Otto jespersen great vowel shift english

Turmoil

The issue is muddied by the great political and social upheaval that coincided with the Medieval Vowel Shift. The 14th century marked the beginning of the Hundred Years&#; War between England and France.

In England, the aristocracy were only just in the process of switching from French to English as their main language, a process the monarchy would not complete until the 15th century.

Meanwhile, the Bubonic Plague killed up to 60% of England’s population, sparking mass migration.

Mass Migration

It is the Black Death and the migration that occurred in England in its wake that most count as a major inciting factor in the shift.

With London and the South East being the main destinations of migrants, these areas suddenly became home to a myriad of accents and dialects from all over the country. Perhaps there was a certain amount of intermingling and homogenisation of speech.

Many linguists argue that pre-migration London