If you'd like to read more about the history of south-eastern English pronunciation, I'd recommend the Cambridge History of the English Language series. I used volumes II and III extensively for this video, but if there are mistakes, they're far more likely to be mine. The chapters on phonology are particularly interesting.
If you have any specific questions, I'm more than happy to answer them in a comments and provide a page reference, or a reference to another piece of research. I also have a few videos on similar topics. My videos on the consonants and vowels of Old English go through some of the methods by which older pronunciation is reconstructed.
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CORRECTIONS:
Julia G. commented that 1646 recording mentions the display of a crucifix at a time (presumably the 1570s-1580s) when the open practice of Catholicism was considered high treason in England. I admit I had the timings slightly wrong here - although I think it is possible that some families privately kept hold of Catholic items and displayed them occasionally, it would have been dangerous. The mention of the crucifix was designed to provide a contrast to his comment at the end of the recording, which refers to the fact that Christmas was soon to be illegalised altogether.
Leona Bastet commented that 'spooked' (to describe a horse) is not appropriate in the Middle/Early Modern English period - the word 'spook' seems to be a later Dutch loan word! This was a result of me not really knowing which texts to look for the appropriate word in, and going for the modern one I'm most familiar with. Sorry about that!
6 июн 2024
