[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Speaking 'properly' or not

[Pam Hugonnet]

Steve(bboyminn) wrote:

I'm curious whether these pronunciations are correct relative to the
rules and structure of the British English language, or if they are
merely commonly accepted pronunciations?

For example, there is a standard rule that while not all inclusive,
still cover many many words; it is, 'vowel, consonant, vowel'
typically mean the first Vowel is long and the second Vowel is silent.
So, 'Shire' become Sh-eye-er not shear or sheer. Further, the 'Ah'
sound, doesn't strike me as a standard pronunciation of the letter
'U'; 'Burk' vs 'Bark'. 

So, I'm wondering if these accepted pronunciations aren't regional
'accent' variations that while in violation of standard UK English
word construction and pronunciation, have come to be generally accepted?


I reply:

Actually the pronunciation quirks are a result of the Great Vowel Shift, a linguistic revolution that occurred between roughly the 15th and 17th centuries.  During that time, the way certain vowels were pronounced changed dramatically-- you can think of them as moving up a step.  So that in Chaucer's time and before, the e in "Berkshire" and "Derbyshire" were pronounced more like "ah" and the i was pronounced more like "ee," hence today's confusion.  Here's a good website to check out:
http://alpha.furman.edu/~mmenzer/gvs/what.htm

And for all of us who suffered through learning to read Chaucer in his original form:
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/vowels.html

This is a really good site where you can really see the pronunciation changes caused by the Shift.

Happy Reading!
pam

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