ME pronunciation: Reading Chaucer

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

<Knyght> /knIçt/

<yonge> /jUηg*/

<specially> /spεsjali/

<condicioun> /k)ndisiun/

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

<hostelrye> /)st*lri*/

There are some systematic differences with the short vowels

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

<vertu> /vεrty/

<erly> /εrli/

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

<come> /kUm/

<yonge> /jUηg*/

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 /α:/, seke /e/, ryse /i/, soote /o/, flour /u/

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

<bathed> /ba:ð*d/

<made> /ma:d*/

<take> /ta:k*/

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 <ee>

<slepen> /slep*n/

<seke> /sek*/

<degree> /d*gre/

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’: /ε:/

<breeth> /br ε:θ/

<heeth> /h ε:θ/

<seson> /s ε:zun/

ME long <i,y> /i/:

<shires> /šir*z/

<ryse> /riz*/

<devyse> /d*viz*/

ME long <o> /o/:

<soote> /sot*/

<roote> /rot*/

ME long <ou> /u/:

<shoures> /šur*z/

<flour> /flur/

<resoun> /rεzun/