The Great Vowel Shift and the History of Britain.

The English language underwent a dramatic change in pronunciation between the fourteenth and the seventeenth centuries, so much so that Geoffrey Chaucer and William Shakespeare likely would not have understood each other's speech. The transformation was emblematic of the historical events that shaped a nation. The History Guy recalls the Great Vowel Shift.

This is original content based on research by The History Guy. Images in the Public Domain are carefully selected and provide illustration. As images of actual events are sometimes not available, images of similar objects and events are used for illustration.

All events are portrayed in historical context and for educational purposes. No images or content are primarily intended to shock and disgust. Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Non censuram.

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Script by THG

#history #thehistoryguy #English

[InstructoratHeald]

One of the things that stuck with me from an undergraduate class called History of the English Language was the Great Vowel Shift, so I was very glad to see that the History Guy had covered it. After having taught English for over 35 years, I would be a wealthy woman if I had a dime for every time a student asked me why words are spelled the way they are. I wish I had had this video to share with my students. Thank you, History Guy, for showing how interconnected language and history really are!

[stevedriscoll]

Firstly may I congratulate you on your fascinating presentations. Secondly, as an Englishman from Norfolk (England, not Virginia!) I can honestly say that this is one of my favourite pieces of your work. My sister has a Doctorate in Middle English, but I find that your explanation of the topic is every bit as knowledgeable as anything that she has explained to me about my mother tongue. Thank you.

[harmonicresonanceproject]

Fabulous! I'm sitting here in South Oxfordshire, watching you explain to me why we say it like that. Love it.

[Robert]

I live in the southern US, Tennessee, not too far from Vowel Mountain where I believe all the cast off vowels were disposed of. In this part of Tennessee, you can still hear all the cast off vowels being dumped on single syllables that seem to go on as far as the ear can hear.

[FalbertForester]

"Other languages will occasionally borrow words from each other. English lures other languages into dark alleyways, mugs them for vocabulary, and goes through their pockets for loose grammar."

[pepelopez]

Thanks for this episode! I´m a coordinator at an EFL school. I´ve passed the episode on to my teachers and we´ve been discussing it. Good food for thought.

[jimtownsend]

I'm cleaning my desk and just came across something I wrote a while back. It has a particular bearing on this topic and conversation: "Though he thought it was tough to get the plough through the trough, he did it, because he needed the dough."

[WlframAlpha]

I suppose "vowel shift" is a better term than "vowel movement." 😄

[raydunakin]

I like how much feeling you put into these.

[eledatowle]

I had a high school teacher who told us that most English curse words came from Anglo-Saxon, so if we curse, we should apologize with, "Please pardon my Anglo-Saxon." That stuck and was said for years around here.

[edmccall]

My grandfather was born in the United States, in the northwestern South Carolina about 1870. It was an area that was difficult to access until road improvements in the early 20th century, and the people were pretty isolated from the rest of the country. I remember him using words that sounded strange to my mid 20th ears. He pronounced “deaf” just as you said in this video. He always said “deef”.

[minxadinxaroo]

I come from the West Country in England. I recently discovered that the accent and dialect is the closest to the Wessex language as it was spoken. My Somerset grandparents used thee and thy instead of you and yours. My Gloucestershire grandparents said "Bist" instead of "are you", and they both said "deef" instead of deaf. If you couldn't hear they'd say "What's the matter? Bist deef?" !! "How bist?" meant how are you. There's a funny song by a local band called Adge Cutler and the Wurzels, "Thee's gott'n where thee cassn't back'n hassn't?" About a young married couple having parking problems with their new car, full of double entendres and translating to "You've got it where you can't reverse it, haven't you? " Of course, everything is much more cosmopolitan these days, but there's still people in the area who understand this way of speaking.

[davidharris]

William F. Buckley said: "When it comes to the English language, if enough of us are wrong we are right."

[ariochiv]

I don't recall seeing the History Guy so animated and passionate. I think we may have found a pet subject.

[cmstevens]

No matter what the subject, the History Guy never fails to deliver an informative, enthusiastic and thoroughly entertaining commentary - his presentation skills are second to none and deserving of prime-time television. Please keep the videos coming...

[kayhoww]

Amazing. You answered more questions I had on this topic in the first five minutes than other youtubers did in entire videos.

[CAPDude]

The History Guy is a better teacher than any teacher I ever had in school

[SpiceeMustard]

I wish you were my history teacher in high school. My British history professor in college was A LOT like you though. He never had us open the textbook but instead told us Britain's history in his own way full of love of the "story" with great personality. Funny: he wrote the textbook and it was the most expensive of my college career. But its the only one I still have.

[ChuckJansenII]

Another very informative episode. As my mother once told me when I was very young, "You have very colorful language that is beyond your age. Try not to be an old sailor anymore, 'kay." This episode surprised me. I understand that English is such a mix of languages, too. Soooo many crazy rules and exceptions. But it does have one great benefit in being great for word play humor.

[NicleT]

One of the great _word migration_ story I know, it’s about the word *Budget*. In Medieval French vocabulary, the _Bougette_ was the little pouch strapped to one’s belt for carrying money pieces. The expression comes from the verb _bouger_ : to move, hence the expression is a diminutive that signifies “the little thing that shakes”. But It then migrate in English and became _Budget_ associated to money management. It then came back in French after a while with this new definition. So in French _Budget_ is a word that migrate at least two times. So great!