ME pronunciation: Reading Chaucer

Assume that every letter counts: /ç/ is still around, /ŋg/ hasn’t become /η/, and you pronounce the <i> in words ending in <-ion>

<Knyght> /knɪçt/

<yonge> /jUŋg*/

<specially> /spεsjali/

<condicioun> /kɔndisiun/

Except perhaps for word-initial /h/ in French words!

<hostelrye> /ɔsətlriə/

There are some systematic differences with the short vowels

<er> is /ɛr/, not /ər/ (/r/ does weird things to the preceding vowel, cf. university and varsity, person and parson)

<vertu> /vɛrty/

<erly> /ɛrli/

/U/ (OE <u>, ME <o> or <u>) is still rounded in words like come

<come> /kUm/

<yonge> /jUŋgə/

Remember that long vowels are pronounced very differently

-haven’t gone through the Great Vowel Shift

-like modern European languages / the IPA symbols:

-basically, space /ɑ:/, seke /e/, ryse /i/, soote /o/, flour /u/

So, long <a> /a:/ roughly as in ‘father, car’

<bathed> /ba:ðəd/

<made> /ma:də/

<take> /ta:kə/

And <ay> is lower too: roughly /æi/

<day> /dæi/

<lay> /læi/

There are 2 ‘long e’s: one from OE /e/ and /eo/, often PDE /e/, later spelled <ee>

<slepen> /slepən/

<seke> /sekə/

<degree> /dəgre/

And one from the OE <æ:> that ends up as PDE <ea>

In ME, it’s pronounced like a long version of the ‘e’ in ‘pet’: /ɛ:/, to be spelled <ea>

<breeth> /brɛ:θ/

<heeth> /hɛ:θ/

<seson> /sɛ:zun/

ME long <i,y> /i/:

<shires> /širəz/

<ryse> /rizə/

<devyse> /dəvizə/

ME long <o> /o/:

<soote> /sotə/

<roote> /rotə/

ME long <ou> /u/:

<shoures> /šurəz/

<flour> /flur/

<resoun> /rɛzun/

Online readings:

http://academics.vmi.edu/english/audio/audio_index.html

http://pages.towson.edu/duncan/chaucer/indexn.htm