(1) Vowel-Shiftings.
[23.]
It will prove an aid to the student in acquiring the inflections and vocabulary of Old English to note carefully the following shiftings that have taken place in the gradual growth of the Old English vowel system into that of Modern English.
(1) As stated in [§ 3], the Old English inflectional vowels, which were all short and unaccented, weakened in early Middle English to e. This e in Modern English is frequently dropped:
| Old English. | Middle English. | Modern English. |
|---|---|---|
| stān-as | ston-es | stones |
| sun-u | sun-e | son |
| sun-a | sun-e | sons |
| ox-an | ox-en | oxen |
| swift-ra | swift-er | swifter |
| swift-ost | swift-est | swiftest |
| lōc-ode | lok-ede | looked |
(2) The Old English long vowels have shifted their phonetic values with such uniform regularity that it is possible in almost every case to infer the Modern English sound; but our spelling is so chaotic that while the student may infer the modern sound, he cannot always infer the modern symbol representing the sound.
| Old English. | Modern English. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| ā | o (as in no)[2] |  | nā = no; stān = stone; bān =bone; rād = road; āc = oak;hāl = whole; hām = home; sāwan =to sow; gāst = ghost. |
| ē | e (as in he) | | hē = he; wē = we; ðē =thee; mē = me; gē = ye; hēl =heel; wērig = weary; gelēfan = tobelieve; gēs = geese. |
| ī (ȳ) | i (y) (as in mine) | | mīn = mine; ðīn = thine; wīr =wire; mȳs = mice; rīm = rime (wronglyspelt rhyme); lȳs = lice; bī = by;scīnan = to shine; stig-rāp = sty-rope(shortened to stirrup, stīgan meaning tomount). |
| ō | o (as in do) | | dō = I do; tō = too, to;gōs = goose; tōð = tooth; mōna =moon; ðōm = doom; mōd = mood;wōgian = to woo; slōh = I slew. |
| ū | ou (ow) (as inthou) | | ðū = thou; fūl = foul; hūs =house; nū = now; hū = how; tūn= town; ūre = our; ūt = out; hlūd =loud; ðūsend = thousand. |
| ǣ, ēa, ēo | ea (as in sea) | | ǣ: sǣ = sea; mǣl = meal;dǣlan = to deal; clǣne = clean;grǣdig = greedy. ēa: ēare = ear; ēast = east;drēam = dream; gēar = year; bēatan =to beat. ēo: ðrēo = three; drēorig =dreary; sēo = she, hrēod = reed;dēop = deep. |
(2) Analogy.
[24.]
But more important than vowel shifting is the great law of Analogy, for Analogy shapes not only words but constructions. It belongs, therefore, to Etymology and to Syntax, since it influences both form and function. By this law, minorities tend to pass over to the side of the majorities. “The greater mass of cases exerts an assimilative influence upon the smaller.”[3] The effect of Analogy is to simplify and to regularize. “The main factor in getting rid of irregularities is group-influence, or Analogy—the influence exercised by the members of an association-group on one another.... Irregularity consists in partial isolation from an association-group through some formal difference.”[4]