attempt to read the works of the Middle-English poet as 
 though they were written in the speech of to-day, and suc- 
 ceed in getting a disjointed jargon that is neither poetry nor 
 prose. Others pronounce the vowels approximately as in 
 German, and, slipping in or leaving out enough e's to give a 
 passable rhythm, revel in the glamour of a bogus antiquity. 
 Still others, and they mostly foreigners, strive, witli more or 
 less success, to attain a scientific reproduction of the speech 
 of the poet. It is my pleasant duty each year to introduce 
 a hundred odd students to the study of Chaucer; and, mucli 
 as I despise the naive and the capricious methods of reading 
 the poet's works, I shrink from imposing a minute study of 
 Middle-English phonology upon a class of undergraduate 
 students, lest at the end of the brief time allotted the sub- 
 ject they find they have the shell but not the kernel. 
 
 Still, in these matters one is largely limited by the books in 
 the market. The Prolog and The Knighfs Tale doubtless 
 form the most acceptable pieces for undergraduate students, 
 though the Talc does get rather long before it ends; and 
 the Morris-Skeat edition, in spite of its weaknesses, is the 
 best text with a glossary. But the student is there referred to 
 Skeat's edition of another poem for a treatment of the sub- 
 ject of pronunciation, and this is found to be based upon 
 the idiosyncrasies of an inferior MS and to require the 
 gentle correction of Prof. Skeat. I use the Morris-Skeat 
 
 3
 
 4 CHAUCER'a PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 book, but I have found that the introduction to the subject 
 is made at a much more rapid pace and in a far more satis- 
 factory manner by the aid of the marked texts in Sweet's 
 Second Middle-English Primer. Sweet's excellent treatment 
 of the pronunciation offers, however, unnecessary difficulties 
 to non-philological students; while the choppy and inade- 
 quate presentation of the subject in Skeat's echo* of 
 Sweet's Primer is quite unsatisfactory. I have therefore 
 tricil to meet the needs of my students in this little book, 
 and shall use along with it Sweet's Primer, to be followed 
 by the Morris-Skeat book. 
 
 My aim at first was to print but half a dozen pages; as it is, 
 I have not put in anything that I do not try to have my young 
 people master. Others may find it advisable to omit or 
 postpone some sections. Still others may deem it necessary 
 to neglect some of the distinctions I have made: to sound ^ 
 like e or even ay like ey, and to pronounce the words in 
 § 33, 2, and perhaps even those containing eu and ii as in 
 M^E. Surely the failure to prolong double consonants (§ 39) 
 need not be considered a serious matter in the case of the 
 ordinary student. But I should think it folly to ignore the 
 difference between q and o, which has its counterpart in 
 M°E. The section treating of the Relation of ME Vowels 
 to M^^E Vowels is meant to be of practical use in acquiring 
 the right pronunciation of the ME vowels, especially when 
 the student uses an unmarked text. 
 
 I have taken pains to cite instances of nearly every word 
 mentioned, if possible, in the Prolog or The Knighfs Tale. 
 The spelling is, with rare exceptions, that of the Ellesmere 
 MS; the numbers refer to the lines in the Six-Text Edition, 
 which for the Prolog accord with the numbering in Sweet 
 and Skeat, and for The Knighfs Tale will be found in brack- 
 ets in Skeat's edition. 
 
 * School Edition of Chaucer's Prologue, Oxford, 1891.
 
 PREFACE. 5 
 
 I have stuck closely to the matter of spelling and pronun- 
 ciation; but, should my treatment of the subject prove to be 
 of use to others, I hope to find time to prepare an Introduc- 
 tion to the Study of Chaucer that will aim to meet the wants 
 
 of American students. 
 
 George Hempl. 
 
 Ann Arbor, October 1, 1893.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 §1. Terms, Abbreviations, Signs, &c. 
 ^2. General Remarks on ME Spelling, &c. 
 a) The Values of the Spelling ou ow. 
 
 c) The Use of y and o for i and u. 
 
 d) " " " y for initial i. 
 
 e) " " " y and w for i and u. 
 
 f) " " " V and u. 
 
 g) " " " I, J, and i. 
 
 h) The Differentiation of ^ Q and 5 0. 
 
 i) The Pronunciation of g and j in French words. 
 
 k) " " " ch. 
 
 1 ) Nasal vowels. 
 
 § 3. The Pronunciation of the Vowels. 
 
 §3. a, a; ai or ay; au or aw. 
 
 §4. e, e, ei, ei or ey, *^i, ie, ye; ^; ^u, a. 
 
 § 5. i or y, ! or y. 
 
 §6. o, 0, ou, Ou or Ow, (^)u; Q; oi or oy. 
 
 § 7. u or w, o; ou or ow = u. 
 
 § 8. ii, u or ui =^- u. 
 
 §9. Imperfect Rimes, &c. 
 
 § TO. The Quantity of Vowels. 
 
 I) Lengthening in Open Syllables. 
 
 Note I. The High Vowels not Lengthened. 
 
 7
 
 8 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 Note 2. a) Words with Open and Closed Syllables. 
 
 b) Monosyllables of this kind. 
 
 c) Words ending in 1, n, r, y. 
 
 d) Similar Shortening of Long Vowels. 
 2) Shortening of Vowel before More Consonants. 
 
 § II. The Relation of ME Vowels to MnE Vowels. 
 §12. General Changes. 
 § 13. Short Vowels. 
 § 14. Long Vowels. 
 § 15. Diphthongs. 
 § 16. Specific Changes. 
 
 !^ 17. Shortening in Closed Syllables. 
 
 § 18. Slurred Forms and Full Forms. 
 
 § 19. Effect of R on Preceding Vowels. 
 
 §20. Effect of L and IV on Neighboring Vowels. 
 
 § 21. Dialectic and other Variants. 
 
 § 22. The Loss of Vowels. 
 § 23. Loss of Weak e. 
 
 i) When Adjoining Syllables Contain Weak e. 
 
 2) After an Unstressed Syllable. 
 
 3) In Words Having Little Stress. 
 
 4) Finally after Short High Vowels. 
 
 5) Finally in French Words in Stressed -ye, &c. 
 
 6) In the Ending -en. 
 
 7) Medially. 
 
 8) For Metrical Reasons. 
 
 9) Before a Word Beginning with a Vowel. 
 § 24. Other Cases of Loss of Vowel. 
 
 i) In the Words: the, ne, to, &c. 
 
 2) In the Words: is, it, &c. 
 
 3) Between Similar Consonants, «S:c. 
 § 25. The Pronunciation of the Consonants. 
 
 § 26. c. 
 § 27. ch.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 §28. g. 
 § 29. gh. 
 §30- J- 
 § 31- h. 
 
 §32, Consonantal i and u. 
 § ;^;^. The Fricatives, f, s, th. 
 i) In Ordinary Words. 
 2) In Words often Unstressed. 
 
 Note I. The Rune ]>, and "ye" = the. 
 
 Note 2. M°E -ther for ME -der, 
 §34. sh. 
 
 §35- r. 
 §36. wh. 
 
 §37- z- 
 § 38. Silent Letters. 
 § 39. Double Consonants.
 
 TEKMS, ABBKKVIATIONS, SIGNS, &c. 
 
 §r. i) S. voiced, consonant is one made while the vocal 
 chords are vibrating: /^ /, iv^g, &c. 
 
 A voiceless consonant is one made while the glottis is wide 
 open and the vocal chords silent: /, jrin so, t,f, &cc. 
 
 A whispered consonant is one made while the vocal chords 
 are contracted but not put into vibration, like M° E is, his, 
 with, of, &c. at the end of a sentence, cf. %Ti2i., 2. 
 
 If the tongue is pressed forward during the formation of a 
 vowel, it is called a front vowel: e, i or y, ii; if drawn back, 
 a back vowel: a, o, Q, u. 
 
 A vowel is said to be low, mid, or high, according as the 
 tongue is lowered a good deal, but moderately, or very little: 
 i, ti, and u are high vowels; ^ and Q are low vowels; the rest 
 are mid vowels. ^ and <j are also called open vowels when 
 compared with the close mid vowels e and o. 
 
 2) OE Old English (= "Anglo-Saxon"). 
 ME Middle English. 
 M" E Modern English. 
 
 The transition from OE to ME was in the 12th Century, 
 that from ME to M° E in the 15th century. 
 
 OF Old French. 
 
 M" F Modern French. 
 
 E Ms The Ellesmere manuscript. 
 
 C The Complaint to Pity. 
 
 FA The Former Age. 
 
 P The Pardoner's Tale. 
 
 11
 
 12 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 All other references are to the Prolog or The Knight's 
 Tale, the numbers being those of the lines in the Six-Text 
 Edition (also given in Sweet and Skeat). 
 
 3) Letters in italics are almost invariably phonetic signs; 
 the following may need explanation: 
 y"the sound of sh in she. 
 
 //" 
 
 I < 
 
 i ( 
 
 ch " church. 
 
 3 " 
 
 < ( 
 
 ( ( 
 
 s '■'■pleasure. 
 
 1I3 " 
 
 ( ( 
 
 1 < 
 
 j and g in joy, gin 
 
 (B " 
 
 ( ( 
 
 ( i 
 
 a in hat. 
 
 a " 
 
 (< 
 
 < i 
 
 a in artistic. 
 
 a " 
 
 (C 
 
 < ( 
 
 a " ar/. 
 
 au'' 
 
 (< 
 
 < ( 
 
 ow in //tfize/. 
 
 ai " 
 
 (C 
 
 (( 
 
 ai in aisle. 
 
 u " 
 
 <( 
 
 << 
 
 u in full. 
 
 a " 
 
 (< 
 
 < I 
 
 u in rz/dTi?. 
 
 iu " 
 
 i < 
 
 I ( 
 
 u in tise. 
 
 e " 
 
 e ( 
 
 ( ( 
 
 e in w^/. 
 
 ^ <t 
 
 < ( 
 
 <( 
 
 *:» 1 n fhp-i'A 
 
 p " " " a in idea, §4 Note, 
 i^ " " ** e in Z/^/-. 
 2; " " '' u in ;////. 
 ;7 " '< " o in what, 
 q " " " o in or. 
 For ? or ei and <) or <?« cf. § 14 Note i, also p. 17 ft. nt. and 
 p. 18 ft. nt. For the ME letters with diacritical marks see 
 §§3-8, 28,1. 
 
 > is a sign meaning "becomes" or "became."
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON ME. SPELLING, &c. 
 
 § 2. In considering the spelling and pronunciation of 
 Middle English we must remember that the language con- 
 tained French elements incorporated with the native English; 
 that the English of that time was in some respects like Old 
 English and in others more like Modern English, while the 
 French elements had come into the language from Old 
 French and consequently were more like that than like Mod- 
 ern French; and, furthermore, that in Middle-English times 
 the Old-French system of spelling was in vogue in England. 
 Old French was, of course, derived from Latin, but essential 
 changes had taken place in the pronunciation, and students 
 who have learned Latin according to the Roman method of 
 pronunciation will have to be very careful not to introduce 
 this into Middle English. On the other hand, those that 
 are familiar with Modern French pronunciation must guard 
 against using this in Middle English. 
 
 {a) Thus the OE word nt was pronounced just the same 
 in ME as in OE, but as the sound of long // (M^E "oo" in 
 "spool") was represented by "ou" in French, the word was 
 spelled "out" in ME, which spelling has been retained in MnE 
 though the long u has become the diphthong au. While 
 ow was often used for ou (§2 e), the sound was just the 
 same. But there was a diphthong in native words which too 
 was spelled ou or ow; this may be distinguished from the 
 long vowel by the fact that while the vowel has now become 
 au (thou, how), the diphthong ou or ow is still pronounced 
 
 13
 
 14 CHAUCER'fi PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 with an or Q sound (though 68, sowed 685, thoughte 385). 
 Dr Sweet's text also helps the learner by leaving the long 
 vowel ou unmarked (thou) and printing the diphthong with 
 an o before gh (thogh) and with a diacritical mark over or 
 under the o in other situations (gruwen, SQule). 
 
 Note, (a) lid'on' jili, (I) the vowel w is almost uniformly 
 written ou (ynouj;h SSS) i^:{7; and (2) n is written o (drofjjhte 
 ■-') i?7andi^2c; but, (3) iJic fliphtlion;;- oh is writti'u not only ou 
 (llioui^hto 385), liul fri't|urutly o (o^^'litc ()(!()), and this spoiling' 
 is uniformly I'liiiiioyi'd by Swcd to avoid confusion witii(i) 
 aliovc: >;('>o. (b) l>t'foi'(> n the u of ou =n is often omitted 
 (st;si)n l!>, nacions 'til), or indicated only by a mark over the 
 n (rcjsoil condicioO IT?). 
 
 (/') The letter u (initially v, ^ 2 f) was, in accordance with 
 French usage, often retained for short //, especially in closed 
 syllables: ful 22, but 74, vnto 71, lusty (cf. however c- below); 
 but it was also used for the sound of ''u" in French "just", 
 "nature," cv:c., and is printed by Sweet (i (in imitation of Ger- 
 man it) when short, u (ii would have been better) when long, 
 and u when it had acquired the sound of eu, § 4 N^. 
 
 ((•) As i (vvliich was generally not dotted) and u might 
 easily cause confusion when written next other letters made 
 of similar short straight lines (for ex., n, m, w, u = v), the 
 French usage of writing o for u and y for i in such (and some 
 other) situations was adopted (Sweet prints such an o with 
 a curl above it, o, to suggest a u) : yunge sunne 7, worthy 43, 
 loued 45, somtyme 65, bismotered 76, observe louyere 80 
 but lusty in the same line; also corai>-es ir, coppe 134, cosyn 
 1234, super 348; veyne 3, nyght to, nyne 24, wyde 28, tyme 35, 
 but usually, "w*^" (=with) 31, "in" 6. Similarly, I is some- 
 times used for i next nn: Inne 1618, w*^ Inne 'within' 1669. 
 ((/) The letter y was also used for i initially (i) as a capi- 
 tal in proper names: ypocras 431, ypres 448, ypolita 1685, 
 and (2) in participles: yronne 8, ywroght 196, ybQre 378. (e) 
 The letters y and w were often used for i and u, especially
 
 GENERAL REMARKS ON ME. SPELLING, &r. 15 
 
 finally and next other vowels: ^uery 3, melodye 9, day 19, 
 felaweshipe 26, yow 38, vnknowe 126, trowe 155; also next 
 n, m, w, u = V, &:c.: veyne 3, Lyeys 58, slayn 6^, knyght 
 43, wyped 133, ferthyng 134, pleyynge 1061, lyuen 335; and 
 elsewhere: bawdryk 116, tretys 152. 
 
 (/) The letter v was used initially for v and the vowel u: 
 veyne 3, verray 338, venerie 166, Venus 1918, vertu 4, vil- 
 eynye 70, victorie 872, vnder 106, vs 411, vnto 225, vpon 
 1036, &c.; while u was used medially for both sounds: 
 ^uery 3, deuout 22, deuyse 34, haue 35, reuerence 305, 
 lyuen 335, &c. Medial v is rare in the E Ms: aventure 25, 
 ^verychQn 31, avaiice 246, epvyned 342, &c. Cf. note to 
 A below. Q'') The letter I was used not only as a capital 
 i: I 34, It 155, &c., (cf. also r end); but also for the con- 
 sonant j, both small and capital: liilijln 34, luste 96, Jerusa- 
 lem 463, langlere 560, lalous 1329, L"ipes 705, (S:c. J and i 
 for j are rare in the E Ms: Juno 1329, iaped 1729. 
 
 Note. — The fact that j occurred only initially and that 
 
 initial v was in fact much more frequent!}' a consonant tiian 
 
 a vowel (see the exami>]os above) led to their complete diU'er- 
 
 entiation ("v" and "j"" consonants, "u" and "i"" xowels); 
 
 this ditl'erentiation is also made by Sweet in his Second 
 
 3IiddIf-Eu(/Ui<h Primer and generally by Skeal. 
 
 (//) To distinguish the open long e and o from the close, 
 
 it is customary to print the former q and i) and the latter e 
 
 and 5. It will, thus, be observed that not only a straight 
 
 mark above a vowel, but also a hook under it, indicates a 
 
 long vowel, but the hook also shows that the vowel is open. 
 
 If, as is often the case, a long vowel is doubled in the Ms, 
 
 there is no need of a long mark over it: degree 40, to doon 
 
 78; but the hook is necessary if the vowel is open: brcj^th 5, 
 
 gQQn 12. In the MSS and an unmarked text like Skeat's, 
 
 both o and 00 may stand for or q, the doubling showing 
 
 only that the vowel is long, and being only occasionally used. 
 
 (/) In OF "g" was pronounced dj before front vowels (e,
 
 i6 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 i or y), and this pronunciation was taken up into ME and is 
 still retained; the learner must not be misled into using in 
 ME the changed pronunciation of M"F. The letter j had 
 the same pronunciation. (/&) Similarly, "ch" had in OF, as 
 well as in ME and M"E, the sound of //, and lost the / only 
 in M"F. M"E has more or less generally changed the pro- 
 nunciation of a few of these words under the influence of 
 M"F usage, for ex., chivalry; but the student of ME must 
 take particular pains to preserve ch as in English chip. (/) 
 He must also avoid bringing into ME the French nasal vow- 
 els for vowel -f n or m; the most successful ME attempt at im- 
 itating what there was of this in OF seems to have been the 
 au for nasal a in straunge 13, acordaunt 37, Alisaundre 51, 
 daunce 96, &c.
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 
 
 §3. a was as in artistic: Whan that Aprille i. 
 a was as in art: bathed 3, smale 9. 
 ai or ay was as in aisle: day 19, c5mpaignye 24. 
 au or aw was as in sauerkraut: straunge 13, lawe 309. 
 
 §4. e was as in vien: yet 70, twenty 82. 
 
 Note 1. Uiistressixl c was pronounced as in German, or 
 noarly like final a in M" E (for ex., in idea) but weaker: 
 soote 1, perced 2, engendred 4. The sound is printed a in 
 books on phonetics. It was. in fact, so wealv already in ME 
 limes that it generally became quite silent in certain situ- 
 ations, cf. 5$ 23. 
 
 e was as in tliey'^^: swGte 5, slepen. 
 
 Note 2. — So too e, P. or (j preceded or followed by i or y 
 (ie*, ye, 51, ey, ^i, A:c.): chief 10.37, they IS, curteisle 4(5. 
 But ie often = t -f- ■?. or t, when final in French words, § 18,5; it 
 = i + e in science vJK), pjicient 41.'), &c.; and consonantal i -f- 
 a in other cases, cf. >5 27. 
 (J was as in tJicrc: breijth 5, wfjren ^sed 29. 
 
 * Really?, ie, or ye were the long, close e-vowel, while ei, Pi, ^i 
 wore diphthongs ending in i. In M^ E all are pronounced as a diph- 
 thong ( most distinctly so in southern England, about Philadelphia, 
 &c.) or all are pronounced a purec-vowel (so in Scotland and the larger 
 part of the U. S., at least whrii not over-long, §14 Note 1); and it is 
 hardly practicable to make general students distinguish th(>, vowel 
 
 from the diphthong in reading ME. 
 
 2 17
 
 i8 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 Note 3. — This sound occurs only before r in M" E and will 
 require attention in other positions in ME. It is practically 
 the sound of "e" in met prolonged. Cf. §2/i. The poet 
 sometimes rimes it with C, cf. §9. 
 ei, ey, &:c., Note 2 . 
 
 6u or ^u = <" -|- u, now common for a -\- u as a. dialectic 
 pronunciation of "ow" in co7ei &c.: rSule 173, f6we 639, 
 sh^we C 55. 
 
 Note 4. — Care must be taken not to substitute iu or u for 
 this sound, as in MnE. It is most readily acquired by put- 
 ting one's self in the mood of mocking one who uses the 
 dialectic pronunciation mentioned above; the standard au in 
 cow is not the sound. 
 
 Note 5. — The same sound is to be given to u (also written 
 eu, and printed u by Sweet, §3 6) in an open syllable in 
 French words: vertu 4, vertiious 251, letuaries 42(), Ih^su 
 (589. 
 
 §5. i or y was as in //;/: Aprille with hise i. 
 
 I or y was as in machitie: inspired 6, I 20, ray 21. 
 
 Note. — Skeat generally prints y for the long vowel and i 
 for the short, except in diphthongs. 
 
 For ie, »fcc., cf. § 4, Note 2, For unstressed i or y before 
 a vowel cf . § 37. 
 
 §6. o was as in the New England dialectic pronunciation of 
 boat, road, sione, &c., or like 5 in German, French, &c. , 
 not like M°E "short o": of 2, holt 6, croppes 7. 
 For o(gh) cf. 5; for 6 cf, § 7. 
 was as in «<?*: another 66, tO doon 78. So too o 
 or ou before gh (§ 2 « Note), and 5 or q with following u 
 or w*: though 68, dough, cough, trough, noght 768, and 
 
 * Really 5 was the long close o-vowel; while o(u) before gh and Ou 
 and Qu were diphthongs ending in u. MnE has the long o-vowel or 
 the diphthong for both (cf. § 14, Note 1), and it is hardly practicable 
 to try to distinguish the ME vowel from the diphthong in ordinary 
 classes.
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE VOWELS. 19 
 
 verbs like foughten 62, thoughte 385, oghte 660, (a)boght 
 wroght 3099; iQwely 99, sOwed 685. 
 
 Q was as in broad: spQlcen ^verychgn 31, niQ sqq 102. 
 Cf. § 2h. 
 
 oi or oy was as in boy: point 114, coy 119. 
 5u, Qw, &c., cf. S. For ou = long u, cf. below. 
 §7. u or w, also 5 (§ 2 r), was as in ////: ful 22, duseyne 578, 
 yelw, yCnge s6nne 7, drSghte 2, dSghty, but cf. % 2a Note. 
 For li cf, 4^ 4, Note 5. 
 
 ouorow was as in soup: houndes 146, sownynge 275, 
 Plowman 529; before gh (§ 2 a Note) in ynough 888, Plough 
 887, bough 1980, swough 1979, slough, tough. 
 For ou Qr cf. § G 0. 
 
 §8. ii was as in German ^iiuctr*, or short French " u ": 
 briistles 556, liistice 314, siister 1820. 
 
 u or ui was as in German griitt*, or long French "u": 
 
 natflre 11, entuned 123, curious 196, iQian 340. 
 
 y = i. § 5- 
 
 Note. — It may bo well to point out the chief difficulties 
 that the student will meet in pronouncing the ME vowels: 
 {a) Short may be to him a new and difficult sound (§6), 
 and he will have to remember that Sweet's symbol 6 = short 
 u and not short (§7). The vowel il, too, is often found dif- 
 ficult to master (§ 8 and ft. nt.). (6) After learning the values 
 of the ME vowels, he will still be prone to admit certain 
 Mi»E modifications, for ex., to round the vowel a next 1 or w 
 (t<20), and to sound e, i, and u, before r as in M^E (§19 6). 
 (c) He will want to sound eu as to-da3% or substitute au (as 
 in cow) for eu (§4 N* and Preface p. 4). (d) After learning 
 the correct pronunciation of long a, e, i, lie will be apt to use 
 it for short a, e, i, though thus departing from both ME and 
 
 * Ger. tjeiitt and ^liilUtr are like Eng. green and miller, but the lips 
 are nearly closed — or "rounded" — during the formation of the vowel.
 
 20 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 M"E usage, (e) Ho will bo apt to confound ai ay with ei 
 cy (§ 15 N and Preface p. 4), and q with o (^6, 2h, and Pre- 
 face p. 4). (/) One is most apt to be careless witli un- 
 stressed syllables, for example, to say tu do for to do.
 
 IMPEKFKCT RIMES, &c. 
 
 § 9. Chaucer was a careful rimer but allowed himself cer- 
 tain liberties. 
 
 1) The open sounds occasionally rimed with the close, 
 and the spelling was usually changed to suit: yeer soper 347, 
 weel d(j(jl 367, l^ne ysene tScc. 591, 660, twQ do 1039*, mg 
 to 2725, anon ydnn 1025, S^^ be 60, speche t^che 307, dog- 
 gere sp^re 113. Similarly, ai and ei are occasionally rimed, 
 and ai had doubtless begun to approach ei in popular pro- 
 nunciation (the spelling generally rimes too): way (for wey) 
 day 141*3, 1481, &c., agayn playn (for pleyn) 1092, pleyn 
 ageyn (for agayn) 1488, but agayn slayn 1741. And there 
 are other impure rimes: al sendal 440, wel catel 540, m5neye 
 twgye 703, fynde Inde P. 75. Different consonants are rarely 
 joined in rime: sauith Significauit 662. 
 
 2) The pronunciation, and usually the orthography, of 
 foreign names was fearlessly twisted to make it rime with 
 native words or suit the metre: thus, usually Palainoun 1070, 
 1341, &c., but often PalaniQn 1014, 21 18, &c.; Emelj'e 871, 
 but Eme'lya 1078; A^th6n(e)s 873, Athe'n(e)s 1194, A^thgnes 
 973; Perothe^us 1202, but P(e)rO'theus 1205 'Pirithous'. 
 
 3) Diversity of usage in pronunciation was put to use for 
 the same purpose: usually y^ue 223, but in rime yiue 225, 
 
 * "Two" must still have had q : in the Knight's Tale "two" rimes 
 with o not more than twice (1039 and perhaps 1705) but with q at 
 least 13 times. Thus 1039 and (?) 1705 are impure rimes like do sq 
 1195, doon ^chQn, auQn, gQQn 2C55, 1025, 2675, 2963, tO mQ 2725. 
 
 21
 
 22 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 505; usually koude 130, but in rime kouthe 390; usually 
 grQue 1478, 1481, 1505, tS:c., in rime gr^ue 1495, '5°7» &c.; 
 there being a dearth of rimes for "live", "grove", &c. Reg- 
 ularly nQnes but nQnys to rime with ngn is 523.
 
 THE QUANTITY OF VOWELS. 
 
 § lo. The quantity of the OE vowels remained the same 
 in ME except that — 
 
 i) Vowels in stressed open* syllables became long: mil- 
 ken 9, Qpen lo, hare 191, m^te 127, sp^ke 462. 
 
 Note 1. — The high vowels i and u (§1) generally remain 
 short: c5me 23, w6ne sone 335, pp. write 161 (the infinitive 
 had original I, 96) riden 48, c6men 671, prikyng 191, 16uede 
 444, lyue 583. As final -e in these cases was silent (§23,4), 
 the i, u, was in a closed syllable. 
 
 Note 2. — (a) Often the inflection or use of a word presents 
 some open* and some closed syllables and consequently both 
 long and short vowels: smSle 9, smal 153. (b) If the closed 
 syllable constitutes a monosyllable, it sometimes prevails, 
 that is, the vowel remains short throughout and the 
 following consonant is doubled before another vowel: god 
 1665, goddess 1800, goddesse 1904. (c) If the closed syl- 
 lable is in a word of more than one syllable (particularly 
 words ending in 1, n, r, and i or y), the closed syllable or the 
 open prevails according as the one or the other happened to 
 be most in use in each particular case; usually it was the 
 closed syllable that prevailed: many qqn 317 but, with con- 
 sonantal y, many a 60, 212, &c., so bisy a 321, bisier 322, 
 studie 303, 438, berye merye 208, bod'yes 942, 944, but 
 body^es 997. But the open syllable and long vowel prevailed 
 in Qpen 10, ^vene 83, &c. (d) Occasionally a long vowel is 
 shortened under the same circumstances: crIst 698, but 
 cristen 55. 
 
 * A syllable that ends in a vowel is called an Open ISyllable; one 
 that ends in a consonant, a Closed Syllable. A single consonant be- 
 longs to the following syllable. Open syllables: tO the roo-te (but the 
 and -te are unstressed); closed syllables: of March hath per-ced. 
 
 23
 
 24 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 2) A long vowel in a closed* syllable usually became short 
 if another consonant was added: wys 68, but wysdom 865, 
 cl(jne 133, hut dense 631; still incntal association could 
 nullify this rule: clt^^nnesse 506. 
 
 *Cr. It. III. p. -iX
 
 RELATION OF ME. VOWELS TO M"E. VOWELS. 
 
 §11. English has always shown a greater tendency to 
 change the sound of its vowels than to change that of its con- 
 sonants; consequently the pronunciation of the ME vowels 
 differs more than that of ME consonants does from M^^E 
 
 usa<^e 
 
 GENERAL CHANGES. 
 
 §12. The general changes that have taken place in the 
 pronunciation of English vowels since ME times may be 
 briefly stated as follows. Observe that the ME spelling is 
 often retained in M»E. 
 
 Short Vowels. 
 § 13. a > (e: man 43, bigan 44. 
 
 e remains e: yet 70; wente 78. 
 / " / : in 19, riden 48. 
 u> v: Caunterbilry 27, silbtilly 610, 
 // usually > v. Vnder 105, loued 45, ffustian 75; 
 but often remains u between a labial consonant and 1: ful 22 
 w5lf 513. 
 
 > .7 or c^: on 21, of 54, for 13, God 533. 
 
 Long- Vowels. 
 
 § 14. a > (• or ei (spelled "a"): bathed 3, pale 205. 
 
 ^&^> ? or />■ (spelled "e", "ee", or "ea"): m6 
 tjch 39, sl6ues 93. 
 
 1 > ai (spelled "i" or "y"): riden 45, thy 1283. 
 
 u (printed n by Sweet when not written ui or uy) > 
 
 iu or iuw : lilce 350, suyte 2873. 
 
 25
 
 26 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 u (spelled ou or ow) > au: out 45, oure 62, gowne 93, 
 how 284. 
 
 o (§ 2h end) > ir. bootes 203, to dO 942. 
 
 <2 (§ 2/i end) > ^ or ou: open 10, SQ 1 1 , shQQn 198, 
 
 Note 1 — In other words, there is little change in the short 
 vowels, while all the long vowels have changed and tend to 
 become diphthongs, especially in England, the long vowels 
 (particularly I and u, not so generally G and o) still being 
 common in Scotland and the United States. Cf. p. 17 ft. 
 nt., p. 18 ft. nt. 
 
 Note 2. — Observe particularly that ME > MnE n 
 (though still spelled "o" or "00"), and ME Q > M^E o 
 (spelled "oa" or "o-e"). The word q or Qn 'one' and all its 
 derivatives have the vowel q, though their MnE equivalents 
 show various irregularities: q 304, qqh 317, nQQn 210, anqn 
 32, allQne 1633, QQnly 1373. 
 
 Diphthong's. 
 
 §15 <z/ and ei > e or ei: mayde 69, gay 74, grSye 152, 
 
 deyntee 168, seint 173. 
 
 ^/remains oi: point 114, oystre 182. 
 au > <?: ytaught 127, sauce 129, drawe 396. 
 eu (or ti) and il > iu or iuw: newe, i76,rSule 173, Mfi- 
 we 349, vertiious 515, stilttire 83, Jtllian 340. 
 
 ou > or ou: though 68, bQwe 108, grOwe 156. 
 
 Note. — Observe that ai and ei, though now pronounced 
 alike, were distinguished in ME; in fact, we now sometimes 
 write "ai" or "ay" for "ei": feith 62, seint 173, streit 174. 
 Observe also that ME au was a phonetic spelling, as in Latin 
 and German, and had not yet gotten the vowel sound it has 
 in MnE. 
 
 For e, 6, iu, or ei, ok, iuw, see §14 Note 1. 
 
 SPECIFIC CHANGES. 
 
 § 16. There are many less general changes, that is, such 
 as efifect only a number of the words containing a certain 
 vowel; but it would be out of place here to point out more 
 than three or four of the most important.
 
 RELATION OF ME. VOWELS TO MnE. VOWELS. 27 
 
 § 17. Vowels in closed* syllables (and, by analogy, in re- 
 lated open ones), are sometimes shortened, particularly be- 
 fore dentals, that is, consonants made with the tip of the 
 tongue (d, t, th, n): br^^d d^^d 147, st^de 231, r^^de 90, hood 
 103, wood good 183, blood 635; br^^th 5, d^^th but h^^th 
 605, seith 178, seyde 219, dooth 171; hQQte 97, leet 128; 
 MOnthe 92, wjnd 170, after /- in fr^^nd 299 but not f^^nd; 
 heeld 176; book 185, look 289, took 303. Observe the 
 shortening of before -ther: another 66, brother 529; and 
 of Q before -ng: Ignge 93, strqng 239. 
 
 § 18. Lack of stress gives rise to slurred forms by the side 
 
 of the full ones: my 21 now strong mai and weak mi or ma; 
 
 sometimes one (often the weak) form prevails: been 85, strong 
 
 bin in England, weak bm in America: sayde 70, generally 
 
 weak sed; you 34, the strong ju > jau in early M°E as thou 
 
 > than §14, but weak you C 108 (=: 7'?/;) supplanted strong 
 
 y««, and when it was stressed it got a long vowel ju (now 
 
 often iii), that is, the very pronunciation the ME strong form 
 
 had; in koude 94 the weak u has prevailed; observe weak 
 
 have with ce, but stressed behave with ?; any and many now 
 
 have e but stressed mafiifold has the regular ce. 
 
 Note. — If a syllable that was or might be stressed in ME 
 is now unstressed, its vowel is not what would be expected 
 by g§ 18-15, but usually the obscure vowel a: licour 3, men- 
 cioun 893, frSdOm 4G, SquICr 97, licenciJlt 220, visage 109. 
 
 § 19. The sound r has always much affected preceding 
 vowels; the chief cases are: — 
 
 {a) Before r and another consonant, e > a, later a (cf. b 
 below): sterue 1144, darknesse 1451, hertely 762, ferther 36, 
 ferthyng 255, sterres 268, yerde smerte 268, Derteraouthe 
 389, werre 47, see 2 and {e). 
 
 *Cf. ft. nt. p. 23.
 
 28 RELATION OF ME. VOWELS TO M»E. VOWELS. 
 
 Note. — In most classical words the e was retained or re- 
 stored, and later (according to b below) changed to §: seriied 
 187. certeyn 37o, mercy, 950, seruants 101. Hut even in 
 these cases the rule (e > a) prevailed among the uneducated; 
 and in a few usage varies, so Sergeant 309, Clerk 285, &.C., 
 while we distinguish between "jjarson" (i)erson478) and 'Mjer- 
 son" (persQne 521). 
 
 {/>). Before r (but see note above)^ — 
 
 a > a: Arm 393, barre 1075, and those in (a). 
 
 ai, ci (and sometimes ^) > ^: faire 94, prey6res 231, 
 
 th^r 34, (jr 255. 
 
 e, i, u, il > <? : serued 187 (cf. note above), first 44, cur- 
 
 teisie 46, piirchas 256, worthy 47, work! 176, Silrgerye 413. 
 
 Note. — But if there is no consonant other than y before a 
 following vowel, the a regularly (i^ 13) becomes oe: carle 130, 
 mariilge 212: and e remains e: berye merye 207. 
 
 {c) Observe the abnormal M^E vowel after ?- in brQQd 
 155. gr^^it 203. 
 
 § 20. A following / and a preceding 7v have in many cases 
 rounded the vowel a or a to j or oy. smfile 9, al 10, yfalle 25, 
 palfrey 207, was 43, what 40, werre 47 [e had become a by 
 [a) above), so were 555. Be very careful not to introduce 
 this pronunciation into ME. 
 
 § 21. The standard form of to-day is not always the regu- 
 lar descendant of the form usual in Chaucer, but has been 
 changed for some special cause or is a dialectic variant; hence 
 the form shown by the modern word is not what would be 
 expected by §§13-15: g^te 291, snewed 345, trOuthe 46, 
 embrQuded 89, bar 105, gretteste 120, lenger 330, heng 160, 
 ytjue 223 (Chaucer uses yiue for a rime 225),
 
 THE LOSS OF VOWELS. 
 
 § 22. An unstressed vowel may be lost, particularly if next 
 
 another vowel or a weaklv stressed syllable. This is most apt 
 
 to happen to the unstressed vowel that is produced with least 
 
 displacement of the tongue, namely j, written e in ME as in 
 
 German, cf. § 4 Note r. 
 
 Note. — Wt)rds tlial only oceasionally lose ttiial e, retain 11, 
 at the end of a verse; thcsLudeul will need to exercise special 
 caution in tliis matter. 
 
 Loss of Weak E. 
 
 §23. Unstressed e is generally silent under the following 
 circumstances: — 
 
 i) When two adjoining syllables contain weak e, one e 
 only is sounded: l6ued(e) i66, semed(e) 39, bismot(e)red or 
 -er(e)d 76, feth(e)res 107, fyng[e]res 129, neuCe)re or 
 neuer(e} 70, wedded[e] 868 (cf. ten Brink top p. 140; th^r 
 has evidently been lost before the "the"). 
 
 2) After an unstressed syllable that may bear the stress: 
 pilgrim(e)s 26, ma'ner[e] 71 but mane^re 140. (In bod'yes 
 942, 944, &c., i or y is consonantal and not syllabic, cf. 
 § 32.) Similarly after secondary stress: shirreu(e) 359. 
 
 3) In words that ordinarily have little stress, for ex., pre- 
 positions, possessives, demonstratives, auxiliary verbs, &c. : 
 befor(e), th^r(e), h^r(e), his(e) i, our(e) 34, hir(e) 139, and 
 the other possessives, swich(e) (unless adjective plural) and 
 which(e) (unless adjective plural or after "the") 40, 578, and
 
 30 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 s5m(e) and this(e) 701, 2570; regularly wejie) 23, n^r(e) 875, 
 often hau(e) 35, 886, hadd(e) 64, 146 (but hadde 164, Sec), 
 koud(e) 130 (but koude 95). 
 
 4) When final in words having a short high vowel (i, u) fol- 
 lowed by a single consonant: s5n(e), w5n(e) 1040, often 
 l6u(e), and the past participles driu(e), wril(e), C(5m(e) 77, 
 &c. (but also driuen, cOmen 671, &c.); usually sounded in 
 infinitive c6me, yiue for yiuen, &c. 
 
 5) Usually in French words ending in stressed -ye, -aye, 
 -eye, &c.: vileyny(e) 70, curteisl(e) 132, remedl(e)s 475, but 
 fantasye FA 51, and probably not at the end of a verse: mel- 
 odye 9, scOleye 302, &c. For unstressed -ye cf. § 27. 
 
 6) In the ending -en after a vowel or 1 or r: yshQrn 589, 
 bQrn 87, woln, han, leyii, slayn 6;^, &c. 
 
 7) Occasionally medially: usually seraely 123, 136, occa- 
 sionally seem(e)ly 751 and always seemliest, usually nathe- 
 \^qs 35, 2472, and trewely 761, 1268, &c., but trgw(e)ly 481, 
 &c., also lyu(e)ree 363, sou(e)reyn 67, nilm(e)ly 1268. The 
 medial r is always silent in for(ejward 829, eu(e)ry 3, 6, 15, 
 &c., and usually in Qu(e)rich 241. 
 
 8) Occasionally in other cases, where the metre requires 
 its silence, especially before a weak syllable followed by a 
 heavily stressed one: lou(ejd for l5ued(e) before weak pro- 
 nouns 206, 334, &c., bel5u(e)d and 215, lou(e)st my 1581, 
 fall(e)th nat 1669, nobUe) ensample 496, delyu(e)r(e) and 84, 
 pgpUe h)is apes 706, Qu(e)r al th^r 249, 547, qu(e)r (h)g kan 
 588, 622; also gown(e) 93, tym(e) 102, &c. 
 
 9) Before a word beginning with a vowel (a silent h is, of 
 course, not counted), final e is elided: see the examples in 
 lines 382-3, also morw(e) a 334, Aristotl(e) and 295, festn(e 
 h)is 195, ordr(e h)e 214, 220, Alisaundr(e hs) 51 (in tendre 
 herte 150 and the like, the h is stressed and not silent, and 
 the -e is therefore not elided), fith(e)l(e) or 296, ^u(e)r(e h)is 
 335» 343. &c.
 
 THE LOSS OF VOWELS. 31 
 
 {a) The -e of ne 'not' (for ne 'neither' see § 24) was always 
 elided: N(e) I n(e) axe 2239, nys 901, I nam 1122, n(e h)ath 
 923, and with lost w: n^re 875, nas, n(e w)5lde 550. (b) 
 The -e of 'the' was almost always elided: th(e) lis;lg;e no, 
 thilke 182, thencr^^s 275, &:c.; the -e of the 'thee' occasion- 
 ally, cf. § 24. 
 
 Other Cases of Loss of Vowel. 
 
 § 24. i) Occasionally the final vowel of a weakly stressed 
 monosyllable was elided before another (especially an un- 
 stressed) vowel: m(e) awr^ke C 11, t((3) abyden 927, t(0 
 h)ave 2239. The S of ne 'neither' is usually retained: n6 of 
 estaat ne age 2592; but it may be elided. 
 
 2) The i of weak "is" was frequently dropped, especially 
 after "that" and "this", as in M^^E: that (i)s 180, thi(s i)s 
 1091, pouerte (i)s C 35. Similarly, it = I it 829. 
 
 3) A weak vowel is apt to fall out, especially if preceded 
 and followed by the same consonant: in (a)nOther 1401, 
 th(e) thrQte 2458; par(i)sshe 491 (but parisshe 494), pos(i)- 
 tif 1167, the Latin Si(g)n(i)ficJluit 662, usually ben(e)d(i)- 
 citee 2115 (but benedicite 1785), always Ier(u)sal^m 463. 
 Observe Caun'terb(i.l)ry 16, 22, with silent ii and stress as in 
 present British English, but Caun^terbti'ry 27 with ii and 
 American stress.
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 
 
 § 25. In general the consonants were pronounced in ME 
 as in M"E; it will be most necessary to observe the follow- 
 ing points in learning ME pronunciation. 
 
 c. 
 
 § 26. As in M° E, c was back (or gutteral), = k, before 
 consonants and back vowels (a, o, o u): crulle 81, acordaunt 
 37, caas 585, curteisie 132; and front (or palatal), = ^*, be- 
 fore front vowels (e, i or y) : spfice pilce 36, PrHce 53, cer- 
 teinly 235, Maunciplc 567. For ci -[- vowel, see § 32 Note. 
 So so before a front vowel (probably also in sclendre 587) 
 was sounded s: science 316, conscience 142, cf. § 32 Note.^ 
 
 ch. 
 
 § 27. Old-English c before old front vowels had also be- 
 come palatal and was sounded tf (similarly Latin c in some 
 cases); as this sound was written "ch" in French (chiualrle 
 45, Chapeleyne 164), it was also written ch in native English 
 words: ^verycliQn 31, whiche 40, swicli 43. Double ch was 
 written cch: recchel^^s 179, wrecche 931. 
 
 ME cli must npvcr bo pronouncfd /', or like English sh, as is dono 
 in M^F, cf. %-lk\ nor like A". 
 
 *This s-souud of c occurs only in Fi-rncli words; Latin c before 
 front vowels became palatal, this became (,s (as still in German) and 
 this became s (as in French and English). 
 
 32
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 33 
 
 g- 
 § 28. 1) ME, like M^E, g was regularly front (or pala- 
 tal), that is,=^dj, as in gin, when before a front vowel 
 (e, i or y) in a word from the French: gentil 72, gypoun 75, 
 Age 82, barge 410, habergeoun 76 (in which the e is silent); 
 also in some native words; sengen, c^gt, FA 19, &c. This g 
 Sweet prints with a dot above it, to suggest j. 
 
 2) Elsewhere g was back (or guttural), like g in go — 
 French: glQrie 870, gOuernyng 599; English: God 533, gQQn 
 450. Syngynge 91, gesse 82, bigynne 428, gr^ce 135, drSgges 
 426, legges 591, daggere 392. The g from older gu in a few 
 French words is also guttural: gise 663, gy(d)e 1950, gyle 
 2596; also in ger- from gr-: gerner 593, Gernade 56. 
 
 Note 1. — Thus g was not yet silent in long, sing, &c., but 
 pronounced just as it still is in longer, finger, &c.: ySnge 7, 
 iQngen 12, syngynge 91. 
 
 Note 2. — The g of gn was already siU'nt: digne 141, signp 
 226, cumpaignye 24. In a few cases the g has been restored 
 in MnE through classical influence: dignity from ME digni- 
 tee. 
 
 gh. 
 
 §29. ME gh was a back (or guttural) sound after back 
 vowels (a, o, u): ytaught 127, ynogh 373, thoughte 385; and 
 a front (or palatal) sound before front vowels (e, i or y): 
 knyght 72, wight 280, heigh (or high) 1065. The sounds 
 and their use are just the same as those of German ^U in 
 ^ucij and in ich- They may be heard and learned by whis- 
 pering koo and kee and dwelling on the sound following 
 the k. 
 
 Note 1. — ME gh is usually dropped between vowels, a 
 preceding i or u being then written y or w (§2 e): heigh ;51(i, 
 plural and adverb bye 24(53, 271 (whence, bj- analogy, singular 
 hy 300), hyer 399; 3'nogh 373, pi. ynowc; compare German 
 ijoclj, but ijaiye and ijoljev with silent ij.
 
 34 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 Note 2. — In MnE gh has become silent (igh becoming I and 
 and then ai: nyglit 10) or f: ynogh 373. 
 
 J- 
 §30. Latin j had in OF become dj , which sound it has 
 retained in English in words derived from the French (avoid 
 the M"F sound j): lulirin 340, lolitee 680, IHpes 705. For 
 the spelling see § 2 g. 
 
 h. 
 
 § 31. H was sounded as it is to-day. It was silent: — 
 
 i) In some words from the French-Latin: hostelrye 23, 
 
 honour 46, honeste 246; but sounded in French words from 
 
 Celtic, &c.: harneised 114. 
 
 2) After t in foreign words (cf. §333); also in Ih^sil 698, 
 John P106. 
 
 3) As to-day in unaffected speech, in unstressed words not 
 beginning a clause: he 45, 51, his(e) i, 5, 8, hym 102, hem 
 31, hath 18, hadde 64; and in cases like shuld(e)r (h)an- 
 gynge 2163, cf. the cases in § 32. 
 
 Note. — Silent h. has been restored in MnE pronunciation 
 in some words, for ex., humble, humor, &c. 
 
 Consonantal i and u. 
 § 32. i) Before unstressed e, unstressed i, or y, is usually 
 unsyllabic, u occasionally so — English: berye merye 207, bis- 
 ier 322, lOuyere 80, tarien 2820, ladyes 898, 991, 999, but la- 
 dy'es 996; Wylu(gh) Elm 2420, yel(o)w as 675; French: 
 Apothecaries 425, myscarie 513; perpetuelly 1024, and with 
 elided -e (§23): glQri(e) and 870, 917, victQri(e) and 872, 
 916, victQri(e) of 1235, solitari(e h)e 1472, contrari(e) of 
 1667, 3057, studi(e h)e 1530, lili(e) vpon 1036, in: Yif me 
 the vic'tQrie I as'ke thee namQQre 2420, -ie I = conso- 
 nantal y; statii(e) of 2265, 975. In hostelrye 23, curteisie 
 46, &c., the i is stressed; in conscience 526, pacient 415, 
 &c., the e is often stressed.
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 35 
 
 2) Before other vowels, i or y is most commonly syllabic, 
 the following vowel being capable of stress: nScions 53, cor- 
 dial 443, Religioun 477; still, specially 15, glQrious 1955, 
 with consonantal i. 
 
 Note — Avoid giving to i iu this situation the modern 
 sound of for g: specially 15, cordial 443. 
 
 f, s, th. 
 
 § 33. i) The fricatives f, s and th were voiceless (as in o^, 
 so, thick,^: hymself 219, ful semeely 123, inspired 6, QQth 
 120, thynketh 37, br^^th 5; and so in compounds, &c.: bifel 
 19, yfalle 25; — except between two vowels or a vowel and a 
 voiced consonant, and then they were voiced (as in of, rose, 
 the) and f was usually written u: so u in hyraseluen 184, 
 siluer 115, s in ryse 33, ^sed 29, th in bathed 3, oother 113, 
 w5rthy 43. 
 
 2) Fricatives are now voiced in unstressed syllables and 
 words. Such forms as quod 1224 and bid(^ne, for queth and 
 bl the ^ne, show us that this voicing had begun in late ME; 
 but the d as clearly shows that the voiced fricative was not 
 yet used in stressed forms (London Academy, April 25, 1891). 
 We are therefore justified in assuming that when unstressed 
 (that is, in suffixes and in weak forms of such words as his 8, 
 47, as 49, 69, was 32, 68, is 229, with 79, 81, of 2, 82, than 
 42, 98, th^r 34, 43, this 36, 64, that 41, 45, the 2, 44 and 
 nathel^^s 35), fricatives were voiced (or at least whispered, 
 § i), but were voiceless when stressed, and so in monosyl- 
 lables in rime (his 55, 73, as 20, 34, 89, was 47, 51, is 4, 69, 
 with I, 5, 31, of 2676, though 68, th^rto 48, that i, 36, 43, 
 the 38, they 59, 81). This distinction between voiced "with" 
 {with all') and voiceless "with" [with' them) is still made 
 by many Americans. The voicing of unstressed wh- prob- 
 ably began later.
 
 36 CHAUCER'S PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 3) Foreign th had the sound of / (as it still has in thyme, 
 Thomas, and the familiar Art[h), Lut[h), T[]i)om, for A7-- 
 thur &c.) and had not yet succumbed to the influence of the 
 more frequent native fricative spelled th: Apothecaries 425, 
 Scithia 867, Athenes 873, ThObes 939; at times it was spelled t: 
 Cartage 404, Trace 1638, trQne 2529. 
 
 Note 1. — The old ]' for th in native words is r.-ire in the 
 E MS: J't = that G8, 146, pe = the 171, «fcc. This form of 
 "the" was in time corrupted in writin^;: to somethinj? Hke 
 "ye" and later so jjrinted — but never so pronounced! 
 
 Note 2. — Many words with -ther in MiiE, had -der in ME: 
 fnder 100, hider 672. thider 1263, gadrede vs tOgidre 'gath- 
 ered us together ' 824. 
 
 sh. 
 
 §34. The sound of / was spelled sh or sch, sh in the E 
 MS. For double sh cf. § 39 end. 
 
 r. 
 
 § 35. R was probably distinctly trilled with the tip of the 
 tongue, finally as well as elsewhere. 
 
 wh. 
 
 § 36. Wh was distinguished from w, as is still done in the 
 larger part of America: whistlynge wynd 170. Cf. § 33,2 end. 
 
 z. 
 
 §37. Z was pronounced as in M^^E, but was rarely used: 
 Zephirus 5, duszeyne 578. 
 
 Silent Letters. 
 
 § 38. The k of kn- and the 1 of -Ik, &c., did not become 
 silent until long after ME times; and the w of wr was still 
 sounded, either separately or as a rounding, or labialization, 
 of the following r (as is now done by many speakers in 
 sounding initial r): knyght 43, knyues 233, folk 12, Palmeres
 
 THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE CONSONANTS. 37 
 
 13, sh5lde 249, wulde 255, but could (koude 1,^0) had not 
 yet assumed 1 by analogy to these. 
 
 Double Consonants. 
 
 § 39. Double consonants were really double, that is, they 
 were held, or prolonged, not repeated; in M"E we pronounce 
 such consonants as though single: croppes s5nne 7, yr5nne 
 8. In some French words double consonants were sounded 
 single: Assise 3 14, excellence 31 1, office 292. Double k was 
 usually written kk, not ck: nekke 238, lokkes 677. Double 
 palatal g was written gg and not yet dg: abregge allegge 
 2999. Double ch was written cch and not yet tch, cf. below, 
 ff was one way of writing capital F: fful 47, 52, fflaundres 
 86, &c. Digraphs usually double only the first letter: cch, 
 ssh: wrecche 931, 1106, fresshe 90, flessh 147, Asshen 1302. 
 Sh is always doubled medially and finally; but perhaps this 
 was still a phonetic spelling for -*"+/. When final, double 
 consonants were usually written single: al 10, alle 26. But 
 englissh 265, &c., as above.
 
 CORRIGENDA. 
 
 p. 12, below, read 'a in zvhat', not 'o in wliat\ 
 p. 14, Note, line 2, read § 7, not § 37. 
 P- i5> (^)> li"e 3. I'ead iQlifin 340. 
 p. 17, §4, line 2, read 'slepen 10'. 
 
 N-, line 3, read § 23, not § iS. 
 line 5, read %i2, not § 27. 
 p. 18, § 5, line 2, read inspired. 
 
 Note, last line, read § 32, not § 27. 
 p. 19, § 7, last line, read Qu, not gr. 
 
 §8, line 4, read lulian. 
 p. 20, line 2, read § 2 //, not 2J1. 
 
 last word should be 'do', not 'do', 
 p. 21, § 9, 2, line 2, read 'them', not 'it'. 
 p. 25, line before last, read //, not //. 
 
 p. 26, Note I, line 3, read 'the long vowels "/ and ii (not so 
 generally ~e and o) still.' 
 
 § 15, line 5, cross out 'and iV . 
 
 line 6, cross out 'statue 83, Jrdian 340. 
 p. 30, 5 end, read § 32, not § 27.
 
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