Great Vowel Shift(s)? Diatopic variation and the problem of structural coherence in the Great Vowel Shift debate

Abstract

The long vowel changes generally associated with the Great Vowel Shift (GVS) differed significantly amongst the varieties of English, especially between northern and southern dialects (Prichard 2015: 60; Smith 2007: 127). Against this backdrop, some scholars (Boisson 1982: 10–13; Smith 2004: 326; Stockwell & Minkova 1988: 371; Western 1912: 3) have contested the notion of the GVS as a coherent phenomenon, instead advocating for the view that the long vowel changes are arbitrary and structurally independent (Stockwell & Minkova 1988: 371) or arguing in favour of a distinct northern shift (Smith 2007: 138). This paper enquires into the implications of diatopic variation for our understanding of the GVS. It looks at Prichard’s (2014) evaluation and discussion of data from Eduard Kolb’s Phonological Atlas of the Northern Region (1966), which finds that the changes of the Middle English (ME) close and half-close front, and back vowels ē, ī, ō, and ū can be considered the result of one coherent shift, whilst the developments of the ME half-open and open front and back vowels ɛ̄, ā, and ɔ̄ do not display a similarly coherent pattern.