1. Middle English
Or, “Learning to Speak Chaucer”
(the abridged version)

2. Background: With the Norman invasion, the nobility spoke:French
and all others spoke: English
Just when you thought the Normans couldn’t get any snobbier, they decided to:
Speak Parisian French and not Norman French
But, in the 1300s, things were starting to change and English was becoming the predominant language over French.

3. Background (Cont’d)
In 1362: Parliament opened with a speech in English
Chaucer’s role:He’s called “the father of English poetry.” Although he knew French and Italian, he began writing in the London dialect of English.
William Caxton’s role:He created the printing press, helped to establish standard written English and also used the London dialect

4. Differences from Modern English
Middle English differs from Modern English in three main respects:
1) Long vowel sounds are different
2) Final e’s are pronounced
3) ALL Middle English consonants are sounded

5. Long Vowels Question: How do I determine if a vowel is long or short?
Answer:
Vowels are long if they end a word, are doubled, or are followed by a single consonant and a vowel.
Vowels are short if they are followed by two consonants.

6. A Long A sounded like the a in Modern English “father”; maken, maad.
Short A
pronounced like o in “hot” like cappe
A sounds

7. E Long E sounded like the a in Modern English “name”; be, sweete.
Short E
pronounced as e in “set” in setten

8. I (or Y)
Long I (or y)
sounded like the i in Modern English “machine”; lif, white, myn
Short I
pronounced a i in “wit”; wit
I Sound

9. O Long O sounded like the o in Modern English “note”; do, soone
Short O
pronounced like o in “oft”; pot
O Sound

10. U
Long u (spelled ou or ow) is sounded like the oo in the Modern English “goose”; house, flowr
U Sound

11. Final E
The final e sounds like the a in “sofa” to provide an extra unstressed syllable. Although now most of our final e’s are silent (like tale), there are some instances when we do still pronounce it.
Wanted
Dishes
The final e is not pronounced if followed by an H, a W, or another vowel

12. Two Oddities Odd plurals: 2) Contractions:
Today we have a couple of odd plurals, like oxen, children, and brethren. Chaucer had many (ashen= ashes; been=bees; eyen=eyes; toon=toes; hosen=hose)
2) Contractions:
Contractions today are added onto the end “’nt” but then they were added to the beginning with an n (like we have never for not ever).
Guess the following:
Nam=
Nis=
Nath=
Nil=

13. Follow Along with your “Pronunciation Help” Sheet
English Timeline