wh (wh), as in the North of England; not a mere w, as in the South.
For the sound of th, modern English may be taken as the guide; and the same remark applies to the distinction between f and v, and to the variable sound of s. Moreover, every letter should be distinctly sounded; the k in knee (knéé) and the w in wryte (wrii·tə) were still in use in the time of Chaucer, though now only preserved in the written forms.
[§ 23]. It will readily be understood that the M.E. vowel-sounds were intermediate between those of Anglo-Saxon and of modern English. They can best be understood by consulting the table at p. 42 of my Primer of English Etymology; and, for French words, that at p. 126 of my Principles of English Etymology, Second Series. The pronunciation of M.E. and of Anglo-French vowels did not materially differ. Instead of here reproducing these tables, I give the approximate pronunciation of the first eighteen lines of the Canterbury Tales. But we must remember, that the pronunciation of words in a sentence is not always the same as when they are taken singly, owing to the accent (or want of accent) due to their position. The word his (hiz) may have its initial h aspirated, when standing alone; but in the phrase his shoures, it is taken along with shoures, loses its accent and its initial h, and becomes (iz). Words are much affected by the manner in which they are thus grouped together. I denote this grouping by the use of a hyphen, and mark the accented syllables by a sloping stroke over every accented vowel; as is usual[[25]]. The elided final
e is denoted by ('). There is no elision at the medial pause; see below ([§ 116]). The medial pause is here denoted by a sloping stroke, as in the Ellesmere MS.
Whán-dhat Apríllə/ wídh iz-shúurez sóotə
dhə-drúuht' ov-Márchə/ hath-pérsed tóo dhə-róotə,
ənd-báadhed év'ri véinə/ in-swích likúur,
ov-whích vertýy/ enjéndred íz dhə-flúur,
whan-Zéfirús áek/ wídh-iz swéetə bráeth
inspíired háth/ in-év'ri hólt ənd-háeth