Early Moderne English
Early Modern English
Indo-European (Germanic, West, Anglic) · historical / hidden variety
Early Modern English (c. 1500–1700) is the pedagogical reconstruction of the English of Shakespeare's First Folio (1623), the King James Bible (1611), Marlowe, Donne, Jonson, and Milton. Distinguished from Middle English (enm) by the Great Vowel Shift (in progress), loss of most inflections, fixed SVO word order, and standardization following Caxton's printing press (1476). Pronunciation reconstructions follow David Crystal's Original Pronunciation (OP) work used by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre: long /aː oː/ partially shifted, /iː uː/ becoming diphthongs, pre-FOOT-STRUT split ("sun" = /sʊn/), rhotic /r/ in all positions, /eː/ for modern /iː/ in "meat/sea". The form taught in classrooms worldwide for reading Shakespeare and the KJV — distinct from any single 17c. regional vernacular, which varied enormously between London, the Midlands, and the West Country.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Early Modern English
Water
water
/ˈwætər/
Fire
fyre
/fəir/
Sun
sunne
/sʊn/
Moon
moone
/muːn/
Mother
mother
/ˈmʊðər/
Father
father
/ˈfɑːðər/
Eat
eate
/eːt/
Drink
drinke
/driŋk/
Love
loue
/lʊv/
Heart
heart
/hɛrt/
Tree
tree
/triː/
House
house
/huːs/
Dog
dogge
/dɔɡ/
Cat
cat
/kat/
Hand
hand
/hand/
Eye
eye
/əi/
Hello
good den
/ɡuːd dɛn/
Thank you
gramercy
/ɡraˈmɛrsi/
One
one
/oːn/
Good
good
/ɡʊːd/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, West, Anglic) languages
| Meaning | Early Modern English | English (Irish) | English (Yorkshire) | English (Scottish) | Middle English | English | Scots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /ˈwætər/ | water /wɑːtəɹ/ | water /wɔːtə/ | water /wɔːtəɹ/ | water /watər/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | watter /wɑtəɹ/ |
| Fire | fyre /fəir/ | fire /fɑɪəɹ/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪɹ/ | fyr /fyːr/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /fəiɹ/ |
| Sun | sunne /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sonne /sɔnːə/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ |
| Moon | moone /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | mone /moːnə/ | moon /muːn/ | muin /mɪn/ |
| Mother | mother /ˈmʊðər/ | mother /mʊðəɹ/ | mother /mʊðə/ | mother /mʌðəɹ/ | moder /moːdər/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mither /mɪðəɹ/ |
| Father | father /ˈfɑːðər/ | father /fɑːðəɹ/ | father /fɑːðə/ | father /fɑːðəɹ/ | fader /faːdər/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | faither /feðəɹ/ |
| Eat | eate /eːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eten /eːtən/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drinke /driŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drinken /drɪŋkən/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /drɪŋk/ |
| Love | loue /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʊvə/ | love /lʌv/ | luve /lʌv/ |
| Heart | heart /hɛrt/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑɹt/ | herte /hɛrtə/ | heart /hɑːt/ | hert /hɛɹt/ |
| Tree | tree /triː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tre /treː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /triː/ |
| House | house /huːs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /aʊs/ | house /hʌus/ | hous /huːs/ | house /haʊs/ | hoose /huːs/ |
| Dog | dogge /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | hound /huːnd/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dug /dʌɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | catte /katːə/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kat/ |
| Hand | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | hand /and/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hænd/ | haund /hɑːnd/ |
| Eye | eye /əi/ | eye /ɑɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /iːə/ | eye /aɪ/ | ee /iː/ |
| Hello | good den /ɡuːd dɛn/ | hello /hɛloː/ | ey up /eɪ ʊp/ | hello /hɛlo/ | hail /hɛːl/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ | hullo /hʌlo/ |
| Thank you | gramercy /ɡraˈmɛrsi/ | thanks /taŋks/ | ta /tɑː/ | thanks /θaŋks/ | gramercy /ɡraːmɛrsiː/ | thank you /θæŋk juː/ | thanks /θaŋks/ |
| One | one /oːn/ | one /wʊn/ | one /wɒn/ | one /wʌn/ | oon /oːn/ | one /wʌn/ | ane /en/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊːd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡoːd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | guid /ɡɪd/ |
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