Voicing and voiceless fricatives.

About the same time voiceless consonants were voiced in several types of words. One of the conditions for the change seems to have been the unstressed position of the preceding vowel. Voicing mainly affects the consonant [s] and the cluster [ks], which become [z] and [gz]. In a few words it also affects the consonants [f] and [tʃ], which accordingly become [v] and [dʒ].

1. [s > z]. The most well-known examples of this voicing are some words of French origin: dessert, resemble, possess, observe, dissolve.

2. [ks > gz]. The following pairs of words are illustrative of the change (in the second of each pair the vowel preceding the cluster has either primary or secondary stress: exhibit - exhibition; exhort - exhortation; executor – execute.

3. The relation between [f] and [v] can only be illustrated by one example: of and off.

4. The change [tʃ > dʒ] occurred in ME knowleche > MnE knowledge.

The exact conditions of the change have yet to be studied.

Development of [x]

We must distinguish two variants of the development of [x]: 1 - before t and 2 in final position.

[x] before t is lost, and the preceding short vowel is lengthened. For example: light [lixt > li:t], night [nixt > ni:t].

Long [i:] arising from this change took part in the vowel shift: [li:t > lait]. Spelling did not reflect this change, and these words are spelt withgh up to the present time. After the digraphghhad become silent, it was introduced into the word delight, on the analogy of the word light. In forms like brought, fought the [ou] developed into [o:]. In Northern dialects the [x] beforet has been preserved to our days.

[x] final mostly changes into [f], as in rough, enough, laugh, tough, slough, trough. In a few words final [x] was lost, as in though, through.

On the other hand, the word laughter is pronounced with [f], which is probably due to influence of the word laugh.

Loss of [1] before [k, m, f, v]

[l] was lost before [k] and the labial consonants [m, f, v]. Thus the words talk, walk, folk, palm, calm, half came to be pronounced [to:k, wo:k, fouk, pa:m, ka:m, ha:f,]. However [1] before [v]was preserved in words of Latin origin, as in dissolve, resolve. [1] was also lost before [d] in should and would, which were usually unstressed. At the time when [1] was in the process of dropping and a word could be pronounced both with [1] and without it, an [1] appeared in words which had not had it in ME. This often happened in words of French origin; introduction of [1] might be supported by influence of the Latin prototype of the word and by imitation of French latinizing spelling of the 14th and 15th centuries.

Appearance and loss of [w].

In a few words with an initial labialized vowel there appeared an [w]. The most well-known example is the word one. The later development is not quite clear. Already in the 16th century the word was occasionally spelt wone, which points to appearance of initial [w]. The development seems to have been this: [o:n > wo:n > wu:n > wun > w^n]. Even in the late 17th century the pronunciation [w^n] was considered vulgar; in the 18th it was accepted by the literary language. A similar development took place in the adverb once [wAns < ME ones. [w] was lost in an unstressed syllable after a consonant in the words answer, Southwark, Greenwich, Norwich and so on.

In the word whole [houl] the letter w was introduced in spelling on the analogy of who, whom, whose.

Merger of [j] with preceding consonant.

The last essential phonetic change in the sphere of consonants was merger of [j] with the preceding consonant. This happened after a stressed vowel. The change affected the clusters [sj, zj, tj, dj], and a few others.

The change [sj > ʃ] occurred, for example Asia, Russia.In many words the spelling is -ti-. This spelling, borrowed from French, denoted in French the cluster [sj] and was taken over into English. nation, revolution. In a few words we find the spellings-xi- and-xu-; in these cases the changing cluster is preceded by [k]: connexion (connection, luxury. In issue and tissue both pronunciations can be heard. When the cluster [sj] preceded the stressed vowel, it usually remained unchanged: suit [sju:t], assume [a'sju:m]. However, in two words [sj] preceding the stressed vowel changed into [ʃ ]: sure and sugar.

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