Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A series of phonetic changes occurring in Early Modern English in which the Middle English low and mid long vowels were raised, (ä) and (ō) becoming (ā) and (oo͞), for example, while the high long vowels (ē) and (oo͞) became the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
Etymologies
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Examples
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This must all have happened before the Great Vowel Shift started to apply.
Wymondham (Norfolk) and Wymondley (Hertfordshire) | Linguism | Language Blog 2010
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Called the Great Vowel Shift, the English language changed from the way it had been for generations.
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Those who have learned about the Great Vowel Shift -- or perhaps heard it in action, thanks to reconstructed audio of earlier varieties of English -- may enjoy wearing the T-shirt which proudly proclaims of its wearer "I Survived The Great Vowel Shift."
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It's pronounced more like "yuleteeth"* than "yuletide", but you can blame that on the Great Vowel Shift.
Random Christmas Fact StyleyGeek 2006
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It's pronounced more like "yuleteeth"* than "yuletide", but you can blame that on the Great Vowel Shift.
Archive 2006-12-01 StyleyGeek 2006
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I'll explain below that some such idea has been proposed for major trends in language, such as the Great Vowel Shift which took place in English from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century.
The God Delusion Dawkins, Richard, 1941- 2006
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But the one example I cited of language being naturally selected - the theory that the Great Vowel Shift might have a functional explanation - is not of this type.
The God Delusion Dawkins, Richard, 1941- 2006
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The Great Vowel Shift is about long vowels, which were raised (o u, e.g. tooth) or diphthonguised (u ou/ow, e.g. town).
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The ay-men pronunciation, a product of the Great Vowel Shift dating to the 15th century, is associated with Irish
MetaFilter 2010
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Eclectic indeed; his subjects include the Great Vowel Shift, the language of
Boston Globe -- Ideas section Jan Freeman 2010
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