Back to Matrix [ei] → [a] Edit this Data

[a]→[ei]Certainty: 4/5Commonality: 3/5

Great Vowel Shift Diphthongization Raising Germanic

Open front unrounded vowel to Diphthong ei

A well-documented sound change where an open front vowel raises and becomes a diphthong, typically via insertion of a palatal offglide. The most famous example is the English Great Vowel Shift, where Middle English /aː/ evolved into Modern English /eɪ/.

Phonetic Effects

Diphthongization, Raising

Language Examples

English (Modern, standard) Germanic

aː→eɪ— Middle English /naːmə/ → Modern English /neɪm/ ('name'), /maːkə/ → /meɪk/ ('make')

Related Transformations

Reverse Fronting/Raising without diphthongization Monophthongization

More Raising Shifts

[ã] → [õ] — Raising [a] → [ã] — Assimilatory Nasalization [a] → [∅] — Elision [a] → [ʔ] — Glottalization [a] → [ə] — Vowel Reduction

Sources & References

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