Welcome to the History of English Podcast, a podcast about the history of the English language.

This is Episode 141, the Great Vowel Shift, Part 1.

In this episode, we're going to delve into the Great Vowel Shift by looking at a series

of changes that affected certain vowel sounds pronounced in the front part of the mouth.

We're going to focus on the two highest front vowels, and we'll explore how the sound

of those vowels evolved in the middle English period.

Those were some of the earliest developments in the major event that's known today as

the Great Vowel Shift.

Over the next couple of episodes, we'll continue our look at changes that took place in other

parts of the mouth.

Selectively, these changes will help to mark the transition from middle English to modern

English.

So over the course of these episodes, we'll break down the Great Vowel Shift piece by piece,

and we'll see how those changes shape the language we speak today.

But before we begin, let me remind you that the website for the podcast is historyofenglishpodcast.com.

And you can sign up to support the podcast and get bonus episodes and transcripts at patreon.com-historyofenglish.

Now, before we begin, let me make a quick programming note.

Last time, I mentioned that I was going to discuss the Great Vowel Shift over the course

of two episodes, one focusing on the front vowels and one focusing on the back vowels.

Well, as I started to delve into this episode, I realized that I couldn't really cover the

front vowel changes in one episode.

There's an extra vowel sound in the front of the mouth, and the changes there were a

...