Abstract
All languages change over time. English has undergone continuous change throughout its three major periods: Old English (roughly from 450 to 1100 AD), Middle English (from 1100 to 1500), and Modern English (from 1500 to the present). Sound is one of the most easily influenced parts of language to be subject to different changes. Sound change is inevitable and it is a live indication of the continuous growth of language. The evidence to prove the regularity and systematicity of sound change has been the main concern of linguists, This paper seeks to provide more evidence on how vowel harmony played a key role on the regularity of sound change by extracting samples of sound changes that have taken place throughout the English history.
Highlights
INTRODUCTIONSound change is perhaps the most thoroughly studied area in the To what extent does phonology influence the decay subject of language change
The evidence to prove the regularity and systematicity of sound change has been the main concern of linguists, This paper seeks to provide more evidence on how vowel harmony played a key role on the regularity of sound change by extracting samples of sound changes that have taken place throughout the English history
The evidence to prove the systematicity of sound change and the significant role of i-umlaut on this change has been the main concern of this paper
Summary
Sound change is perhaps the most thoroughly studied area in the To what extent does phonology influence the decay subject of language change. Languages and sounds, in particular, are subject to continuous To what extent does the phonological environment change over time No doubt, such processes are not unexpected trigger feature and segment change?. Has been made to shed light on three main changes (primary Campbell (1998) explains that “i-umlaut is a kind of sound phonological) in English attributed to phonological necessi- change in which a back vowel is fronted when followed by ties To this end, the paper addresses three different but relat- a front vowel or/j/(usually in the syllable). There is no sign of the vowel continuity to change in this way in later periods It is a kind of ‘vowel harmony’ which is a natural process that affects modern languages.”. Middle English drinken (from OE drincan “to drink”) became first drinke and ” drink”
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