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Phonological history of English close front vowels - Wikipedia

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class="vector-toc-link" href="#Kit–bit_split"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.3</span> <span><i>Kit–bit</i> split</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Kit–bit_split-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Thank–think_merger" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Thank–think_merger"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.4</span> <span><i>Thank–think</i> merger</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Thank–think_merger-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Developments_involving_weak_vowels" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Developments_involving_weak_vowels"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Developments involving weak vowels</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Developments_involving_weak_vowels-sublist" class="cdx-button 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vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Happy_tensing"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span><i>Happy</i> tensing</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Happy_tensing-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Merger_of_/y/_with_/i/_and_/yː/_with_/iː/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Merger_of_/y/_with_/i/_and_/yː/_with_/iː/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Merger of <span>/y/</span> with <span>/i/</span> and <span>/yː/</span> with <span>/iː/</span></span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Merger_of_/y/_with_/i/_and_/yː/_with_/iː/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Additional_mergers_in_Asian_and_African_English" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Additional_mergers_in_Asian_and_African_English"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Additional mergers in Asian and African English</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Additional_mergers_in_Asian_and_African_English-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Bibliography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a 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href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">History and description of</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a href="/wiki/English_phonology" title="English phonology">English pronunciation</a></th></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Historical stages</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Old_English_phonology" title="Old English phonology">Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle English</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English" title="Phonological history of English">General development</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Old_English" title="Phonological history of Old English">In Old English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_Scots" title="Phonological history of Scots">In Scots</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_vowels" title="Phonological history of English vowels">Development of vowels</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩">A</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">Close back</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Close front</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_diphthongs" title="Phonological history of English diphthongs">Diphthongs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_open_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English open back vowels">Open back</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">Pre-L</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">Pre-R</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Development of consonants</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonants" title="Phonological history of English consonants">Single consonants</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters" title="Phonological history of English consonant clusters">Clusters</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Variable features</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cot%E2%80%93caught_merger" title="Cot–caught merger"><i>Cot</i>–<i>caught</i> merger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drawl" title="Drawl">Drawl</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flapping" title="Flapping">Flapping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H-dropping" title="H-dropping">H-dropping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/L-vocalization" title="L-vocalization">L-vocalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8ng%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨ng⟩">NG</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_/r/" title="Pronunciation of English /r/">R</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English" title="Rhoticity in English">Rhoticity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T-glottalization" title="T-glottalization">T-glottalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩">TH</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩">WH</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> Related topics</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_English" title="History of English">History of English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_orthography" title="English orthography">Spelling</a></li></ul> </div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:English_phonology_topics" title="Template:English phonology topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:English_phonology_topics" title="Template talk:English phonology topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:English_phonology_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:English phonology topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><div class="side-box metadata side-box-right noprint selfref"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">This article contains <b><a href="/wiki/Phonetic_transcription" title="Phonetic transcription">phonetic transcriptions</a> in the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">International Phonetic Alphabet</a> (IPA)</b>.&#32;For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA" title="Help:IPA">Help:IPA</a>.&#32;For the distinction between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[&#160;]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/&#160;/</span> and &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">&#160;</span>&#x27e9;, see <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Brackets_and_transcription_delimiters" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA §&#160;Brackets and transcription delimiters</a>.</div></div> </div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Close_vowel" title="Close vowel">close</a> and <a href="/wiki/Mid_vowel" title="Mid vowel">mid</a>-height <a href="/wiki/Front_vowel" title="Front vowel">front</a> <a href="/wiki/Vowel" title="Vowel">vowels</a> of <a href="/wiki/English_language" title="English language">English</a> (vowels of <i>i</i> and <i>e</i> type) have undergone a variety of changes over time and often vary <a href="/wiki/English_dialects" class="mw-redirect" title="English dialects">by dialect</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Developments_involving_long_vowels">Developments involving long vowels</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Edit section: Developments involving long vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Until_Great_Vowel_Shift">Until Great Vowel Shift</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Edit section: Until Great Vowel Shift"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle English</a> had a long close front vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>, and two long mid front vowels: the <a href="/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close-mid front unrounded vowel">close-mid</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> and the <a href="/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Open-mid front unrounded vowel">open-mid</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span>. The three vowels generally correspond to the modern spellings <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span>, <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ee&#x27e9;</span> and <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ea&#x27e9;</span> respectively, but <a href="/wiki/English_historical_vowel_correspondences" class="mw-redirect" title="English historical vowel correspondences">other spellings</a> are also possible. The spellings that became established in <a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English#Orthography" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a> are mostly still used today, but the qualities of the sounds have changed significantly. </p><p>The <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> generally corresponded to similar <a href="/wiki/Old_English_phonology#Vowels" title="Old English phonology">Old English vowels</a>, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> came from Old English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æː/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æːɑ̯/</span>. For other possible histories, see <a href="/wiki/English_historical_vowel_correspondences" class="mw-redirect" title="English historical vowel correspondences">English historical vowel correspondences</a>. In particular, the long vowels sometimes arose from short vowels by Middle English <a href="/wiki/Open_syllable_lengthening" title="Open syllable lengthening">open syllable lengthening</a> or other processes. For example, <i>team</i> comes from an originally-long Old English vowel, and <i>eat</i> comes from an originally-short vowel that underwent lengthening. The distinction between both groups of words is still preserved in a few dialects, as is noted in the following section. </p><p>Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> was shortened in certain words. Both long and short forms of such words often existed alongside each other during Middle English. In Modern English, the short form has generally become standard, but the spelling <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ea&#x27e9;</span> reflects the formerly-longer pronunciation.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The words that were affected include several ending in <i>d</i>, such as <i>bread</i>, <i>head</i>, <i>spread</i>, and various others, including <i>breath</i>, <i>weather</i>, and <i>threat</i>. For example, <i>bread</i> was <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/brɛːd/</span> in earlier Middle English but came to be shortened and to be rhymed with <i>bed</i>. </p><p>During the <a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a>, the normal outcome of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> was a <a href="/wiki/Diphthong" title="Diphthong">diphthong</a>, which developed into Modern English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪ/</span>, as in <i>mine</i> and <i>find</i>. Meanwhile, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> became <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>, as in <i>feed</i>, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> of words like <i>meat</i> became <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span>, which later merged with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> in nearly all dialects, as is described in the following section. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Meet–meat_merger"><span id="Meet.E2.80.93meat_merger"></span><i>Meet–meat</i> merger <span id="fleece"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Edit section: Meet–meat merger"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <b><i>meet</i>–<i>meat</i> merger</b> or the <b><i><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r920966791">.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps{font-variant:small-caps}.mw-parser-output span.smallcaps-smaller{font-size:85%}</style><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">FLEECE</span></i> merger</b> is the <a href="/wiki/Merger_(phonology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Merger (phonology)">merger</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a> vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> (as in <i>meat</i>) into the vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> (as in <i>meet</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-Alexander_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Alexander-2"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Wakelin_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wakelin-3"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The merger was complete in standard accents of English by about 1700.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>As noted in the previous section, the Early Modern/New English (ENE) vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> developed from <a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle English</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> via the <a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a>, and ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> was usually the result of Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> (the effect in both cases was a <a href="/wiki/Close_vowel" title="Close vowel">raising</a> of the vowel). The merger saw ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> raised further to become identical to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> and so Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> have become <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> in standard Modern English, and <i>meat</i> and <i>meet</i> are now <a href="/wiki/Homophone" title="Homophone">homophones</a>. The merger did not affect the words in which <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> had undergone shortening (see section above), and a handful of other words (such as <i>break</i>, <i>steak</i>, <i>great</i>) also escaped the merger in the standard accents and so acquired the same vowel as <i>brake</i>, <i>stake</i>, <i>grate</i>. Hence, the words <i>meat</i>, <i>threat</i> (which was shortened), and <i>great</i> now have three different vowels although all three words once rhymed. </p><p>The merger results in the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">FLEECE</span> <a href="/wiki/Lexical_set" title="Lexical set">lexical set</a>, as defined by <a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">John Wells</a>. Words in the set that had ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> (Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span>) are mostly spelled <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ee&#x27e9;</span> (<i>meet</i>, <i>green</i>, etc.), with a single <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;e&#x27e9;</span> in monosyllables (<i>be</i>, <i>me</i>) or followed by a single consonant and a vowel letter (<i>these</i>, <i>Peter</i>), sometimes <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ie&#x27e9;</span> or <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ei&#x27e9;</span> (<i>believe</i>, <i>ceiling</i>), or irregularly (<i>key</i>, <i>people</i>). Most of those that had ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> (Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span>) are spelled <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ea&#x27e9;</span> (<i>meat</i>, <i>team</i>, <i>eat</i>, etc.), but some borrowed words have a single <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;e&#x27e9;</span> (<i>legal</i>, <i>decent</i>, <i>complete</i>), <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;ei&#x27e9;</span>, or otherwise (<i>receive</i>, <i>seize</i>, <i>phoenix</i>, <i>quay</i>). There are also some loanwords in which <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> is spelled <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span> (<i>police</i>, <i>machine</i>, <i>ski</i>), most of which entered the language later.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982140–141_5-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982140–141-5"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>There are still some dialects in the <a href="/wiki/British_Isles" title="British Isles">British Isles</a> that do not have the merger. Some speakers in <a href="/wiki/Northern_England" title="Northern England">Northern England</a> have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/əɪ/</span> in the first group of words (those that had ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>, like <i>meet</i>) but <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪə/</span> in the second group (those that had ENE <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span>, like <i>meat</i>). In <a href="/wiki/Staffordshire" title="Staffordshire">Staffordshire</a>, the distinction might rather be between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛi/</span> in the first group and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> in the second group. In some (particularly rural) varieties of <a href="/wiki/Irish_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish English">Irish English</a>, the first group has <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/</span>, and the second preserves <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span>. A similar contrast has been reported in parts of <a href="/wiki/Southern_England" title="Southern England">Southern</a> and <a href="/w/index.php?title=Western_England&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="Western England (page does not exist)">Western England</a>, but it is now rarely encountered there.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982196,_357,_418,_441_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982196,_357,_418,_441-6"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In some <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire" title="Yorkshire">Yorkshire</a> dialects, an additional distinction may be preserved within the <i>meat</i> set. Words that originally had long vowels, such as <i>team</i> and <i>cream</i> (which come from Old English <i>tēam</i> and Old French <i>creme</i>), may have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪə/</span>, and those that had an original short vowel, which underwent open syllable lengthening in Middle English (see previous section), like <i>eat</i> and <i>meat</i> (from Old English <i>etan</i> and <i>mete</i>), have a sound resembling <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛɪ/</span>, similar to the sound that is heard in some dialects in words like <i>eight</i> and <i>weight</i> that <a href="/wiki/Wait-weight_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Wait-weight merger">lost a velar fricative</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-Wakelin_3-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Wakelin-3"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In Alexander's book (2001)<sup id="cite_ref-Alexander_2-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Alexander-2"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> about the traditional <a href="/wiki/Sheffield" title="Sheffield">Sheffield</a> dialect, the spelling "eigh" is used for the vowel of <i>eat</i> and <i>meat</i>, but "eea" is used for the vowel of <i>team</i> and <i>cream</i>. However, a 1999 survey in Sheffield found the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛɪ/</span> pronunciation to be almost extinct there.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Changes_before_/r/_and_/ə/"><span id="Changes_before_.2Fr.2F_and_.2F.C9.99.2F"></span>Changes before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> <span id="idea"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Edit section: Changes before /r/ and /ə/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In certain accents, when the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">FLEECE</span> vowel was followed by <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>, it acquired a <a href="/wiki/Lax_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Lax vowel">laxer</a> pronunciation. In <a href="/wiki/General_American" class="mw-redirect" title="General American">General American</a>, words like <i>near</i> and <i>beer</i> now have the sequence <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ir/</span>, and <i>nearer</i> rhymes with <i>mirror</i> (the <a href="/wiki/Mirror%E2%80%93nearer_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Mirror–nearer merger"><i>mirror</i>–<i>nearer</i> merger</a>). In <a href="/wiki/Received_Pronunciation" title="Received Pronunciation">Received Pronunciation</a>, a diphthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪə/</span> has developed (and by <a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">non-rhoticity</a>, the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> is generally lost unless there is another vowel after it) and so <i>beer</i> and <i>near</i> are <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/bɪə/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/nɪə/</span>, and <i>nearer</i> (with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪə/</span>) remains distinct from <i>mirror</i> (with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>). Several pronunciations are found in other accents, but outside North America, the <i>nearer</i>–<i>mirror</i> opposition is always preserved. For example, some conservative accents in Northern England have the sequence <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iːə/</span> in words like <i>near</i>, with the schwa disappearing before a pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>, as in <i>serious</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982153,_361_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982153,_361-8"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Another development is that bisyllabic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iːə/</span> may become <a href="/wiki/Smoothing_(phonetics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Smoothing (phonetics)">smoothed</a> to the diphthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪə]</span> (with the change being phonemic in non-rhotic dialects, so <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪə/</span>) in certain words, which leads to pronunciations like <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈvɪəkəl]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈθɪətə]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[aɪˈdɪə]</span> for <i>vehicle</i>, <i>theatre/theater</i> and <i>idea</i>, respectively. That is not restricted to any variety of English. It happens in both <a href="/wiki/British_English" title="British English">British English</a> and (less noticeably or often) <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a> as well as other varieties although it is far more common for Britons. The words that have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪə]</span> may vary depending on dialect. Dialects that have the smoothing usually also have the diphthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪə]</span> in words like <i>beer</i>, <i>deer</i>, and <i>fear</i>, and the smoothing causes <i>idea</i>, <i>Korea</i>, etc. to rhyme with those words.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982153_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982153-9"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Other_changes">Other changes</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Edit section: Other changes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In <a href="/wiki/Geordie" title="Geordie">Geordie</a>, the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">FLEECE</span> vowel undergoes an allophonic split, with the monophthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close front unrounded vowel">iː</a>&#93;</span> being used in morphologically-closed syllables (as in <i>freeze</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[fɹiːz]</span>) and the diphthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ei]</span> being used in morphologically-open syllables not only word-finally (as in <i>free</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[fɹei]</span>) but also word-internally at the end of a <a href="/wiki/Morpheme" title="Morpheme">morpheme</a> (as in <i>frees</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[fɹeiz]</span>).<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982375_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982375-11"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Most dialects of English turn <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> into a diphthong, and the monophthongal <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Close_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close front unrounded vowel">iː</a>&#93;</span> is in <a href="/wiki/Free_variation" title="Free variation">free variation</a> with the diphthongal <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪi<span class="wrap"> </span>~<span class="wrap"> </span>əi]</span> (with the former diphthong being the same as Geordie <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ei]</span>, the only difference lying in the transcription<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (January 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>&#93;</sup>), particularly word-internally. However, diphthongs are more common word-finally. </p><p>Compare the <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#other_changes" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">identical development of the close back <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">GOOSE</span> vowel</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Developments_involving_short_vowels">Developments involving short vowels</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Edit section: Developments involving short vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Lowering">Lowering</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Edit section: Lowering"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Middle_English_phonology" title="Middle English phonology">Middle English</a> short /i/ has developed into a <a href="/wiki/Lax_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Lax vowel">lax</a> <a href="/wiki/Near-close_near-front_unrounded_vowel" title="Near-close near-front unrounded vowel">near-close near-front unrounded vowel</a>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>, in Modern English, as found in words like <a href="/wiki/KIT_lexical_set" class="mw-redirect" title="KIT lexical set"><i>kit</i></a>. (Similarly, <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels#historical_development" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">short /u/ has become /ʊ/</a>.) According to Roger Lass, the laxing occurred in the 17th century, but other linguists have suggested that it took place potentially much earlier.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The short <a href="/wiki/Mid_vowel" title="Mid vowel">mid vowels</a> have also undergone lowering and so the continuation of Middle English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/e/</span> (as in words like <i><a href="/wiki/DRESS_lexical_set" class="mw-redirect" title="DRESS lexical set">dress</a></i>) now has a quality closer to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Open-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Open-mid front unrounded vowel">ɛ</a>&#93;</span> in most accents. Again, however, it is not clear whether the vowel already had a lower value in Middle English.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Pin–pen_merger"><span id="Pin.E2.80.93pen_merger"></span><i>Pin</i>–<i>pen</i> merger</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Edit section: Pin–pen merger"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Pin-pen.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Pin-pen.svg/300px-Pin-pen.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="186" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Pin-pen.svg/450px-Pin-pen.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Pin-pen.svg/600px-Pin-pen.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="959" data-file-height="593" /></a><figcaption>The merger of <i>pin</i> and <i>pen</i> in Southern American English. In the purple areas, the merger is complete for most speakers. Note the exclusion of the New Orleans area, Southern Florida, and of the <a href="/wiki/South_Carolina_Lowcountry" title="South Carolina Lowcountry">Lowcountry</a> of South Carolina and Georgia. The purple area in California consists of the <a href="/wiki/Bakersfield,_California" title="Bakersfield, California">Bakersfield</a> and <a href="/wiki/Kern_County,_California" title="Kern County, California">Kern County</a> area, where migrants from the <a href="/wiki/South_Central_United_States" class="mw-redirect" title="South Central United States">south-central states</a> settled during the <a href="/wiki/Dust_Bowl" title="Dust Bowl">Dust Bowl</a>. There is also debate whether or not <a href="/wiki/Austin,_Texas" title="Austin, Texas">Austin, Texas</a>, is an exclusion. Based on <a href="#CITEREFLabovAshBoberg2006">Labov, Ash &amp; Boberg (2006</a>:68).</figcaption></figure> <p>The <b><i>pin</i>–<i>pen</i> merger</b> is a conditional <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_differentiation#Phonemic_mergers" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic differentiation">merger</a> of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> before the <a href="/wiki/Nasal_consonant" title="Nasal consonant">nasal consonants</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[m]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[n]</span>, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ŋ]</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Brown90_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Brown90-16"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ANAE_18-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ANAE-18"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The merged vowel is usually closer to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> than to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɛ]</span>. Examples of homophones resulting from the merger include <i>pin–pen</i>, <i>kin–ken</i> and <i>him–hem</i>. The merger is widespread in <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a> and is also found in many speakers in the Midland region immediately north of the South and in areas settled by migrants from <a href="/wiki/Oklahoma" title="Oklahoma">Oklahoma</a> and <a href="/wiki/Texas" title="Texas">Texas</a> who settled in the <a href="/wiki/Western_United_States" title="Western United States">Western United States</a> during the <a href="/wiki/Dust_Bowl" title="Dust Bowl">Dust Bowl</a>. It is also a characteristic of <a href="/wiki/African-American_Vernacular_English" title="African-American Vernacular English">African-American Vernacular English</a>. </p><p>The <i>pin</i>–<i>pen</i> merger is one of the most widely recognized features of Southern speech. A study<sup id="cite_ref-Brown90_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Brown90-16"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> of the written responses of <a href="/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War">American Civil War</a> veterans from <a href="/wiki/Tennessee" title="Tennessee">Tennessee</a>, together with data from the <i><a href="/wiki/Linguistic_Atlas_of_the_Gulf_States" title="Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States">Linguistic Atlas of the Gulf States</a></i> and the <i>Linguistic Atlas of the Middle South Atlantic States</i>, shows that the prevalence of the merger was very low up to 1860 but then rose steeply to 90% in the mid-20th century. There is now very little variation throughout the South in general except that <a href="/wiki/Savannah,_Georgia" title="Savannah, Georgia">Savannah</a>, <a href="/wiki/Austin,_Texas" title="Austin, Texas">Austin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Miami" title="Miami">Miami</a>, and <a href="/wiki/New_Orleans" title="New Orleans">New Orleans</a> are excluded from the merger.<sup id="cite_ref-ANAE_18-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ANAE-18"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The area of consistent merger includes southern <a href="/wiki/Virginia" title="Virginia">Virginia</a> and most of the South Midland and extends westward to include much of <a href="/wiki/Texas" title="Texas">Texas</a>. The northern limit of the merged area shows a number of irregular curves. Central and southern <a href="/wiki/Indiana" title="Indiana">Indiana</a> is dominated by the merger, but there is very little evidence of it in <a href="/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio">Ohio</a>, and northern <a href="/wiki/Kentucky" title="Kentucky">Kentucky</a> shows a solid area of distinction around <a href="/wiki/Louisville,_Kentucky" title="Louisville, Kentucky">Louisville</a>. </p><p>Outside the South, most speakers of <a href="/wiki/North_American_English" title="North American English">North American English</a> maintain a clear distinction in perception and production. However, in the West, there is sporadic representation of merged speakers in <a href="/wiki/Washington_(state)" title="Washington (state)">Washington</a>, <a href="/wiki/Idaho" title="Idaho">Idaho</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kansas" title="Kansas">Kansas</a>, <a href="/wiki/Nebraska" title="Nebraska">Nebraska</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado">Colorado</a>. However, the most striking concentration of merged speakers in the west is around <a href="/wiki/Bakersfield,_California" title="Bakersfield, California">Bakersfield, California</a>, a pattern that may reflect the trajectory of migrant workers from the <a href="/wiki/Ozarks" title="Ozarks">Ozarks</a> westward. </p><p>The raising of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> was formerly widespread in <a href="/wiki/Irish_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish English">Irish English</a> and was not limited to positions before nasals. Apparently, it came to be restricted to those positions in the late 19th and the early 20th centuries. The <i>pin</i>–<i>pen</i> merger is now commonly found only in Southern and <a href="/wiki/South-West_Irish_English" title="South-West Irish English">South-West Irish English</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982423_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982423-19"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>A complete merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span>, not restricted to positions before nasals (and so termed <b><i>kit</i>–<i>dress</i> merger</b>), is found in many speakers of <a href="/wiki/Newfoundland_English" title="Newfoundland English">Newfoundland English</a>. The pronunciation in words like <i>bit</i> and <i>bet</i> is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span>, but before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>, in words like <i>beer</i> and <i>bear</i>, it is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɛ]</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982500_21-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982500-21"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The merger is common in Irish-settled parts of Newfoundland and is thought to be a relic of the former Irish pronunciation.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <table class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> <caption class="nowrap">Examples of homophonous pairs </caption> <tbody><tr> <th><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> </th> <th><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> </th> <th>IPA </th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Ben" title="Ben">Ben</a></td> <td>bin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɪn</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>bend</td> <td>binned</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɪnd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>cents</td> <td>since</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪn(t)s</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>clench</td> <td>clinch</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈklɪntʃ</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>den</td> <td>din</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈdɪn</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>emigrate</td> <td>immigrate</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɪmɪɡreɪt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>eminent</td> <td>imminent</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɪmɪnənt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>fen</td> <td>fin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfɪn</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>gem</td> <td>gym, Jim</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈdʒɪm</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>hem</td> <td>him, hymn</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈhɪm</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Jen</td> <td>gin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈdʒɪn</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Ken</td> <td>kin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkɪn</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ils.unc_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ils.unc-24"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>lent</td> <td>lint</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈlɪnt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>meant</td> <td>mint</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɪnt</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>N</td> <td>in</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɪn</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>pen</td> <td>pin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpɪn</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>send</td> <td>sinned</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪnd</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-ils.unc_24-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ils.unc-24"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sender</td> <td>cinder</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪndə(r)</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>sense</td> <td>since</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɪns</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>ten</td> <td>tin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɪn</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-examples_23-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-examples-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-ils.unc_24-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ils.unc-24"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tender</td> <td>tinder</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɪndə(r)</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tent</td> <td>tint</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɪnt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tremor</td> <td>trimmer</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtrɪmə(r)</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>wench</td> <td>winch</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈwɪntʃ</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Wendy" title="Wendy">Wendy</a></td> <td>windy</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈwɪndi</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-ils.unc_24-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ils.unc-24"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Kit–bit_split"><span id="Kit.E2.80.93bit_split"></span><i>Kit–bit</i> split</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Edit section: Kit–bit split"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <b><i>kit–bit</i> split</b> is a <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic split">split</a> of standard English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> (the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span> vowel) that occurs in <a href="/wiki/South_African_English" title="South African English">South African English</a>. The two distinct sounds are: </p> <ul><li>A standard <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span>, or [i] in broader accents, which is used before or after a <a href="/wiki/Velar_consonant" title="Velar consonant">velar consonant</a> (<i>li<u>ck</u>, bi<u><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps">g</span></u>, si<u>n<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps">g</span></u>; <u>k</u>iss, <u>k</u>it, <u><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps">g</span></u>ift</i>), after <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/h/</span> (<i>hit</i>), word-initially (<i>inn</i>), generally before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʃ/</span> (<i>fish</i>), and by some speakers before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tʃ,<span class="wrap"> </span>dʒ/</span> (<i>ditch, bridge</i>). It is found only in stressed syllables (in the first syllable of <i>chicken</i> but not the second).</li> <li>A <a href="/wiki/Centralization_(phonetics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Centralization (phonetics)">centralized</a> vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ̈]</span>, or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span> in broader accents, which is used in other positions (<i>limb, dinner, limited, bit</i>).</li></ul> <p>Different <a href="/wiki/Phonemic" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic">phonemic</a> analyses of those vowels are possible. In one view, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ̈]</span> are in <a href="/wiki/Complementary_distribution" title="Complementary distribution">complementary distribution</a> and should therefore still be regarded as <a href="/wiki/Allophone" title="Allophone">allophones</a> of one phoneme. Wells, however, suggests that the non-rhyming of words like <i>kit</i> and <i>bit</i>, which is particularly marked in the broader accents, makes it more satisfactory to consider <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ̈]</span> to constitute a different phoneme from <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ<span class="wrap"> </span>~<span class="wrap"> </span>i]</span>, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ̈]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span> can be regarded as comprising a single phoneme except for speakers who maintain the contrast in weak syllables. There is also the issue of the weak vowel merger in most non-conservative speakers, which means that <i>rabbit</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈræbət/</span> (conservative <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈræbɪt/</span>) rhymes with <i>abbott</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈæbət/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982612–3_25-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982612–3-25"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The weak vowel is consistently written &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ə</span>&#x27e9; in South African English dialectology, regardless of its precise quality. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Thank–think_merger"><span id="Thank.E2.80.93think_merger"></span><i>Thank–think</i> merger</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=10" title="Edit section: Thank–think merger"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <b><i>thank–think</i> merger</b> is the lowering of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> before the velar nasal <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ŋ/</span> that can be found in the speech of speakers of <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Appalachian_English" title="Appalachian English">Appalachian English</a>, and (rarely) <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a>. For speakers with the lowering, <i>think</i> and <i>thank</i>, <i>sing</i> and <i>sang</i>, etc. can sound alike.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> It is reflected in the colloquial variant spelling <i><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/thang" class="extiw" title="wikt:thang">thang</a></i> of <i>thing</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Developments_involving_weak_vowels">Developments involving weak vowels</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=11" title="Edit section: Developments involving weak vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Weak_vowel_merger">Weak vowel merger</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=12" title="Edit section: Weak vowel merger"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <b>weak vowel merger</b> is the loss of contrast between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> (<a href="/wiki/Schwa" class="mw-redirect" title="Schwa">schwa</a>) and unstressed <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>, which occurs in certain dialects of English: notably many Southern Hemisphere, North American, Irish, and 21st-century (but not older) standard Southern British accents. In speakers with this merger, the words <i><a href="/wiki/Abbot" title="Abbot">abbot</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Rabbit" title="Rabbit">rabbit</a></i> rhyme, and <i><a href="/wiki/Lennon" class="mw-redirect" title="Lennon">Lennon</a></i> and <i><a href="/wiki/Lenin" class="mw-redirect" title="Lenin">Lenin</a></i> are pronounced identically, as are <i>addition</i> and <i>edition</i>. However, it is possible among these merged speakers (such as <a href="/wiki/General_American" class="mw-redirect" title="General American">General American</a>) that a distinction is still maintained in certain contexts, such as in the pronunciation of <i>Rosa's</i> versus <i>roses</i>, because of the morpheme break in <i>Rosa's</i>. (Speakers without the merger generally have <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> in the final syllables of <i>rabbit</i>, <i>Lenin</i>, <i>roses</i> and the first syllable of <i>edition</i> that is distinct from the schwa <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span> heard in the corresponding syllables of <i>abbot</i>, <i>Lennon</i>, <i>Rosa's</i> and <i>addition</i>.) If an accent with the merger is also <a href="/wiki/Non-rhotic" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-rhotic">non-rhotic</a>, then for example <i>chatted</i> and <i>chattered</i> will be homophones. The merger also affects the <a href="/wiki/Weak_and_strong_forms_in_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Weak and strong forms in English">weak forms</a> of some words and causes unstressed <i>it</i>, for instance, to be pronounced with a schwa, so that <i>dig it</i> would rhyme with <i>bigot</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982167_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982167-27"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The merger is very common in <a href="/wiki/Southern_Hemisphere" title="Southern Hemisphere">Southern Hemisphere</a> accents. Most speakers of <a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> (as well as recent Southern England English)<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey2019109–145_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey2019109–145-28"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> replace weak <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> with schwa, but in <i><a href="/wiki/-ing" title="-ing">-ing</a></i>, the pronunciation is frequently <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span>. If there is a following <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/k/</span>, as in <i>padd<span style="text-decoration: underline;">o</span>ck</i> or <i>nomad<span style="text-decoration: underline;">i</span>c</i>, some speakers maintain the contrast, but some who have the merger use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> as the merged vowel. In <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_English" title="New Zealand English">New Zealand English</a>, the merger is complete, and indeed, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> is very centralized even in stressed syllables and so it is usually regarded as the same phoneme as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> although in <i>-ing</i>, it is closer to [i]. In <a href="/wiki/South_African_English" title="South African English">South African English</a>, most speakers have the merger, but in more conservative accents, the contrast may be retained (as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ̈]</span> vs. <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span>. Also, a <a href="#Kit_split"><i>kit</i> split</a> exists: see above.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982601,_606,_612_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982601,_606,_612-29"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The merger is also commonly found in <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American</a> and <a href="/wiki/Canadian_English" title="Canadian English">Canadian English</a>, but the realisation of the merged vowel varies according to syllable type, with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span> appearing in word-final or open-syllable word-initial positions (such as <i>dram<span style="text-decoration: underline;">a</span></i> or <i>c<span style="text-decoration: underline;">i</span>lantro</i>), but <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ~ɨ]</span> often appears in other positions (<i>abb<span style="text-decoration: underline;">o</span>t</i> and <i><span style="text-decoration: underline;">e</span>xhaust</i>). In traditional <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a>, the merger is generally not present, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> is also heard in some words that have schwa in <a href="/wiki/Received_Pronunciation" title="Received Pronunciation">RP</a>, such as <i>salad</i>. The lack of the merger is also a traditional feature of <a href="/wiki/New_England_English" title="New England English">New England English</a>. In <a href="/wiki/Caribbean_English" title="Caribbean English">Caribbean English</a>, schwa is often not used at all, and unreduced vowels are preferred, but if there is a schwa, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> remains distinct from it.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982520,_550,_571,_612_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982520,_550,_571,_612-30"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In traditional RP, the contrast between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> and weak <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> is maintained, but that may be declining among modern standard speakers of southern England, who increasingly prefer a merger, specifically with the realisation <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey2019109–145_28-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey2019109–145-28"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In RP, the phone <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Near-close_central_unrounded_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Near-close central unrounded vowel">ɨ̞</a>&#93;</span>, apart from being a frequent allophone of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊ/</span> (as in <i>foot</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[fɨ̞ʔt]</span>) in younger speakers, appears only as an allophone of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>, which is often centralized when it occurs as a weak vowel, and never as an allophone of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span>. Therefore, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈlɛnɨ̞n]</span> can stand for only "Lenin", not "Lennon", which has a lower vowel: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈlɛnən]</span>. However, speakers may not always clearly perceive that difference, as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> is sometimes raised to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Close-mid_central_unrounded_vowel" title="Close-mid central unrounded vowel">ɘ</a>&#93;</span> in contact with alveolar consonants (such as the alveolar nasals in "Lennon" <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈlɛnɘn]</span>). Furthermore, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Near-close_central_unrounded_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Near-close central unrounded vowel">ɨ̞</a>&#93;</span> never participates in syllabic consonant formation and so G-dropping in words such as <i>fishing</i> never yields a syllabic nasal *<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃn̩]</span> or a sounded mid schwa *<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃən]</span>, with the most casual RP forms being <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃɪn,<span class="wrap"> </span>-ɨ̞n]</span>. Both <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃən]</span> and especially <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃn̩]</span> were considered to be strongly non-standard in England as late as 1982. They are characteristic of <a href="/wiki/Cockney" title="Cockney">Cockney</a>, which otherwise does not feature the weak vowel merger, but <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> can be centralized to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Near-close_central_unrounded_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Near-close central unrounded vowel">ɨ̞</a>&#93;</span> as in RP and so <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃɪn]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ˈfɪʃɨ̞n]</span> are distinct possibilities in Cockney. In other accents of the <a href="/wiki/British_Isles" title="British Isles">British Isles</a>, the contrast between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> and weak <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> may be variable. In <a href="/wiki/Irish_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish English">Irish English</a>, the merger is almost universal.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982167,_262,_305,_326,_427_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982167,_262,_305,_326,_427-31"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECruttenden2014113,_130–131,_138,_216_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECruttenden2014113,_130–131,_138,_216-32"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The merger is not complete in <a href="/wiki/Scottish_English" title="Scottish English">Scottish English</a>, whose speakers typically distinguish <i>except</i> from <i>accept</i>, but the latter can be phonemicized with an unstressed <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">STRUT</span>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌkˈsɛpt/</span> (as can the word-final schwa in <i>comma</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈkɔmʌ/</span>) and the former with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/əkˈsɛpt/</span>. In other environments, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span> and <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">COMMA</span> are mostly merged to a quality around <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Mid_central_vowel" title="Mid central vowel">ə</a>&#93;</span>, often even when stressed (Wells transcribes the merged vowel with &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ɪ</span>&#x27e9;. There, &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ə</span>&#x27e9; is used for the sake of consistency and accuracy) and when before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>, as in <i>fir</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fər/</span> and <i>letter</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈlɛtər/</span> (but not <i>fern</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fɛrn/</span> and <i>fur</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/fʌr/</span>: see <a href="/wiki/Nurse_mergers" class="mw-redirect" title="Nurse mergers">nurse mergers</a>). The <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">HAPPY</span> vowel is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/e/</span>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈhape/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982405_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982405-33"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Even in accents that do not have the merger, there may be certain words in which traditional <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> is replaced by <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> by many speakers (both sounds may then be considered to be in <a href="/wiki/Free_variation" title="Free variation">free variation</a>). In RP, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> is now often heard in place of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> in endings such as <i>-ace</i> (as in <i>palace</i>); <i>-ate</i> (as in <i>senate</i>); <i>-less</i>, <i>-let</i>, for the <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span> in <i>-ily</i>; <i>-ity</i>, <i>-ible</i>; and in initial weak <i>be-</i>, <i>de-</i>, <i>re-</i>, and <i>e-</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982296_34-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982296-34"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Final <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/əl/</span>, and also <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ən/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/əm/</span>, are commonly realized as <a href="/wiki/Syllabic_consonant" title="Syllabic consonant">syllabic consonants</a>. In accents without the merger, the use of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>, rather than <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span>, prevents the formation of syllabic consonants. Hence in RP, for example, the second syllable of <i>Barton</i> is pronounced as a syllabic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[n̩]</span>, but that of <i>Martin</i> is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪn]</span>. Many non-rhotic speakers also pronounce <i>pattern</i> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[n̩]</span>, which is accordingly homophonous with <i>Patton</i>. </p><p>Particularly in American linguistic tradition, the unmerged weak <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span>-type vowel is often transcribed with the barred <i>i</i> &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ɨ</span>&#x27e9;, the <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA</a> symbol for the <a href="/wiki/Close_central_unrounded_vowel" title="Close central unrounded vowel">close central unrounded vowel</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Another symbol sometimes used is &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ᵻ</span>&#x27e9;, the non-IPA symbol for a <a href="/wiki/Near-close_central_unrounded_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Near-close central unrounded vowel">near-close central unrounded vowel</a>. In the third edition of the <a href="/wiki/OED" class="mw-redirect" title="OED">OED</a>, that symbol is used in the transcription of words (of the types listed above) that have free variation between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> in RP. </p> <table class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"> <caption class="nowrap">Homophonous pairs </caption> <tbody><tr> <th><span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ə/: &#39;a&#39; in &#39;about&#39;">ə</span></span>/</a></span></span> </th> <th><span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt" lang="en-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span title="/ɪ/: &#39;i&#39; in &#39;kit&#39;">ɪ</span></span>/</a></span></span> </th> <th>IPA </th> <th>Notes </th></tr> <tr> <td>Aaron</td> <td>Erin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɛrən</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Mary-marry-merry_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Mary-marry-merry merger">Mary-marry-merry merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>accede</td> <td>exceed</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əkˈsiːd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>accept</td> <td>except</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əkˈsɛpt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>addition</td> <td>edition</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈdɪʃən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Aleutian_(disambiguation)" class="mw-redirect mw-disambig" title="Aleutian (disambiguation)">Aleutian</a></td> <td>elution</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈl(j)uːʃən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>allide</td> <td>elide</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈlaɪd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>allied</td> <td>elide</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈlaɪd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>allision</td> <td>elision</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈlɪʒən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>allude</td> <td>elude</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈl(j)uːd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>alluded</td> <td>eluted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈl(j)uːɾəd</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Intervocalic_alveolar_flapping" class="mw-redirect" title="Intervocalic alveolar flapping">intervocalic alveolar flapping</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>allusion</td> <td>illusion</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈl(j)uːʒən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>amend</td> <td>emend</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈmɛnd</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>apatite</td> <td>appetite</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈapətaɪt</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>arrays</td> <td>erase</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈreɪz</span></td> <td>Some accents pronounce <i>erase</i> as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪˈreɪs/</span>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>barrel</td> <td>beryl</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɛrəl</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Marry-merry_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Marry-merry merger">marry-merry merger</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>battered</td> <td>batted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>bazaar</td> <td>bizarre</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">bəˈzɑːr</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>bettered</td> <td>betted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbɛtəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>bleachers</td> <td>bleaches</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbliːtʃəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>bustard</td> <td>busted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbʌstəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>butchers</td> <td>butches</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbʊtʃəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>buttered</td> <td>butted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈbʌtəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>carat</td> <td>caret</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkærət</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>carrot</td> <td>caret</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkærət</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>censors</td> <td>senses</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɛnsəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>chartered</td> <td>charted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtʃɑːtəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>chattered</td> <td>chatted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtʃætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>chiton</td> <td>chitin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkaɪtən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>chromous</td> <td>chromis</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈkroʊməs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Devon</td> <td>Devin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈdɛvən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>ferrous</td> <td>Ferris</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfɛrəs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>foundered</td> <td>founded</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈfaʊndəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>humo(u)red</td> <td>humid</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈhjuːməd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>installation</td> <td>instillation</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˌɪnstəˈleɪʃən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Lennon</td> <td>Lenin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈlɛnən</span></td> <td><sup id="cite_ref-afterRP_36-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-afterRP-36"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mandrel</td> <td>mandrill</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmændrəl</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mastered</td> <td>masted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmæstəd,<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈmɑːstəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mattered</td> <td>matted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>mergers</td> <td>merges</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɜːdʒəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>modern</td> <td>modding</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈmɒdən</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> with <a href="/wiki/G-dropping" class="mw-redirect" title="G-dropping">G-dropping</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>officers</td> <td>offices</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈɒfəsəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>omission</td> <td>emission</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">əˈmɪʃən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>parody</td> <td>parity</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpærəɾi</span></td> <td>With <a href="/wiki/Intervocalic_alveolar_flapping" class="mw-redirect" title="Intervocalic alveolar flapping">intervocalic alveolar flapping</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>pattered</td> <td>patted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>pattern</td> <td>patting</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpætən</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> with <a href="/wiki/G-dropping" class="mw-redirect" title="G-dropping">G-dropping</a>. </td></tr> <tr> <td>pigeon</td> <td>pidgin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈpɪdʒən</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>proscribe</td> <td>prescribe</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">prəˈskraɪb</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>racers</td> <td>races</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈreɪsəz</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>Rosa's</td> <td>roses</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈroʊzəz</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Saturn" title="Saturn">Saturn</a></td> <td>satin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsætən</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>scattered</td> <td>scatted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈskætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>seraph</td> <td>serif</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɛrəf</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>splendo(u)red</td> <td>splendid</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsplɛndəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>surplus</td> <td>surplice</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈsɜːrpləs</span></td> <td> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tattered</td> <td>tatted</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtætəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>tendered</td> <td>tended</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtɛndəd</span></td> <td><a href="/wiki/Rhotic_and_non-rhotic_accents" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic and non-rhotic accents">Non-rhotic</a> </td></tr> <tr> <td>titan</td> <td>titin</td> <td><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">ˈtaɪtən</span></td> <td> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Centralized_KIT">Centralized <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=13" title="Edit section: Centralized KIT"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Kit-strut_merger"></span> A phonetic shift of <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span>, the vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>, towards <a href="/wiki/Schwa" class="mw-redirect" title="Schwa">schwa</a>, the vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ə]</span> (and potentially even a <i>phonemic</i> shift, merging with the word-internal variety of schwa in <i>gallop</i>, which is deliberately not called <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">COMMA</span> here since word-final and sometimes also word-initial <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">COMMA</span> can be analysed as <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">STRUT</span>: see above), occurs in some <a href="/wiki/Inland_Northern_American_English" title="Inland Northern American English">Inland Northern American English</a> (the areas in which the final stage of the Northern Cities Vowel Shift has been completed), <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_English" title="New Zealand English">New Zealand English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scottish_English" title="Scottish English">Scottish English</a> and partially also <a href="/wiki/South_African_English" title="South African English">South African English</a> (see <a href="/wiki/Kit%E2%80%93bit_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Kit–bit split">kit–bit split</a>). In non-rhotic varieties with the shift, it also encompasses the unstressed syllable of <i>letters</i> with the stressed variant of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> being realized with a schwa-like quality <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Mid_central_vowel" title="Mid central vowel">ə</a>&#93;</span>. As a result, the vowels in <i>kit</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/kət/</span>, <i>lid</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ləd/</span> and <i>miss</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/məs/</span> belong to the same phoneme as the unstressed vowel in <i>balance</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈbæləns/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982404,_606,_612–613_37-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982404,_606,_612–613-37"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99,_101_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99,_101-38"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>It typically cooccurs with the weak vowel merger, but in <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, the weak vowel merger is not complete: see above.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982405,_605–606,_612–613_39-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982405,_605–606,_612–613-39"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99-40"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>There are no homophonous pairs apart from those caused by the weak vowel merger, but a central <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span> tends to sound like <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">STRUT</span> to speakers of other dialects and so Australians accuse New Zealanders of saying "fush and chups", instead of "fish and chips", which in an Australian accent sounds close to "feesh and cheeps". That is not accurate, as the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">STRUT</span> vowel is always more open than the central <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">KIT</span>. In other words, there is no <a href="/wiki/Strut%E2%80%93comma_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Strut–comma merger">strut–comma merger</a>, but a kit–strut merger is possible in some <a href="/wiki/Glasgow" title="Glasgow">Glaswegian</a> speech in Scotland.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982403,_607,_615_41-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982403,_607,_615-41"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798,_101_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798,_101-42"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> That means that varieties of English with the merger effectively contrast two stressable unrounded schwas, which is very similar to the contrast between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɨ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> in <a href="/wiki/Romanian_language" title="Romanian language">Romanian</a>, as in the minimal pair <i>râu</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/rɨw/</span> 'river' vs. <i>rău</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/rəw/</span> 'bad'. </p><p>Most dialects with the phenomenon feature <a href="/wiki/Happy_tensing" class="mw-redirect" title="Happy tensing">happy tensing</a> and so <i>pretty</i> is best analysed as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈprətiː/</span> in those accents. In Scotland, the <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">HAPPY</span> vowel is commonly a close-mid <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Close-mid_front_unrounded_vowel" title="Close-mid front unrounded vowel">e</a>&#93;</span>, which is identified phonemically as <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">FACE</span>: <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ˈprəte/</span>. </p><p>The term <i>kit–comma merger</i> is appropriate in the case of the dialects in which the quality of <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r920966791"><span class="smallcaps smallcaps-smaller">STRUT</span> is far removed from <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">&#91;<a href="/wiki/Near-open_central_vowel" title="Near-open central vowel">ɐ</a>&#93;</span> (the word-final allophone of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span>), such as Inland Northern American English, but can be a misleading name in the case of other accents. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Happy_tensing"><i>Happy</i> tensing <span id="Happy-tensing"></span></h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=14" title="Edit section: Happy tensing"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><b><i>Happy</i> tensing</b> is a process whereby a final unstressed <i>i</i>-type vowel becomes <a href="/wiki/Tenseness" title="Tenseness">tense</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[i]</span> rather than lax <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span>, today found in most dialects of English worldwide. That affects the final vowels of words such as <i>happy</i>, <i>city</i>, <i>hurry</i>, <i>taxi</i>, <i>movie</i>, <i>Charlie</i>, <i>coffee</i>, <i>money</i> and <i>Chelsea</i>. It may also apply in inflected forms of such words containing an additional final consonant sound, such as <i>cities</i>, <i>Charlie's</i> and <i>hurried</i>. It can also affect words such as <i>me</i>, <i>he</i> and <i>she</i> when they are used as <a href="/wiki/Clitics" class="mw-redirect" title="Clitics">clitics</a>, as in <i>show me</i>, <i>would he?</i><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165–166,_257_43-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165–166,_257-43"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Until the 17th century, words like <i>happy</i> could end with the vowel of <i>my</i> (originally <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[iː]</span>, but it was diphthongised in the <a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a>), which alternated with a short <i>i</i> sound. (Many words spelt <i>-ee</i>, <i>-ea</i>, <i>-ey</i> once had the vowel of <i>day</i>; there is still alternation between that vowel and the <i>happy</i> vowel in words such as <i>Sunday</i> and <i>Monday</i>.)<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165_44-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165-44"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> It is not entirely clear when the vowel underwent the transition. The fact that tensing is uniformly present in <a href="/wiki/South_African_English" title="South African English">South African English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> and <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_English" title="New Zealand English">New Zealand English</a> lends support to the idea that it may have already been present in southern British English already in the early 19th century. However, it is not mentioned by <a href="/wiki/Descriptive_linguistics" class="mw-redirect" title="Descriptive linguistics">descriptive</a> <a href="/wiki/Phonetics" title="Phonetics">phoneticians</a> until the early 20th century and even then at first only in <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a>. The British phonetician <a href="/wiki/Jack_Windsor_Lewis" title="Jack Windsor Lewis">Jack Windsor Lewis</a><sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> believed that the vowel moved from <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[i]</span> to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> in Britain in the second quarter of the 19th century before it reverted to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[i]</span> in non-conservative British accents towards the last quarter of the 20th century. </p><p>The laxer <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> pronunciation is also found in <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a>, in much of northern England and in Jamaica. In <a href="/wiki/Scottish_English" title="Scottish English">Scottish English</a>, an <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[e]</span> sound, similar to the Scottish realization of the vowel of <i>day</i>, may be used. It is also still found among some older speakers of Conservative <a href="/wiki/Received_Pronunciation" title="Received Pronunciation">RP</a>. The tense [i] variant, however, is now established in as the norm in Modern RP and General American, and is also the usual form in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, in southern England and in some northern English regions (such as <a href="/wiki/Scouse" title="Scouse">Merseyside</a>, <a href="/wiki/Kingston_upon_Hull" title="Kingston upon Hull">Hull</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northumbrian_dialect" title="Northumbrian dialect">the entire North East</a>).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165,_294_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165,_294-46"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-38_47-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-38-47"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The lax and tense variants of the <i>happy</i> vowel may be identified with the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> respectively. They may also be considered to represent a <a href="/wiki/Neutralization_(linguistics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Neutralization (linguistics)">neutralization</a> between the two phonemes, but for speakers with the tense variant, there is the possibility of contrast in such pairs as <i>taxis</i> and <i>taxes</i> (see <a href="/wiki/English_phonology#Unstressed_syllables" title="English phonology">English phonology – vowels in unstressed syllables</a>). <a href="#CITEREFRoach2009">Roach (2009)</a> and <a href="#CITEREFWells2008">Wells (2008)</a> consider the tensing to be a neutralization between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTERoach200967_48-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTERoach200967-48"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells2008539_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells2008539-49"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <a href="#CITEREFCruttenden2014">Cruttenden (2014)</a> regards the tense variant in modern RP as still an allophone of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> on the basis that it is shorter and more resistant to diphthongization than is <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTECruttenden201484_50-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTECruttenden201484-50"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <a href="#CITEREFLindsey2019">Lindsey (2019)</a> regards the phenomenon to be a mere substitution of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> for <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932_51-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-51"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Most modern British dictionaries represent the <i>happy</i> vowel with the symbol &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">i</span>&#x27e9; (distinct from both &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">ɪ</span>&#x27e9; and &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">iː</span>&#x27e9;). That notation was first introduced in the <i><a href="/wiki/Longman_Dictionary_of_Contemporary_English" title="Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English">Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English</a></i> (1978) by its pronunciation editor, Gordon Walsh, and it was later taken up by <a href="#CITEREFRoach1983">Roach (1983)</a>, who extended it to &#x27e8;<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa">u</span>&#x27e9; representing the weak vowel found word-medially in <i>situation</i> etc., and by some other dictionaries, including <a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">John C. Wells</a>'s <i>Longman Pronunciation Dictionary</i> (1990).<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes199436–7_52-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes199436–7-52"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In 2012, Wells wrote that the notation "seemed like a good idea at the time, but it clearly confuses a lot of people".<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <a href="#CITEREFLindsey2019">Lindsey (2019)</a> criticizes the notation for causing "widespread belief in a specific 'happY vowel<span style="padding-right:.15em;">'</span>" that "never existed".<sup id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932_51-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-51"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Merger_of_/y/_with_/i/_and_/yː/_with_/iː/"><span id="Merger_of_.2Fy.2F_with_.2Fi.2F_and_.2Fy.CB.90.2F_with_.2Fi.CB.90.2F"></span>Merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/y/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/yː/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span></h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=15" title="Edit section: Merger of /y/ with /i/ and /yː/ with /iː/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Old English had the short vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/y/</span> and the long vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/yː/</span>, which were spelled orthographically with <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;y&#x27e9;</span>. They contrasted with the short vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/</span> and the long vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>, which were spelled orthographically with <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span>. By Middle English, the two vowels <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/y/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/yː/</span> merged with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> and left only the short-long pair <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/-/iː/</span>. Modern spelling therefore uses both <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;y&#x27e9;</span> and <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span> for the modern KIT and PRICE vowels. Modern spelling with <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span> or <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;y&#x27e9;</span> is not an indicator of the Old English distinction between the four sounds, as spelling has been revised after the merger occurred. For example, Modern English <i>bridge</i> derives from Old English <span title="Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text"><i lang="ang">bryċġ</i></span>, while Modern English <i>scythe</i> derives from Old English <span title="Old English (ca. 450-1100)-language text"><i lang="ang">sīþe</i></span>. The name of the letter <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;y&#x27e9;</span> has acquired an initial [w] sound in it to keep it distinct from the name of the letter <span class="nowrap">&#x27e8;i&#x27e9;</span>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2017)">citation needed</span></a></i>&#93;</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Additional_mergers_in_Asian_and_African_English">Additional mergers in Asian and African English</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=16" title="Edit section: Additional mergers in Asian and African English"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><span class="anchor" id="Mitt–meet_merger"></span> The <b><i>mitt</i>–<i>meet</i> merger</b> is a phenomenon occurring in <a href="/wiki/Malaysian_English" title="Malaysian English">Malaysian English</a> and <a href="/wiki/Singaporean_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Singaporean English">Singaporean English</a> in which the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> are both pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/i/</span>. As a result, pairs like <i>mitt</i> and <i>meet</i>, <i>bit</i> and <i>beat</i>, and <i>bid</i> and <i>bead</i> are homophones.<sup id="cite_ref-Hung_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hung-54"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><span class="anchor" id="Met–mat_merger"></span> The <b><i>met</i>–<i>mat</i> merger</b> is a phenomenon occurring in <a href="/wiki/Malaysian_English" title="Malaysian English">Malaysian English</a>, <a href="/wiki/Singaporean_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Singaporean English">Singaporean English</a> and <a href="/wiki/Hong_Kong_English" title="Hong Kong English">Hong Kong English</a> in which the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> are both pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span>. For some speakers, it occurs only before voiceless consonants, and pairs like <i>met</i>, <i>mat</i>, <i>bet</i>, <i>bat</i> are homophones, but <i>bed</i>, <i>bad</i> or <i>med</i>, <i>mad</i> are kept distinct. For others, it occurs in all positions.<sup id="cite_ref-Hung_54-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Hung-54"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><span class="anchor" id="Met–mate_merger"></span> The <b><i>met</i>–<i>mate</i> merger</b> is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/Zulu_English" title="Zulu English">Zulu English</a> in which the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> are both pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span>. As a result, the words <i>met</i> and <i>mate</i> are homophonous as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/mɛt/</span>.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=17" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English" title="Phonological history of English">Phonological history of English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_vowels" title="Phonological history of English vowels">Phonological history of English vowels</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=18" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFBarber1997" class="citation book cs1">Barber, C. L. (1997). <i>Early Modern English</i>. Edinburgh University Press. p.&#160;313.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Early+Modern+English&amp;rft.pages=313&amp;rft.pub=Edinburgh+University+Press&amp;rft.date=1997&amp;rft.aulast=Barber&amp;rft.aufirst=C.+L.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Alexander-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Alexander_2-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Alexander_2-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAlexander2001" class="citation book cs1">Alexander, D. (2001). <i>Orreight mi ol'<span></span></i>. Sheffield: ALD. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-901587-18-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-901587-18-0"><bdi>978-1-901587-18-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Orreight+mi+ol%27&amp;rft.place=Sheffield&amp;rft.pub=ALD&amp;rft.date=2001&amp;rft.isbn=978-1-901587-18-0&amp;rft.aulast=Alexander&amp;rft.aufirst=D.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wakelin-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Wakelin_3-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Wakelin_3-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWakelin1977" class="citation book cs1">Wakelin, M. F. (1977). <i>English Dialects: An Introduction</i>. London: The Athlone Press.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=English+Dialects%3A+An+Introduction&amp;rft.place=London&amp;rft.pub=The+Athlone+Press&amp;rft.date=1977&amp;rft.aulast=Wakelin&amp;rft.aufirst=M.+F.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, p.&#160;195</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982140–141-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982140–141_5-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;140–141.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982196,_357,_418,_441-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982196,_357,_418,_441_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;196, 357, 418, 441.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStoddartUptonWiddowson1999" class="citation book cs1">Stoddart, J.; Upton, C.; Widdowson, J. D. A. (1999). "Sheffield Dialect in the 1990s". In Foulks, P.; Docherty, G. (eds.). <i>Urban Voices: Accent Studies in the British Isles</i>. London: Edward Arnold. pp.&#160;72–89.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=bookitem&amp;rft.atitle=Sheffield+Dialect+in+the+1990s&amp;rft.btitle=Urban+Voices%3A+Accent+Studies+in+the+British+Isles&amp;rft.place=London&amp;rft.pages=72-89&amp;rft.pub=Edward+Arnold&amp;rft.date=1999&amp;rft.aulast=Stoddart&amp;rft.aufirst=J.&amp;rft.au=Upton%2C+C.&amp;rft.au=Widdowson%2C+J.+D.+A.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982153,_361-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982153,_361_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;153, 361.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982153-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982153_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, p.&#160;153.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWattAllen2003" class="citation cs2">Watt, Dominic; Allen, William (2003), "Tyneside English", <i>Journal of the International Phonetic Association</i>, <b>33</b> (2): 267–271, <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0025100303001397">10.1017/S0025100303001397</a></span> (inactive 1 December 2024)</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Journal+of+the+International+Phonetic+Association&amp;rft.atitle=Tyneside+English&amp;rft.volume=33&amp;rft.issue=2&amp;rft.pages=267-271&amp;rft.date=2003&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS0025100303001397&amp;rft.aulast=Watt&amp;rft.aufirst=Dominic&amp;rft.au=Allen%2C+William&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Citation" title="Template:Citation">citation</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2024 (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_DOI_inactive_as_of_December_2024" title="Category:CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of December 2024">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982375-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982375_11-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, p.&#160;375.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFStockwellMinkova2002" class="citation journal cs1">Stockwell, R.; Minkova, D. (2002). "Interpreting the Old and Middle English close vowels". <i>Language Sciences</i>. <b>24</b> (3–4): 447–457. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0388-0001%2801%2900043-2">10.1016/S0388-0001(01)00043-2</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Language+Sciences&amp;rft.atitle=Interpreting+the+Old+and+Middle+English+close+vowels&amp;rft.volume=24&amp;rft.issue=3%E2%80%934&amp;rft.pages=447-457&amp;rft.date=2002&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1016%2FS0388-0001%2801%2900043-2&amp;rft.aulast=Stockwell&amp;rft.aufirst=R.&amp;rft.au=Minkova%2C+D.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">McMahon, A., <i>Lexical Phonology and the History of English</i>, CUP 2000, p. 179.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKurathMcDavid1961" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Hans_Kurath" title="Hans Kurath">Kurath, Hans</a>; McDavid, Raven I. (1961). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/pronunciationofe0000hans"><i>The Pronunciation of English in the Atlantic States</i></a></span>. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. p.&#160;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/pronunciationofe0000hans/page/103">103</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8173-0129-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-8173-0129-3"><bdi>978-0-8173-0129-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=The+Pronunciation+of+English+in+the+Atlantic+States&amp;rft.place=Ann+Arbor%2C+Michigan&amp;rft.pages=103&amp;rft.pub=University+of+Michigan+Press&amp;rft.date=1961&amp;rft.isbn=978-0-8173-0129-3&amp;rft.aulast=Kurath&amp;rft.aufirst=Hans&amp;rft.au=McDavid%2C+Raven+I.&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Farchive.org%2Fdetails%2Fpronunciationofe0000hans&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMorgan1969" class="citation journal cs1">Morgan, Lucia C. (1969). "North Carolina accents". <i>Southern Speech Journal</i>. <b>34</b> (3): 223–29. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10417946909372000">10.1080/10417946909372000</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Southern+Speech+Journal&amp;rft.atitle=North+Carolina+accents&amp;rft.volume=34&amp;rft.issue=3&amp;rft.pages=223-29&amp;rft.date=1969&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1080%2F10417946909372000&amp;rft.aulast=Morgan&amp;rft.aufirst=Lucia+C.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Brown90-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Brown90_16-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Brown90_16-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBrown1990" class="citation thesis cs1">Brown, Vivian Ruby (1990). <i>The social and linguistic history of a merger: /i/ and /e/ before nasals in Southern American English</i> (PhD thesis). <a href="/wiki/Texas_A_%26_M_University" class="mw-redirect" title="Texas A &amp; M University">Texas A &amp; M University</a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a>&#160;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/23527868">23527868</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adissertation&amp;rft.title=The+social+and+linguistic+history+of+a+merger%3A+%2Fi%2F+and+%2Fe%2F+before+nasals+in+Southern+American+English&amp;rft.degree=PhD&amp;rft.inst=Texas+A+%26+M+University&amp;rft.date=1990&amp;rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F23527868&amp;rft.aulast=Brown&amp;rft.aufirst=Vivian+Ruby&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBrown1991" class="citation journal cs1">Brown, Vivian (1991). "Evolution of the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> before nasals in Tennessee". <i>American Speech</i>. <b>66</b> (3). Duke University Press: 303–15. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2F455802">10.2307/455802</a>. <a href="/wiki/JSTOR_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="JSTOR (identifier)">JSTOR</a>&#160;<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/455802">455802</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=American+Speech&amp;rft.atitle=Evolution+of+the+merger+of+%3Cspan+class%3D%22IPA+nowrap%22+lang%3D%22und-Latn-fonipa%22+title%3D%22Representation+in+the+International+Phonetic+Alphabet+%28IPA%29%22%3E%2F%C9%AA%2F%3C%2Fspan%3ECategory%3APages+with+plain+IPA+and+%3Cspan+class%3D%22IPA+nowrap%22+lang%3D%22und-Latn-fonipa%22+title%3D%22Representation+in+the+International+Phonetic+Alphabet+%28IPA%29%22%3E%2F%C9%9B%2F%3C%2Fspan%3ECategory%3APages+with+plain+IPA+before+nasals+in+Tennessee&amp;rft.volume=66&amp;rft.issue=3&amp;rft.pages=303-15&amp;rft.date=1991&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2F455802&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.jstor.org%2Fstable%2F455802%23id-name%3DJSTOR&amp;rft.aulast=Brown&amp;rft.aufirst=Vivian&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ANAE-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-ANAE_18-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-ANAE_18-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLabovAshBoberg2006" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/William_Labov" title="William Labov">Labov, William</a>; Ash, Sharon; Boberg, Charles (2006). <i>The Atlas of North American English</i>. 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(2007). "<i>Rosa's roses</i>: reduced vowels in American English". <i>The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America</i>. <b>37</b> (1): 83–96. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1121%2F1.4783597">10.1121/1.4783597</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=The+Journal+of+the+Acoustical+Society+of+America&amp;rft.atitle=Rosa%27s+roses%3A+reduced+vowels+in+American+English&amp;rft.volume=37&amp;rft.issue=1&amp;rft.pages=83-96&amp;rft.date=2007&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1121%2F1.4783597&amp;rft.aulast=Flemming&amp;rft.aufirst=E.&amp;rft.au=Johnson%2C+S.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-afterRP-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-afterRP_36-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLindseyWells2019" class="citation book cs1">Lindsey, Geoff; Wells, John C. 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Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.&#160;39–40. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-030-04356-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-030-04356-8"><bdi>978-3-030-04356-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=bookitem&amp;rft.atitle=Chapter+10+Weak+Vowel+Merger&amp;rft.btitle=English+after+RP%3A+standard+British+pronunciation+today&amp;rft.place=Cham%2C+Switzerland&amp;rft.pages=39-40&amp;rft.pub=Palgrave+Macmillan&amp;rft.date=2019&amp;rft.isbn=978-3-030-04356-8&amp;rft.aulast=Lindsey&amp;rft.aufirst=Geoff&amp;rft.au=Wells%2C+John+C.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982404,_606,_612–613-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982404,_606,_612–613_37-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;404, 606, 612–613.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99,_101-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99,_101_38-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy2007">Bauer et al. (2007)</a>, pp.&#160;98–99, 101.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982405,_605–606,_612–613-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982405,_605–606,_612–613_39-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;405, 605–606, 612–613.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798–99_40-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy2007">Bauer et al. (2007)</a>, pp.&#160;98–99.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982403,_607,_615-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982403,_607,_615_41-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;403, 607, 615.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798,_101-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy200798,_101_42-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy2007">Bauer et al. (2007)</a>, pp.&#160;98, 101.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165–166,_257-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165–166,_257_43-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;165–166, 257.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165_44-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, p.&#160;165.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.yek.me.uk/changestwe.html">"Changes in British English pronunciation during the twentieth century"</a>, Jack Windsor Lewis personal website. Retrieved 2015-10-18.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells1982165,_294-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells1982165,_294_46-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells1982">Wells (1982)</a>, pp.&#160;165, 294.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-38-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-38_47-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFLindsey2019">Lindsey (2019)</a>, p.&#160;32-38.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTERoach200967-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTERoach200967_48-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFRoach2009">Roach (2009)</a>, p.&#160;67.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEWells2008539-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEWells2008539_49-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFWells2008">Wells (2008)</a>, p.&#160;539.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTECruttenden201484-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTECruttenden201484_50-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFCruttenden2014">Cruttenden (2014)</a>, p.&#160;84.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTELindsey201932-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932_51-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTELindsey201932_51-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFLindsey2019">Lindsey (2019)</a>, p.&#160;32.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-FOOTNOTEAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes199436–7-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes199436–7_52-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="#CITEREFAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes1994">Ashby et al. (1994)</a>, pp.&#160;36–7.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWells2012" class="citation web cs1">Wells, John C. (7 June 2012). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://phonetic-blog.blogspot.com/2012/06/happy-again.html">"happY again"</a>. <i>John Wells's phonetic blog</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">23 January</span> 2023</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=unknown&amp;rft.jtitle=John+Wells%27s+phonetic+blog&amp;rft.atitle=happY+again&amp;rft.date=2012-06-07&amp;rft.aulast=Wells&amp;rft.aufirst=John+C.&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fphonetic-blog.blogspot.com%2F2012%2F06%2Fhappy-again.html&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Hung-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Hung_54-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Hung_54-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Tony T.&#160;N. Hung, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.waseda.jp/ocw/AsianStudies/9A-77WorldEnglishSpring2005/LectureNotes/03_HKE_TonyH/HKE_unit3.pdf">English as a global language: Implications for teaching</a>. Retrieved 27 September 2008.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20080517054614/http://www.und.ac.za/und/ling/archive/wade_ch4.html">"Rodrik Wade, MA Thesis, Ch 4: Structural characteristics of Zulu English"</a>. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">17 May</span> 2008</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=unknown&amp;rft.btitle=Rodrik+Wade%2C+MA+Thesis%2C+Ch+4%3A+Structural+characteristics+of+Zulu+English&amp;rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.und.ac.za%2Fund%2Fling%2Farchive%2Fwade_ch4.html&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_web" title="Template:Cite web">cite web</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown" title="Category:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown">link</a>)</span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Bibliography">Bibliography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels&amp;action=edit&amp;section=19" title="Edit section: Bibliography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAshbyAshbyBaldwinHolmes1994" class="citation journal cs1">Ashby, Michael; Ashby, Patricia; Baldwin, John; Holmes, Frederika; House, Jill; Maidment, John (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267925094">"Broad transcription in phonetic training"</a>. <i>Speech, Hearing and Language: Work in Progress</i> (8): 33–40.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Speech%2C+Hearing+and+Language%3A+Work+in+Progress&amp;rft.atitle=Broad+transcription+in+phonetic+training&amp;rft.issue=8&amp;rft.pages=33-40&amp;rft.date=1994&amp;rft.aulast=Ashby&amp;rft.aufirst=Michael&amp;rft.au=Ashby%2C+Patricia&amp;rft.au=Baldwin%2C+John&amp;rft.au=Holmes%2C+Frederika&amp;rft.au=House%2C+Jill&amp;rft.au=Maidment%2C+John&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F267925094&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBauerWarrenBardsleyKennedy2007" class="citation journal cs1">Bauer, Laurie; Warren, Paul; Bardsley, Dianne; Kennedy, Marianna; Major, George (2007). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/282778721">"New Zealand English"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Journal_of_the_International_Phonetic_Association" title="Journal of the International Phonetic Association">Journal of the International Phonetic Association</a></i>. <b>37</b> (1): 97–102. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0025100306002830">10.1017/S0025100306002830</a></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Journal+of+the+International+Phonetic+Association&amp;rft.atitle=New+Zealand+English&amp;rft.volume=37&amp;rft.issue=1&amp;rft.pages=97-102&amp;rft.date=2007&amp;rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1017%2FS0025100306002830&amp;rft.aulast=Bauer&amp;rft.aufirst=Laurie&amp;rft.au=Warren%2C+Paul&amp;rft.au=Bardsley%2C+Dianne&amp;rft.au=Kennedy%2C+Marianna&amp;rft.au=Major%2C+George&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.researchgate.net%2Fpublication%2F282778721&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFCruttenden2014" class="citation book cs1">Cruttenden, Alan (2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=M2nMAgAAQBAJ"><i>Gimson's Pronunciation of English</i></a> (8th&#160;ed.). Routledge. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781444183092" title="Special:BookSources/9781444183092"><bdi>9781444183092</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Gimson%27s+Pronunciation+of+English&amp;rft.edition=8th&amp;rft.pub=Routledge&amp;rft.date=2014&amp;rft.isbn=9781444183092&amp;rft.aulast=Cruttenden&amp;rft.aufirst=Alan&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DM2nMAgAAQBAJ&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFde_Gruyter2004" class="citation book cs1">Kortmann, Bernd; Schneider, Edgar W., eds. (2004). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=mtd3a-56ysUC"><i>A Handbook of Varieties of English: CD-ROM</i></a>. Walter de Gruyter. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/3110175320" title="Special:BookSources/3110175320"><bdi>3110175320</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=A+Handbook+of+Varieties+of+English%3A+CD-ROM&amp;rft.pub=Walter+de+Gruyter&amp;rft.date=2004&amp;rft.isbn=3110175320&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3Dmtd3a-56ysUC&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLindsey2019" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Geoff_Lindsey" title="Geoff Lindsey">Lindsey, Geoff</a> (2019). <i>English After RP: Standard British Pronunciation Today</i>. Palgrave Macmillan. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-030-04356-8" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-030-04356-8"><bdi>978-3-030-04356-8</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=English+After+RP%3A+Standard+British+Pronunciation+Today&amp;rft.pub=Palgrave+Macmillan&amp;rft.date=2019&amp;rft.isbn=978-3-030-04356-8&amp;rft.aulast=Lindsey&amp;rft.aufirst=Geoff&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRoach1983" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Peter_Roach_(phonetician)" title="Peter Roach (phonetician)">Roach, Peter</a> (1983). <i>English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course</i>. Cambridge University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-521-28252-7" title="Special:BookSources/0-521-28252-7"><bdi>0-521-28252-7</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=English+Phonetics+and+Phonology%3A+A+Practical+Course&amp;rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&amp;rft.date=1983&amp;rft.isbn=0-521-28252-7&amp;rft.aulast=Roach&amp;rft.aufirst=Peter&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFRoach2009" class="citation book cs1">Roach, Peter (2009). <i>English Phonetics and Phonology: A Practical Course</i> (4th&#160;ed.). Cambridge University Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-521-71740-3" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-521-71740-3"><bdi>978-0-521-71740-3</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=English+Phonetics+and+Phonology%3A+A+Practical+Course&amp;rft.edition=4th&amp;rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&amp;rft.date=2009&amp;rft.isbn=978-0-521-71740-3&amp;rft.aulast=Roach&amp;rft.aufirst=Peter&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1041539562">.mw-parser-output .citation{word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}</style><cite id="CITEREFWells1982" class="citation book"><a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">Wells, John C.</a> (1982). <i>Accents of English</i>. Vol.&#160;1: An Introduction (pp.&#160;i–xx, 1–278),&#32;Vol.&#160;2: The British Isles (pp.&#160;i–xx, 279–466),&#32;Vol.&#160;3: Beyond the British Isles (pp.&#160;i–xx, 467–674). Cambridge University Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511611759">10.1017/CBO9780511611759</a>,&#32;<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1017%2FCBO9780511611766">10.1017/CBO9780511611766</a>. <a href="/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" class="mw-redirect" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-52129719-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-52129719-2">0-52129719-2</a><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fde.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Accents+of+English&amp;rft.aulast=Wells&amp;rft.aufirst=John+C.&amp;rft.date=1982&amp;rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&amp;rft.volume=1%3A+An+Introduction&amp;rft.isbn=0-52129719-2"><span style="display: none;">&#160;</span></span>,&#32;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-52128540-2" title="Special:BookSources/0-52128540-2">0-52128540-2</a><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fde.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Accents+of+English&amp;rft.aulast=Wells&amp;rft.aufirst=John+C.&amp;rft.date=1982&amp;rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&amp;rft.volume=2%3A+The+British+Isles&amp;rft.isbn=0-52128540-2&amp;rft_id=info:doi/10.1017%2FCBO9780511611759"><span style="display: none;">&#160;</span></span>,&#32;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-52128541-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-52128541-0">0-52128541-0</a><span class="Z3988" title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fde.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Accents+of+English&amp;rft.aulast=Wells&amp;rft.aufirst=John+C.&amp;rft.date=1982&amp;rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&amp;rft.volume=3%3A+Beyond+the+British+Isles&amp;rft.isbn=0-52128541-0&amp;rft_id=info:doi/10.1017%2FCBO9780511611759"><span style="display: none;">&#160;</span></span>.</cite></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWells2008" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">Wells, John C.</a> (2008). <i>Longman Pronunciation Dictionary</i> (3rd&#160;ed.). Longman. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-4058-8118-0"><bdi>978-1-4058-8118-0</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=Longman+Pronunciation+Dictionary&amp;rft.edition=3rd&amp;rft.pub=Longman&amp;rft.date=2008&amp;rft.isbn=978-1-4058-8118-0&amp;rft.aulast=Wells&amp;rft.aufirst=John+C.&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+close+front+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output 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.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="History_of_English" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:History_of_English" title="Template:History of English"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:History_of_English" title="Template talk:History of English"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:History_of_English" title="Special:EditPage/Template:History of English"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="History_of_English" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/History_of_English" title="History of English">History of English</a></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language" title="Proto-Indo-European language">Proto-Indo-European</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proto-Germanic_language" title="Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Germanic_languages" title="West Germanic languages">Proto-West-Germanic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Frisian_languages" title="Anglo-Frisian languages">Anglo-Frisian languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Old_English" title="Old English">Old English</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Kentish_Old_English" title="Kentish Old English">Kentish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mercian_dialect" title="Mercian dialect">Mercian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northumbrian_Old_English" title="Northumbrian Old English">Northumbrian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Saxon_dialect" title="West Saxon dialect">West Saxon</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglo-Norman_language" title="Anglo-Norman language">Anglo-Norman language</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English">Middle English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_English" title="Modern English">Modern English</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible expanded navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Phonological_history" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English" title="Phonological history of English">Phonological history</a></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_vowels" title="Phonological history of English vowels">Vowels</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩"><i>A</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">Changes before historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">Changes before historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close back vowels">Close back vowels</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Close front vowels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_diphthongs" title="Phonological history of English diphthongs">Diphthongs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_open_back_vowels" title="Phonological history of English open back vowels">Open back vowels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trisyllabic_laxing" title="Trisyllabic laxing">Trisyllabic laxing</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonants" title="Phonological history of English consonants">Consonants</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_consonant_clusters" title="Phonological history of English consonant clusters">Clusters</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flapping" title="Flapping">Flapping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/H-dropping" title="H-dropping"><i>H</i>-dropping</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/L-vocalization" title="L-vocalization"><i>L</i>-vocalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8ng%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨ng⟩"><i>Ng</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rhoticity_in_English" title="Rhoticity in English">Rhoticity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T-glottalization" title="T-glottalization"><i>T</i>-glottalization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8th%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨th⟩"><i>Th</i></a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Th-fronting" title="Th-fronting">fronting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Th-stopping" title="Th-stopping">stopping</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8wh%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨wh⟩"><i>Wh</i></a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.codfw.main‐7bc9588894‐xnvt7 Cached time: 20241202173958 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [vary‐revision‐sha1, show‐toc] CPU time usage: 1.132 seconds Real time usage: 1.375 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 9586/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 229134/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 10264/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 15/100 Expensive parser function count: 6/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 1/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 153636/5000000 bytes Lua time usage: 0.676/10.000 seconds Lua memory usage: 17968338/52428800 bytes Number of Wikibase entities 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2,\n [\"Lead too short\"] = 1,\n [\"Reflist\"] = 1,\n [\"Sc2\"] = 22,\n [\"Sfnp\"] = 33,\n [\"Short description\"] = 1,\n [\"Smallcaps\"] = 3,\n [\"Underline\"] = 6,\n [\"Use dmy dates\"] = 1,\n}\narticle_whitelist = table#1 {\n}\nciteref_patterns = table#1 {\n}\n"},"cachereport":{"origin":"mw-web.codfw.main-7bc9588894-xnvt7","timestamp":"20241202173958","ttl":2592000,"transientcontent":false}}});});</script> <script type="application/ld+json">{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Article","name":"Phonological history of English close front vowels","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels#Pin\u2013pen_merger","sameAs":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7187295","mainEntity":"http:\/\/www.wikidata.org\/entity\/Q7187295","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Contributors to Wikimedia projects"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.wikimedia.org\/static\/images\/wmf-hor-googpub.png"}},"datePublished":"2005-02-02T00:13:00Z","dateModified":"2024-12-01T05:26:38Z","headline":"sound changes"}</script> </body> </html>

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