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Great Vowel Shift. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Great Vowel Shift, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Great Vowel Shift in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Etymology
Coined by Danish linguist Otto Jespersen.
Proper noun
the Great Vowel Shift
- (phonology) A major change in the pronunciation of the English language, affecting the sounds of long vowels, that took place in England between 1350 and 1700.
Because English spelling was becoming standardized in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for many of the peculiarities of English spelling.
Translations
major change in the pronunciation of the English language