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
31 core words in Early Modern English
Water
water
/ˈwætər/
Fire
fyre
/fəir/
Sun
sunne
/sʊn/
Moon
moone
/muːn/
Star
star
/staːɹ/
Mother
mother
/ˈmʊðər/
Father
father
/ˈfɑːðər/
I
I
/əi/
You
thou
/ðou/
Name
name
/neːm/
Eye
eye
/əi/
Hand
hand
/hand/
Heart
heart
/hɛrt/
Love
loue
/lʊv/
Tree
tree
/triː/
House
house
/huːs/
Dog
dogge
/dɔɡ/
Cat
cat
/kat/
Eat
eate
/eːt/
Drink
drinke
/driŋk/
One
one
/oːn/
Two
two
/tuː/
Hello
good den
/ɡuːd dɛn/
Thank you
gramercy
/ɡraˈmɛrsi/
Good
good
/ɡʊːd/
Cuckoo
cuckoo
/ˈkʊkuː/
Computer
computer
/kɔmˈpiu̯tər/
Sushi
stockfish
/ˈstɒkfɪʃ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European (Germanic, West, Anglic) languages
| Meaning | Early Modern English | English (Geordie) | English (Irish) | English (Yorkshire) | English (Scottish) | English (Brummie) | English (Welsh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /ˈwætər/ | water /ˈwɔːtɐ/ | water /ˈwɑːtəɹ/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtəɹ/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ |
| Fire | fyre /fəir/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /fɑɪəɹ/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪɹ/ | fire /fɔɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ |
| Sun | sunne /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʊn/ | sun /sʌn/ |
| Moon | moone /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ |
| Star | star /staːɹ/ | star /staː/ | star /stɑːɹ/ | star /staː/ | star /staɾ/ | star /staː/ | star /staː/ |
| Mother | mother /ˈmʊðər/ | mother /ˈmʊðɐ/ | mother /ˈmʊðəɹ/ | mother /ˈmʊðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðəɹ/ | mother /ˈmʊðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ |
| Father | father /ˈfɑːðər/ | father /ˈfaːðɐ/ | father /ˈfɑːðəɹ/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðəɹ/ | father /ˈfaːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ |
| I | I /əi/ | I /aɪ/ | I /ɑɪ/ | I /aː/ | I /ʌi/ | I /ɔɪ/ | I /aɪ/ |
| You | thou /ðou/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /jʊ/ | you /juː/ |
| Name | name /neːm/ | name /neːm/ | name /neːm/ | name /neːm/ | name /nem/ | name /nʌɪm/ | name /neːm/ |
| Eye | eye /əi/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /ɑɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /ɔɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ |
| Hand | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | hand /and/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ | hand /hand/ |
| Heart | heart /hɛrt/ | heart /haːt/ | heart /hɑːɹt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑɹt/ | heart /haːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ |
| Love | loue /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʊv/ | love /lʌv/ |
| Tree | tree /triː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ |
| House | house /huːs/ | house /huːs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /aʊs/ | house /hʌus/ | house /hæʊs/ | house /haʊs/ |
| Dog | dogge /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kat/ | cat /kʰat/ |
| Eat | eate /eːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drinke /driŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ |
| One | one /oːn/ | one /wʊn/ | one /wʊn/ | one /wɒn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʊn/ | one /wʌn/ |
| Two | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tˠuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ |
| Hello | good den /ɡuːd dɛn/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /hɛˈloː/ | ey up /eɪ ʊp/ | hello /hɛˈlo/ | hello /həˈlʌʊ/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ |
| Thank you | gramercy /ɡraˈmɛrsi/ | thanks /θaŋks/ | thanks /taŋks/ | ta /tɑː/ | thanks /θaŋks/ | ta /taː/ | thanks /θaŋks/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊːd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ |
| Cuckoo | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | — | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | — | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ |
| Computer | computer /kɔmˈpiu̯tər/ | — | computer /kəmˈpjuːtəɾ/ | computer /kəmˈpjuːtə/ | computer /kəmˈpjutər/ | — | computer /kəmˈpjuːtər/ |
| Sushi | stockfish /ˈstɒkfɪʃ/ | — | sushi /ˈsuːʃiː/ | sushi /ˈsuːʃɪ/ | sushi /ˈsʉʃi/ | — | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ |
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