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vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Tense–lax_neutralization"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Tense–lax neutralization</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Tense–lax_neutralization-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Monophthongs" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Monophthongs"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Monophthongs</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Monophthongs-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Monophthongs subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Monophthongs-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Low_front_vowels" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Low_front_vowels"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>Low front vowels</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Low_front_vowels-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Low_back_vowels" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Low_back_vowels"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.2</span> <span>Low back vowels</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Low_back_vowels-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-High_back_vowels" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#High_back_vowels"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.3</span> <span>High back vowels</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-High_back_vowels-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-High_front_vowels" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#High_front_vowels"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.4</span> <span>High front vowels</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-High_front_vowels-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Schwa" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Schwa"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.5</span> <span>Schwa</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Schwa-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Diphthongs" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Diphthongs"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Diphthongs</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Diphthongs-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Vowel changes before historic /r/</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Vowel changes before historic /r/ subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Mergers_before_intervocalic_/r/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mergers_before_intervocalic_/r/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Mergers before intervocalic /r/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mergers_before_intervocalic_/r/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Mergers_before_historic_coda_/r/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Mergers_before_historic_coda_/r/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Mergers before historic coda /r/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Mergers_before_historic_coda_/r/-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Vowel changes before historic /l/</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/-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">7</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">8</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" 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.sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" 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"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" 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 class="mw-selflink selflink">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 href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close front vowels">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>. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see <a href="/wiki/Help:IPA" title="Help:IPA">Help:IPA</a>. For the distinction between <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ ]</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ /</span> and ⟨<span title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)" class="IPA" lang="und-Latn-fonipa"> </span>⟩, see <a href="/wiki/International_Phonetic_Alphabet#Brackets_and_transcription_delimiters" title="International Phonetic Alphabet">IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters</a>.</div></div> </div> <p>In the history of <a href="/wiki/English_phonology" title="English phonology">English phonology</a>, there have been many <a href="/wiki/Historical_linguistics" title="Historical linguistics">diachronic</a> <a href="/wiki/Sound_change" title="Sound change">sound changes</a> affecting <a href="/wiki/Vowel" title="Vowel">vowels</a>, especially involving <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic split">phonemic splits</a> and <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic merger">mergers</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Great_Vowel_Shift_and_trisyllabic_laxing">Great Vowel Shift and trisyllabic laxing</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Great Vowel Shift and trisyllabic laxing"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a> and <a href="/wiki/Trisyllabic_laxing" title="Trisyllabic laxing">Trisyllabic laxing</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a> was a series of <a href="/wiki/Chain_shift" title="Chain shift">chain shifts</a> that affected historical <a href="/wiki/Long_vowel" class="mw-redirect" title="Long vowel">long vowels</a> but left short vowels largely alone. It is one of the primary causes of the idiosyncrasies in English spelling. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Trisyllabic_laxing" title="Trisyllabic laxing">shortening of ante-penultimate syllables</a> in Middle English created many long–short pairs. The result can be seen in such words as, </p> <table class="wikitable"> <tbody><tr> <th>Middle English</th> <th>from long V</th> <th>from short V </th></tr> <tr> <th>ī : i </th> <td>ch<b>i</b>ld <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪ/</span><br />div<b>i</b>ne<br />m<b>i</b>ne </td> <td>ch<b>i</b>ldren <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span><br />div<b>i</b>nity<br />m<b>i</b>neral </td></tr> <tr> <th>ē : e<br />ea : e </th> <td>ser<b>e</b>ne <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span><br />dr<b>ea</b>m </td> <td>ser<b>e</b>nity <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span><br />dr<b>ea</b>mt </td></tr> <tr> <th>ā : a </th> <td>n<b>a</b>tion <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪ/</span><br />s<b>a</b>ne </td> <td>n<b>a</b>tional <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span><br />s<b>a</b>nity </td></tr> <tr> <th>ō : o </th> <td>g<b>oo</b>se <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/uː/</span><br />sch<b>oo</b>l </td> <td>g<b>o</b>sling <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒ/</span><br />sch<b>o</b>larly </td></tr> <tr> <th>oa : o<br /> ō : o (Latin) </th> <td>h<b>o</b>ly <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oʊ/</span><br />c<b>o</b>ne<br />kn<b>ow</b>* </td> <td>h<b>o</b>liday <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒ/</span><br />c<b>o</b>nical<br />kn<b>ow</b>ledge </td></tr> <tr> <th>ū : u </th> <td>s<b>ou</b>th <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aʊ/</span><br />pron<b>ou</b>nce </td> <td>s<b>ou</b>thern <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌ/</span><br />pron<b>u</b>nciation </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>*Earlier Modern English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ou/</span> merged with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oː/</span>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Tense–lax_neutralization"><span id="Tense.E2.80.93lax_neutralization"></span>Tense–lax neutralization</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Tense–lax neutralization"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Tense–lax neutralization refers to a neutralization, in a particular <a href="/wiki/Phonological" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological">phonological</a> context in a particular language, of the normal distinction between <a href="/wiki/Tenseness" title="Tenseness">tense and lax vowels</a>. </p><p>In some varieties of English, this occurs in particular before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ŋ/</span> and (in <a href="/wiki/Rhotic_dialect" class="mw-redirect" title="Rhotic dialect">rhotic dialects</a>) before <a href="/wiki/Syllable_coda" class="mw-redirect" title="Syllable coda">coda</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> (that is, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> followed by a consonant or at the end of a word); it also occurs, to a lesser extent, before <a href="/wiki/Tautosyllabicity" title="Tautosyllabicity">tautosyllabic</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʃ/</span>. </p><p>In the Pacific Northwest, especially in the Seattle area, some speakers have a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪ/</span> before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɡ/</span>. For these speakers, words with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛ/</span> like <i>beg</i>, <i>egg</i>, <i>Greg</i>, <i>keg</i>, <i>leg</i> and <i>peg</i> rhyme with words with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪ/</span> like <i>Craig</i>, <i>Hague</i>, <i>plague</i> and <i>vague</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Some varieties (including most <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a> dialects) have significant vocalic neutralization before intervocalic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span>, as well. See <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">English-language vowel changes before historic /r/</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Monophthongs">Monophthongs</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Monophthongs"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Low_front_vowels">Low front vowels</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Low front vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩">Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩</a></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki//%C3%A6/_tensing" class="mw-redirect" title="/æ/ tensing">/æ/ tensing</a> is a process that occurs in some accents of <a href="/wiki/North_American_English" title="North American English">North American</a> and some <a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> whereby the vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> is raised and lengthened or <a href="/wiki/Diphthong" title="Diphthong">diphthongised</a> in various environments. In some dialects it involves an allophonic split whilst in others it affects all <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span>s. There are dialects,<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Naming_conventions_(geographic_names)" title="Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names)"><span title="The geographic scope near this tag is ambiguous. (October 2024)">where?</span></a></i>]</sup> however, where the split is phonological.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (October 2024)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Bad%E2%80%93lad_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Bad–lad split"><i>bad</i>–<i>lad</i> split</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Phonological_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological split">phonological split</a> of the Early Modern English short <a href="/wiki/Vowel" title="Vowel">vowel</a> phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> into a short <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> and a long <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æː/</span>. This split is found in some varieties of English in <a href="/wiki/English_language_in_England" title="English language in England">England</a> and <a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australia</a>.</li> <li>In Modern English, <a href="/wiki/Pronunciation_of_English_%E2%9F%A8a%E2%9F%A9#Development_of_the_new_long_A" title="Pronunciation of English ⟨a⟩">a new phoneme, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑː/</span>, developed</a> that did not exist in <a href="/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English">Middle English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Trap%E2%80%93bath_split" title="Trap–bath split"><i>trap</i>–<i>bath</i> split</a> is a vowel split whereby the <a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a> phoneme <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> merged with the <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑː/</span> in certain environments. It occurs mainly in southern varieties of English English, the <a href="/wiki/Boston_accent" title="Boston accent">Boston accent</a> and the Southern Hemisphere accents (although it is somewhat variable in Australia).</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Low_back_vowels">Low back vowels</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Low back vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_low_back_vowels" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological history of English low back vowels">Phonological history of English low back vowels</a></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Father%E2%80%93bother_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Father–bother merger"><i>father</i>–<i>bother</i> merger</a> is a merger of the <a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a> vowels <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒ/</span> that occurs in almost all varieties of <a href="/wiki/North_American_English" title="North American English">North American English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Lot%E2%80%93cloth_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Lot–cloth split"><i>lot</i>–<i>cloth</i> split</a> is the result of a late 17th-century sound change that lengthened <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒ/</span> to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɒː]</span> before <a href="/wiki/Voiceless" class="mw-redirect" title="Voiceless">voiceless</a> <a href="/wiki/Fricative" title="Fricative">fricatives</a> (<i>off</i>, <i>broth</i>, <i>cost</i>), voiced velars (<i>dog</i>, <i>long</i>) and also before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/n/</span> in the word <i>gone</i>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Cot%E2%80%93caught_merger" title="Cot–caught merger">cot–caught merger</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic merger">phonemic merger</a> that occurs in some varieties of English causing the <a href="/wiki/Vowel" title="Vowel">vowel</a> in words like <i>cot</i>, <i>rock</i>, and <i>doll</i> to be pronounced the same as the vowel in the words <i>caught</i>, <i>talk</i>, <i>law</i>, and <i>small</i>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Psalm%E2%80%93sum_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Psalm–sum merger"><i>psalm</i>–<i>sum</i> merger</a> is a phenomenon occurring in <a href="/wiki/Singaporean_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Singaporean English">Singaporean English</a> where the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌ/</span> are both pronounced <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑ/</span>. In <a href="/wiki/Australian_English" title="Australian English">Australian English</a> they are distinguished only by <a href="/wiki/Vowel_length" title="Vowel length">vowel length</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Bud%E2%80%93bird_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Bud–bird merger"><i>bud</i>–<i>bird</i> merger</a> is a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜ/</span> occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/Jamaican_English" title="Jamaican English">Jamaican English</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="High_back_vowels">High back vowels</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: High back vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_high_back_vowels" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological history of English high back vowels">Phonological history of English high back vowels</a></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Foot%E2%80%93goose_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Foot–goose merger"><i>foot</i>–<i>goose</i> merger</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic merger">phonemic merger</a> of the vowels <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/uː/</span> found in distinct <a href="/wiki/Dialect" title="Dialect">dialects</a> of English: Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England use <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/u/</span> for both these sets of words.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Foot%E2%80%93strut_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Foot–strut split"><i>foot</i>–<i>strut</i> split</a> is the split of <a href="/wiki/Middle_English" title="Middle English">Middle English</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊ/</span> into two distinct phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊ/</span> (as in <i>foot</i>) and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌ/</span> (as in <i>strut</i>) that occurs in most accents of English (except most <a href="/wiki/Northern_England_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Northern England English">Northern English</a> accents).</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Strut%E2%80%93comma_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Strut–comma merger"><i>strut</i>–<i>comma</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ə/</span> found in <a href="/wiki/Welsh_English" title="Welsh English">Welsh English</a> and in many varieties of <a href="/wiki/General_American" class="mw-redirect" title="General American">General American</a>.</li> <li>In Modern English, the vowels <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_high_back_vowels#Development_of_/juː/" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological history of English high back vowels"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iu/</span>, <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛu/</span>, and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/y/</span></a><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (the last occurring only in French loanwords) of Middle English have been merged.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="High_front_vowels">High front vowels</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: High front vowels"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_high_front_vowels" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonological history of English high front vowels">Phonological history of English high front vowels</a></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Weak_vowel_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Weak vowel merger">weak vowel merger</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic merger">phonemic merger</a> of the unstressed <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> (sometimes written as <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɨ/</span>) with <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>) with in certain dialects of English. As a result of this merger the words <i>rabbit</i> and <i>abbot</i> rhyme.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Kit_split" class="mw-redirect" title="Kit split"><i>kit</i> split</a> is a split of EME <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ/</span> found in <a href="/wiki/South_African_English" title="South African English">South African English</a>, where <i>kit</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[kɪt]</span> and <i>bit</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[bət]</span> do not rhyme.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Pin%E2%80%93pen_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Pin–pen merger"><i>pin</i>–<i>pen</i> merger</a> is a conditional <a href="/wiki/Phonemic_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Phonemic merger">phonemic 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>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Happy_tensing" class="mw-redirect" title="Happy tensing"><i>Happy</i> tensing</a> is the process in which final <a href="/wiki/Tenseness" title="Tenseness">lax</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɪ]</span> becomes tense <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[i]</span> in words like <i>happ<b>y</b></i>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Meet%E2%80%93meat_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Meet–meat merger"><i>meet</i>–<i>meat</i> merger</a> is the merger 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> with the vowel <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iː/</span>. The merger is complete outside the British Isles and virtually complete within them.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Mitt%E2%80%93meet_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Mitt–meet merger"><i>mitt</i>–<i>meet</i> merger</a><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> 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> where 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>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Met%E2%80%93mat_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Met–mat merger"><i>met</i>–<i>mat</i> merger</a> 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> where 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>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Singapore_English#Next–text_split" title="Singapore English"><i>next</i>–<i>text</i> split</a> is a vowel split occurring in <a href="/wiki/Singaporean_English" class="mw-redirect" title="Singaporean English">Singaporean English</a> where <i>next</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/nekst/</span> and <i>text</i> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/tɛkst/</span> use different vowel phonemes and do not rhyme.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Met%E2%80%93mate_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Met–mate merger"><i>met</i>–<i>mate</i> merger</a> is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/Zulu_English" title="Zulu English">Zulu English</a> where <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>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Thank%E2%80%93think_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Thank–think merger"><i>thank</i>–<i>think</i> merger</a> 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>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Pin%E2%80%93pen_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Pin–pen merger"><i>pit</i>–<i>pet</i> merger</a> is 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 – occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/Newfoundland_English" title="Newfoundland English">Newfoundland English</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Schwa">Schwa</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Schwa"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><b>Schwa syncope</b> is the deletion of <a href="/wiki/Schwa" class="mw-redirect" title="Schwa">schwa</a>. English has the tendency to delete schwa when it appears in a mid-word syllable that comes after the stressed syllable. Kenstowicz (1994) states that "... American English schwa deletes in medial posttonic syllables ...", and gives as examples words such as <i>sep(a)rate</i> (as an adjective), <i>choc(o)late</i>, <i>cam(e)ra</i> and <i>elab(o)rate</i> (as an adjective), where the schwa (represented by the letters in parentheses) has a tendency to be deleted.<sup id="cite_ref-kenstowicz21994_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kenstowicz21994-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Diphthongs">Diphthongs</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Diphthongs"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_diphthongs" title="Phonological history of English diphthongs">Phonological history of English diphthongs</a></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Vein%E2%80%93vain_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Vein–vain merger"><i>vein</i>–<i>vain</i> merger</a> is the merger of the Middle English <a href="/wiki/Diphthong" title="Diphthong">diphthongs</a> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ai/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ei/</span> that occurs in all dialects of present English.</li> <li>The following mergers are grouped together by <a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">Wells</a> as the <a href="/wiki/Long_mid_mergers" class="mw-redirect" title="Long mid mergers">long mid mergers</a>. They occur in all but a few dialects of English. <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Pane%E2%80%93pain_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Pane–pain merger"><i>pane</i>–<i>pain</i> merger</a> is a merger of the long mid monophthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eː/</span> and the diphthong <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛi/</span>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Toe%E2%80%93tow_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Toe–tow merger"><i>toe</i>–<i>tow</i> merger</a> is a merger of the <a href="/wiki/Early_Modern_English" title="Early Modern English">Early Modern English</a> vowels <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔu/</span>.</li></ul></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Cot%E2%80%93coat_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Cot–coat merger"><i>cot</i>–<i>coat</i> merger</a> is a phenomenon occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/Zulu_English" title="Zulu English">Zulu English</a> where the phonemes <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oʊ/</span> are not distinguished.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Rod%E2%80%93ride_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Rod–ride merger"><i>rod</i>–<i>ride</i> merger</a> is a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪ/</span> occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a> and <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Pride%E2%80%93proud_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Pride–proud merger"><i>pride</i>–<i>proud</i> merger</a> is a merger of the diphthongs <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aʊ/</span> before voiced consonants occurring for some speakers of <a href="/wiki/African_American_Vernacular_English" class="mw-redirect" title="African American Vernacular English">African American Vernacular English</a>.</li> <li>Some Welsh English speakers distinguish "rode" /roːd/ and "cole" /koːl/ from "road" /roəd/ and "coal" /koəl/.<sup id="cite_ref-phonetics_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-phonetics-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>Some Welsh English speakers distinguish "muse" /myːz/ and "due" /dyː/ from "mews" /mɪuz/ and "dew" /dɪu/.<sup id="cite_ref-phonetics_9-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-phonetics-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Line%E2%80%93loin_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Line–loin merger"><i>line</i>–<i>loin</i> merger</a> is a merger between the diphthongs <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔɪ/</span> that occurs in some English dialects.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Coil%E2%80%93curl_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Coil–curl merger"><i>coil</i>–<i>curl</i> merger</a> is a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔɪ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜr/</span> which historically occurred in some dialects of English. It is particularly associated with the dialects of <a href="/wiki/New_York_City" title="New York City">New York City</a> and <a href="/wiki/New_Orleans" title="New Orleans">New Orleans</a>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/"><span id="Vowel_changes_before_historic_.2Fr.2F"></span>Vowel changes before historic /r/</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Vowel changes before historic /r/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">English-language vowel changes before historic /r/</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mergers_before_intervocalic_/r/"><span id="Mergers_before_intervocalic_.2Fr.2F"></span>Mergers before intervocalic /r/</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Mergers before intervocalic /r/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mergers_before_intervocalic_R" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">Mergers before intervocalic <i>r</i></a> are quite widespread in <a href="/wiki/North_American_English" title="North American English">North American English</a>. </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Mary%E2%80%93marry%E2%80%93merry_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Mary–marry–merry merger"><i>Mary</i>–<i>marry</i>–<i>merry</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ær/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛər/</span> (historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/eɪr/</span>).</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Mirror%E2%80%93nearer_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Mirror–nearer merger"><i>mirror</i>–<i>nearer</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪər/</span> (historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/iːr/</span>).</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Hurry%E2%80%93furry_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Hurry–furry merger"><i>hurry</i>–<i>furry</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜr/</span>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Furry%E2%80%93ferry_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Furry–ferry merger"><i>furry</i>–<i>ferry</i> merger</a>, common in the <a href="/wiki/Philadelphia_accent" class="mw-redirect" title="Philadelphia accent">Philadelphia accent</a>, is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛr/</span>.</li> <li>Intervocalic <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Merger_of_/ɒr/_and_/ɔr/_between_vowels" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɒr/</span> merges</a> either with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑr/</span> as in <i>starry</i> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔr/</span> as in <i>glory</i>.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Mergers_before_historic_coda_/r/"><span id="Mergers_before_historic_coda_.2Fr.2F"></span>Mergers before historic coda /r/</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Mergers before historic coda /r/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Various <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#Mergers_and_splits_before_historic_post-vocalic_R" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/">mergers before historic coda r</a> are very common in English dialects. </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Cheer%E2%80%93chair_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Cheer–chair merger"><i>cheer</i>–<i>chair</i> merger</a> is the merger of the Early Modern English sequences <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[iːr]</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[eːr]</span>, which is found in some accents of modern English.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Nurse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Nurse merger"><i>fern</i>–<i>fir</i>–<i>fur</i> merger</a> is the merger of the Middle English vowels <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ɛ,<span class="wrap"> </span>ʊ/</span> into <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɜr]</span> when historically followed by <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> in the <a href="/wiki/Syllable#Coda" title="Syllable">coda</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Syllable" title="Syllable">syllable</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Fur%E2%80%93fair_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Fur–fair merger"><i>fur</i>–<i>fair</i> merger</a> is a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜːr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛər/</span> that occurs in some accents.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Nurse%E2%80%93near_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Nurse–near merger"><i>nurse</i>–<i>near</i> merger</a> is a possible merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜːr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɪər/</span> that may occur in some <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American</a> and the <a href="/wiki/West_Country_accent" class="mw-redirect" title="West Country accent">West Country English</a> dialects.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#/aɪə/–/aʊə/–/ɑː/_merger" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪər/</span>–<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aʊər/</span>–<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑːr/</span> merger</a> is found in some accents of <a href="/wiki/English_language_in_southern_England" class="mw-redirect" title="English language in southern England">Southern British English</a>. It causes <i>tire</i>, <i>tower</i>, and <i>tar</i> to be homophones. The <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#/aɪər/–/ɑr/_merger" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aɪər/</span>–<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɑːr/</span> merger</a> is found in some Midland and Southern U.S. accents. It causes <i>tire</i> and <i>tar</i> to be homophones.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Cure%E2%80%93fir_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Cure–fir merger"><i>cure</i>–<i>fir</i> merger</a> is a merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊər/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜːr/</span> or <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊr/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜːr/</span> that occurs in <a href="/wiki/East_Anglia" title="East Anglia">East Anglian</a> and <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a> in certain words.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Pour%E2%80%93poor_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Pour–poor merger"><i>pour</i>–<i>poor</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊər/</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔːr/</span>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Card%E2%80%93cord_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Card–cord merger"><i>card</i>–<i>cord</i> merger</a> is a merger of Early Modern English <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɑːr]</span> with <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">[ɒr]</span>, found in some <a href="/wiki/Caribbean_English" title="Caribbean English">Caribbean</a>, <a href="/wiki/West_Country_dialects" class="mw-redirect" title="West Country dialects">English West Country</a> and <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern</a> and Western <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">U.S.</a> accents.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Horse%E2%80%93hoarse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Horse–hoarse merger"><i>horse</i>–<i>hoarse</i> merger</a> is the merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔː/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oʊ/</span> before historic <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/r/</span> occurring in most varieties of English.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Square-nurse_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Square-nurse merger"><i>square</i>–<i>nurse</i> merger</a> occurs in some areas of <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>. The two sets are sometimes merged to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɛː/</span> (Liverpool, east coast of Yorkshire) and sometimes to <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɜː/</span> (south Lancashire).</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/r/#/aʊr/–/aʊər/_merger" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /r/"><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aʊr/</span>–<span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/aʊər/</span> merger</a> occurs for many speakers of English. It caused <i>power</i> and <i>sour</i> to rhyme.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/"><span id="Vowel_changes_before_historic_.2Fl.2F"></span>Vowel changes before historic /l/</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Phonological_history_of_English_vowels&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Vowel changes before historic /l/"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">English-language vowel changes before historic /l/</a></div> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/Salary%E2%80%93celery_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Salary–celery merger"><i>salary</i>–<i>celery</i> merger</a> is a conditioned merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/æ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/e/</span> before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span> occurring in <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand_English" title="New Zealand English">New Zealand</a> and <a href="/wiki/Victoria_(Australia)" class="mw-redirect" title="Victoria (Australia)">Victorian (Australia)</a> English.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Fill%E2%80%93feel_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Fill–feel merger"><i>fill</i>–<i>feel</i> merger</a> is a conditioned 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)">/iː/</span> before /l/ occurring in some dialects of <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Fell%E2%80%93fail_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Fell–fail merger"><i>fell</i>–<i>fail</i> merger</a> is a conditioned merger of <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)">/eɪ/</span> before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span> occurring in some varieties of <a href="/wiki/Southern_American_English" title="Southern American English">Southern American English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Full%E2%80%93fool_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Full–fool merger"><i>full</i>–<i>fool</i> merger</a> is a conditioned merger of <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊ/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/uː/</span> before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span> mainly occurring the North Midland accent of <a href="/wiki/American_English" title="American English">American English</a>.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Hull%E2%80%93hole_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Hull–hole merger"><i>hull</i>–<i>hole</i> merger</a> is a conditioned merger of /ʌ/ and /oʊ/ before /l/ occurring for some speakers of English English with l-vocalization.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Doll%E2%80%93dole_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Doll–dole merger"><i>doll</i>–<i>dole</i> merger</a> is a conditioned merger, for some Londoners, of /ɒ/ and /əʊ/ before nonprevocalic /l/.</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Vile%E2%80%93vial_merger" class="mw-redirect" title="Vile–vial merger"><i>vile</i>–<i>vial</i> merger</a> involves a partial or complete dephonologicalization of <a href="/wiki/Schwa" class="mw-redirect" title="Schwa">schwa</a> after a vowel and before coda <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span>.</li> <li>Four <a href="/wiki/English-language_vowel_changes_before_historic_/l/#Other_mergers" title="English-language vowel changes before historic /l/">other</a> conditioned mergers before <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/l/</span> which require more study have been mentioned in the literature and are as follows: <ul><li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊl/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oʊl/</span> (<i>bull</i> vs. <i>bowl</i>)</li> <li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌl/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ɔːl/</span> (<i>hull</i> vs. <i>hall</i>)</li> <li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʊl/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌl/</span> (<i>bull</i> vs. <i>hull</i>)</li> <li><span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/ʌl/</span> and <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="und-Latn-fonipa" title="Representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)">/oʊl/</span> (<i>hull</i> vs. <i>hole</i>)</li></ul></li></ul> <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_vowels&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Great_Vowel_Shift" title="Great Vowel Shift">Great Vowel Shift</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_dialects_of_the_English_language" class="mw-redirect" title="List of dialects of the English language">List of dialects of the English language</a></li> <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_consonants" title="Phonological history of English consonants">Phonological history of English consonants</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trisyllabic_laxing" title="Trisyllabic laxing">Trisyllabic laxing</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_vowels&action=edit&section=15" 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"><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="CITEREFFreeman2014" class="citation journal cs1">Freeman, Valerie (2014). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://linguistics.washington.edu/sites/linguistics/files/documents/research/freeman_2014_uwwpl-paper.pdf">"Bag, beg, bagel: Prevelar raising and merger in Pacific Northwest English"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>University of Washington Working Papers in Linguistics</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 March</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=University+of+Washington+Working+Papers+in+Linguistics&rft.atitle=Bag%2C+beg%2C+bagel%3A+Prevelar+raising+and+merger+in+Pacific+Northwest+English&rft.date=2014&rft.aulast=Freeman&rft.aufirst=Valerie&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flinguistics.washington.edu%2Fsites%2Flinguistics%2Ffiles%2Fdocuments%2Fresearch%2Ffreeman_2014_uwwpl-paper.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWells1982" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/John_C._Wells" title="John C. Wells">Wells, John C.</a> (1982). <i>Accents of English 2: The British Isles</i>. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 402. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780521285407" title="Special:BookSources/9780521285407"><bdi>9780521285407</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/971171807">971171807</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Accents+of+English+2%3A+The+British+Isles&rft.pages=402&rft.pub=Cambridge+University+Press&rft.date=1982&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F971171807&rft.isbn=9780521285407&rft.aulast=Wells&rft.aufirst=John+C.&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">E. J. Dobson (English pronunciation, 1500–1700, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968, passim) and other scholars before him postulated the existence of a vowel /y/ beside /iu̯/ in early Modern English. But see <a href="/wiki/Fausto_Cercignani" title="Fausto Cercignani">Fausto Cercignani</a>, <i>On the alleged existence of a vowel /y:/ in early Modern English</i>, in “English Language and Linguistics”, 26/2, 2022, pp. 263–277 <a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/english-language-and-linguistics/article/on-the-alleged-existence-of-a-vowel-y-in-early-modern-english/AC739707E998A98AFFD515678D9B1E14">[1]</a>.</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"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFHung2002" class="citation journal cs1">Hung, Tony (2002). "English as a global language: Implications for teaching". <i>The ACELT Journal</i>. <b>5</b> (2): 3–10.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+ACELT+Journal&rft.atitle=English+as+a+global+language%3A+Implications+for+teaching&rft.volume=5&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=3-10&rft.date=2002&rft.aulast=Hung&rft.aufirst=Tony&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDeterdingHvitfeldt1994" class="citation journal cs1">Deterding, David; Hvitfeldt, Robert (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://videoweb.nie.edu.sg/phonetic/papers/teach-sge.pdf">"The Features of Singapore English Pronunciation: Implications for Teachers"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>Teaching and Learning</i>. <b>15</b> (1): 98–107.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Teaching+and+Learning&rft.atitle=The+Features+of+Singapore+English+Pronunciation%3A+Implications+for+Teachers&rft.volume=15&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=98-107&rft.date=1994&rft.aulast=Deterding&rft.aufirst=David&rft.au=Hvitfeldt%2C+Robert&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fvideoweb.nie.edu.sg%2Fphonetic%2Fpapers%2Fteach-sge.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-6">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFDeterding2007" class="citation book cs1">Deterding, David (2007). "The Vowels of the Different Ethnic Groups in Singapore". In Prescott, David; Kirkpatrick, Andy; Martin, Isabel; Hashim, Azirah (eds.). <i>English in Southeast Asia: Literacies, Literatures and Varieties</i>. Newcastle, UK: Cambridge Scholars Press. pp. 2–29. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1847182241" title="Special:BookSources/978-1847182241"><bdi>978-1847182241</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=The+Vowels+of+the+Different+Ethnic+Groups+in+Singapore&rft.btitle=English+in+Southeast+Asia%3A+Literacies%2C+Literatures+and+Varieties&rft.place=Newcastle%2C+UK&rft.pages=2-29&rft.pub=Cambridge+Scholars+Press&rft.date=2007&rft.isbn=978-1847182241&rft.aulast=Deterding&rft.aufirst=David&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></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="CITEREFDeterding2005" class="citation journal cs1">Deterding, David (2005). "Emergent patterns in the vowels of Singapore English". <i>English World-Wide</i>. <b>26</b> (2): 179–97. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1075%2Feww.26.2.04det">10.1075/eww.26.2.04det</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=English+World-Wide&rft.atitle=Emergent+patterns+in+the+vowels+of+Singapore+English&rft.volume=26&rft.issue=2&rft.pages=179-97&rft.date=2005&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1075%2Feww.26.2.04det&rft.aulast=Deterding&rft.aufirst=David&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-kenstowicz21994-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-kenstowicz21994_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKenstowicz1994" class="citation book cs1"><a href="/wiki/Michael_J._Kenstowicz" class="mw-redirect" title="Michael J. Kenstowicz">Kenstowicz, Michael J.</a> (1994). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=KQed5q1YK-oC"><i>Phonology in generative grammar</i></a>. Wiley-Blackwell. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-55786-426-0" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-55786-426-0"><bdi>978-1-55786-426-0</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/450897985">450897985</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Phonology+in+generative+grammar&rft.pub=Wiley-Blackwell&rft.date=1994&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F450897985&rft.isbn=978-1-55786-426-0&rft.aulast=Kenstowicz&rft.aufirst=Michael+J.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3DKQed5q1YK-oC&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-phonetics-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-phonetics_9-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-phonetics_9-1"><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="CITEREFKatz2013" class="citation book cs1">Katz, William F. (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com/books?id=5f5dAAAAQBAJ"><i>Phonetics for Dummies</i></a>. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781118505083" title="Special:BookSources/9781118505083"><bdi>9781118505083</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1027577087">1027577087</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Phonetics+for+Dummies&rft.place=Hoboken%2C+N.J.&rft.pub=John+Wiley+%26+Sons&rft.date=2013&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F1027577087&rft.isbn=9781118505083&rft.aulast=Katz&rft.aufirst=William+F.&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fbooks.google.com%2Fbooks%3Fid%3D5f5dAAAAQBAJ&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APhonological+history+of+English+vowels" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link 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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 class="mw-selflink selflink">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 href="/wiki/Phonological_history_of_English_close_front_vowels" title="Phonological history of English close front vowels">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>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; position: absolute;"></noscript> 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