Page 36 - 4952

that something major had already changed by the time William
Caxton set up the first printing press in England in 1476.

Conclusion: The Great Vowel Shift is perhaps the most

significant sound change in the history of the English language.
During the late Middle English period, most English vowels

shifted their pronunciation. For example, in the early Middle

English period before the Great Vowel Shift, the vowel in the
word "moon" was pronounced [o]; it sounded like our modern

word "moan." Today the vowel in "moon" is pronounced [u]. So

the name of the earth's satellite shifted it's pronunciation from
[mon] to [mun]. If we visual this shift in terms of the phonetics

chart for vowels, we could say that English vowels shifted up
the chart. The high vowels "popped off" the chart and became

diphthongs. (Notice that the Great Vowel Shift did NOT involve
a front / back vowel change. This means it is strikingly different

from ablaut, which also affected vowels.)

The Great Vowel Shift would probably be just an historical

curiosity if it weren't for the fact that the first printing press
opened in London in 1476, right in the middle of the shift!

34