[ɛ]→[e]Certainty: 5/5Commonality: 5/5
Open-mid front unrounded vowel to Close-mid front unrounded vowel
Raising of the open-mid front vowel [ɛ] to the close-mid front vowel [e] is a frequent process in historical phonology. This Raising can occur as a systematic shift in stressed syllables or as a step in a larger chain shift within the front vowel series.
Phonetic Effects
Vowel Raising
Language Examples
hĕrba [ɛ]→erba [e] (Italian)— Latin short /e/ (open /ɛ/) often raised to closed /e/ in certain Romance environments or dialects.
ɛː [ɛː] (eta)→[eː]— Historical Raising of the long open-mid vowel towards the close-mid and eventually high-front position (iotacism).
mɛːt [ɛː] (meat)→meːt [eː]— Stage of the Great Vowel Shift where Middle English long open-mid /ɛ:/ raised to /e:/ before further raising to /i:/.
Related Transformations
More Raising Shifts
Spotted a mistake or have a better example?
EchoDrift is community-driven. You can suggest a change directly through GitHub.
Propose an Edit on GitHub