The reconstruction of the phonological system

Sources (Horn and Lehnert 1954: 69–117; Gorlach 1982: 44–5)

The following aids are available to anyone attempting to reconstruct the EModE sound system – or rather its chronological, geographical and social subsystems.

1 Statements made by grammarians and spelling reformers, and their transcriptions. In the interpretation of such evidence, the grammarian's provenance, his attitude (his views of correctness, the influence on him of written English) and the vague terminologies used to describe sounds must be taken into account. From the seventeenth century onwards, shorthand manuals permit a few phonological conclusions to be drawn. Language-teaching manuals intended to teach English to foreigners (and foreign languages to Englishmen) contain valuable comparative information.

2 Rhymes and rhyming dictionaries. It must first be established how precise a poet's rhyming practice is: the material will be of dubious value if assonances, eye rhymes or traditional rhymes have been used (Wyld 1923).

3 Puns, which are based on phonetic similarity or identity. They rarely provide reliable information on actual pronunciation, however.

4 Metre, which can be used where regular patterns allow assumptions to be made about the number of syllables in a particular word.

5 Spelling. Since correspondences between phonemes and graphemes are not clear-cut, the criterion cannot always be applied with success. However, the widespread variation within EModE permits more conclusions than are possible in languages with fully regulated orthographies.