the main changes between old english sound system , of middle english include:
emergence of voiced fricatives /v/, /ð/, /z/ separate phonemes, rather mere allophones of corresponding voiceless fricatives.
reduction of old english diphthongs monophthongs, , emergence of new diphthongs due vowel breaking in positions, change of old english post-vocalic /j/, /w/ (sometimes resulting [ɣ] allophone of /ɡ/) offglides, , borrowing french.
merging of old english /æ/ , /ɑ/ single vowel /a/.
raising of long vowel /æː/ /ɛː/, , (in south) raising , rounding of /ɑː/ /ɔː/.
unrounding of front rounded vowels in dialects.
lengthening of vowels in open syllables (and in other positions). resultant long vowels (and other pre-existing long vowels) subsequently underwent changes of quality in great vowel shift, began during later middle english period.
loss of gemination (double consonants came pronounced single ones).
loss of weak final vowels (schwa, written ⟨e⟩). chaucer s time vowel silent in normal speech, although pronounced in verse meter required (much occurs in modern french). also, non-final unstressed ⟨e⟩ dropped when adjacent single consonant on either side if there short ⟨e⟩ in adjoining syllable. thus, every began pronounced evry , , palmeres palmers .
the combination of last 3 processes listed above led spelling conventions associated silent ⟨e⟩ , doubled consonants (see under orthography, below).
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