Changes in Middle English: Grammar, Pronunciation, and Vocabulary
Changes Undergone by Nouns in Middle English
Reduction of Inflections
The Middle English period saw a general reduction of inflections in English grammar. Endings that distinguished number, case, and often gender were altered in pronunciation, losing their distinctive forms and usefulness.
Factors Leading to the Leveling of Inflections
- Phonetic Changes: For example, the dative plural of nouns saw the change of final -m to -n, with -n eventually disappearing.
- Analogy: The indeterminate vowel (e) was organic in some cases and extended by analogy to others, leading to a uniform -e ending. The -s of the singular possessive and genitive became the marker of the plural and extended to all plural forms.
Shift from Grammatical Gender to Natural Gender
In addition to inflectional changes, there was a shift from grammatical gender to natural gender, with all nouns eventually joining the strong masculine class.
The Plural
The major inflectional distinction that remained was number. The singular was unmarked, while the plural was marked by -s/-es. However, the south dialect preserved variant forms like -n plurals, even with nouns that didn’t originally have them (e.g., sho, shoon). Some -r plurals (e.g., lomb/lomber) were regularized into -s forms. Plural forms like child/childer became exceptions, leading to the phenomenon of double plurals (adding a second plural marker -n).
Regional Variation
These changes occurred at different rates in different geographic areas, resulting in diverse forms in the literary production of the period.
Other Notable Developments in Middle English
Aureate Diction
Aureate diction involved vocabulary derived largely from Latin, creating a high or elevated poetic diction used for special ceremonial or religious occasions. It was conservative, aiming to transfer the grandiloquence of the Latin Church liturgy to the vernacular. Notable practitioners included John Lydgate, James Dunbar, and Henryson.
Chaucer’s Influence
Geoffrey Chaucer (1350-1400), author of Troilus and Criseyde and The Canterbury Tales, introduced metrical innovations like rhyme royal and the 5-stress line. As a court poet, Chaucer’s language may reflect the speech of the court, potentially influencing the development of Standard English.
Combining Words into Self-Interpreting Compounds
The process of combining words into self-interpreting compounds weakened in Middle English. The ready-made French word was often borrowed instead of creating a new word. This contrasts with the modern tendency to create compounds like “air bag.”
Changes in Pronouns
The dual number in pronouns began to disappear in Middle English. In demonstrative pronouns, only “the” and “that” survived. The plural “tho” persisted until the Elizabethan era (1558-1603). Most distinctions in Old English personal pronouns were maintained, but the dative and accusative cases combined. The neuter form of the accusative, “(h)it,” became the general objective case. The nominative “hi” was replaced by the Scandinavian form “they,” along with “their” and “them.”
The Great Vowel Shift
The Great Vowel Shift, starting in the 15th century, significantly modified the quality of all long vowels and contributed to the present-day English vowel system. High vowels [i:] and [u:] diphthongized, high-mid vowels [e:] and [o:] were raised, and so on. This shift is responsible for the unconventional use of vowel symbols in English spelling.
Inflectional Endings
Two inflectional endings survived the decay process: the plural ending -as>-es, -s and the genitive singular -es>[‘]s. The genitive plural was among the first to be lost. Causes include the leveling of unstressed vowels, borrowing from French, fixation of clause word-order, and incorporation of prepositions.
Changes in Verbs
- Reduction of the Inflectional System: The weakening of unstressed vowels to /schwa/ reduced three classes of weak verbs to two. Strong verbs underwent simplifications, including the homogenization of the preterite and the absorption of infrequent patterns.
- Simplification: The loss of unstressed vowels led to agglutination and assimilation of consonants, resulting in the disappearance of inflections. The lack of inflectional endings made forms indistinguishable, particularly the subjunctive from the indicative, leading to the increased use of modals.
- Grammaticalization of Verbs: Verbs that would become tense auxiliaries emerged, leading to the development of compound tenses (progressive and perfect). This grammaticalization was quicker for “shall,” which became almost exclusively used to express the future.
- Developments Affecting Modals: Modals lost their non-finite forms, their ability to take an object, and the distinction between present and preterit forms.
Identify Verbs
- iss: 3rd singular preterite indicative of “beon” (to be)
- nemmned: past participle of “nemman” (to call), class I weak verb
- Wrohhte: 3rd singular preterite indicative of “writan” (to produce), class 1 strong verb
- Hafe: 1st singular present indicative of “habban” (to have), class III weak verb
- Wennd: past participle of “wendan” (to turn), class I weak verb
- Hafpee: 3rd singular present indicative of “habban” (to have), class III weak verb
- Lenedd: past participle of “laenan” (to lend), class I weak verb
Old French Diphthong “ui”
In Anglo-Norman, the Old French diphthong “ui” retained its accentuation, with the “i” disappearing and leaving only “u” [y]. In Middle English, [y] became [u] or [iu], as in “fruit.” In Central French, the accent shifted from úi to uí in the 12th century, resulting in a different pronunciation of “fruit” in Modern French.
The Peterborough Chronicle
The Peterborough Chronicle, written in installments between 1070 and 1154, shows the development from a highly synthetic stage of Old English to the highly analytic stage of Middle and Modern English. It demonstrates a significant loss of inflections and a corresponding rigidity of word order.
Plural in Nouns in Middle English
The singular number was unmarked in Middle English. The plural was marked by -s/-es, except in the south dialect, which alternated the regular -s/-es form with -n plurals. Some old -r plurals (e.g., lomb/lomber) were regularized into -s forms. Plural forms like child/childer became exceptions, leading to the phenomenon of double plurals (adding a second plural marker -n).
Relative Pronouns
Old English did not have relative pronouns, using the definite article “se, seo, paet” instead. Later in Old English, “pe” became the usual relative pronoun. In Middle English, “pe” was replaced by “that,” and in the 15th century, “which” and “that” were introduced. “Who” was introduced in the 16th century.
The Royal Society and Language
The Royal Society, with its experimental and empirical methods, advocated for plain, specific, and clear language in scientific writing, avoiding ornamental and emotive language.
Jonathan Swift’s Views on Language
Jonathan Swift rejected the skeptical spirit of the Royal Society. He was conservative regarding language, supporting the classics but understanding the merits of plain English style. He opposed innovations like clipping the penultimate syllable (e.g., “imate”), the tendency to contract verbs (e.g., “disturb’d”), and the use of modern terms by preachers (e.g., “mob”).
Vowels of Middle English Before the Great Vowel Shift
Long Vowels
- /a:/ as in modern “father”
- /ɛ:/ as in French “bête”
- /e:/ as in French “thé”
- /i:/ as in modern “see”
- /ɔ:/ roughly as in “broad”
- /o:/ roughly as in “go”
- /u:/ as in modern “do”
Short Vowels
- /e/ and /i/ or /y/ as in present-day “hell,” “pit,” or “synne”
- /a/ always as in French “patte”
- The letter “ae” was either /a/ or /e/
- The letter “u” was always /u/. When derived words have an “e” or “i”, “u” is pronounced as in the French word “du.”
- The letter “o” was normally pronounced as in present-day “God.”
Richard Mulcaster’s Influence on Spelling
Richard Mulcaster advocated for refining English orthography. He proposed that the final “e” should only be used after a long vowel (e.g., “made”/”mad”) and differentiated between light “y” and “i” (e.g., “daie”/”day”). He favored analogy in spelling, for example, “fear” and “tear” are written similarly by analogy with “hear.”