3.2. Ne consonant changes

The changes that affected consonants in NE are not very numerous.

1) Two new consonant phoneme, [N] and [Z], arose during the period.

– In OE and ME [N] was an allophone of the [n] phoneme before [g] and [k]. During EME [g was lost in final position and [N]became phonemic, because it contrasted with EME [n] in final position. For example, when [g] was lost, EME wing [wIng] became [wIN] instead of just [wIn], preserving the distinction between wing and win.

– The fricative [Z] arose from the group [zj] in the 17th c.

[zj] > [Z]

ME measur [mezju:r] >

NE measure [meZq]

2) By the end of the 16th c. fricatives [ç and x] disappeared, and a preceding short vowel lengthened in compensation, e.g. ME night [nIçt] > ENE night [nJt], ME broughte [broVxtq] > ENE brought [brO:t]

3) The voiceless fricative consonants [s, T, f and C] were voiced after unstressed vowels or in word having no sentence stress: possess, observe; the, this, there, then, though, etc. ME knowleche > NE knowledge.

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The sound changes that took place in NE were great and numerous:

1. Unstressed vowels at the end of words are fully reduced.

2. All long vowels changed their quality due to the Great Vowel Shift.

3. New monophthongs appeared in the system due the qualitative changes of short [Q and V] and the vocalisation of [r].

4. The vocalisation of [r] caused the lengthening of vowels or the appearance of new diphthongs or triphthongs.

5. New consonants entered the system, while some seized to be used in certain positions.