The document discusses the emergence of a London dialect as the standard for Middle English, influenced by the city's size and diversity. It details phonetic changes in vowels and consonants over time, including losses and adaptations, alongside the incorporation of French and Latin words. Additionally, it highlights the evolution of diphthongs and their origins in Old English and French loanwords.

1. Middle English
pages 140 - 151
Dr. Mubarak Alkhatnai

2. The rise of a London
standard
 The dialectal diversity of Middle English.
 Different dialects in different parts of Britain.
 London dialect being the standard for all of England.
 London as a big city and its impact.
 Standard Modern English (American and Britain) is a
development of the speech of London.
 London speech is the ancestor of standard Modern English.

3. Changes in Pronunciation
The principle Consonantal Changes:
Consonants have remained relatively stable throughout the history of
English.
 b, c [K, Č], d, f [f, v], Ō [g, y], h [h, x], k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, p, ð, w, x, all
remained unchanged.
However, the following changes may be summarized as:
1- hl, hn, hr, were simplified to l, n, r e.g. hleapen > leap
2- g after l or r became w. halgian > halwen “to hallow”
3- w was lost if between a consonant particularly s and t.
OE twa > Middle E. To “two”

4. 7- final inflectional n was gradually lost in pronouns. OE Min fæder > Middle
E. my fader > my father
9- Many words were borrowed from French and Latin. Words that begin with
z or v
10- Initial θ in unstressed words changed to voiced ð such as this, the
11- with the loss of final –e sounds like v, z, ð came to occur in final position
e.g. give, lose, bathe

5. The Middle English
Vowels
 OE long vowels didn’t change in Middle E. ē, ī, ō, ū but their
spelling changed. Fēt=feet, fōde = food
 OE y underwent unrounding to ī. OE hyden > ME hiden > to hide
 Ā remained unchanged. OE hām > ME Hame > home

6. Changes in Diphthongs
The diphthongal system changed radically between OE and ME. The old
diphthongs disappeared and a number of new ones (aı,eı,au,ɔu,εu,ıu,ɔı,uı)
developed :
1-The OE long diphthongs ēa ēo underwent smoothening to ee
OE lēaf > ME leef > Leaf
2-In early ME , two new diphthongs ending in (ı) , (aı) and (eı)- developed from OE
sources .
3-Four new diphthongs ending in (U) or (u)-(aU),(ɔU),(εU)and (ıU)- also developed from
OE sources.
4-Two ME diphthongs are of French origin, entering English language in the loanwords
borrowed from the French-speaking conquerors of England. They are ,ɔı and uı .