17. Mid Front Vowels: ME /ẹː/, ME /ɛː/

Chapter 17 begins with a section entitled “Principles and Obstacles,” which addresses the challenges of identifying phonemes in multidialectal situations, each dialect possessing distinct phonemic systems. The chapter begins by explaining the important role of “bridge” or “transition” vowels, which permit the raising or lowering of vowels across dialects. The discussion then turns to the treatment of ME /ẹː/ (Fleece words) in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England and colonial America. A historical overview traces the raising of ME /ẹː/ to /iː/, normally dated to around 1500. Cross-dialectal evidence demonstrates that the original pronunciation of ME /ẹː/ was maintained in a small number of words in conservative varieties of New England English until the eighteenth century, though it was occasionally lowered to [e̞ː] depending on the dialect. Numerous examples of this are attested in modern English dialects by Wright (1905). Examples of the shortening of ME /ẹː/ to [i] or [ɪ] are also cited.In the second part of the chapter, the historical development of ME /ɛ(ː)/ is introduced. Due to the complexity of the variants and their treatments, this discussion continues in Chapter 18.