Early Middle English was standardised around 1425 by clerks to the chancel courts. The dialect they used came from the East Midlands and was essentially that of Chaucer. The rolls of legislation had the effect of imposing one orthography, though without a definite plan. Some spelling preferences are listed below.
they, them, their throughout; consistent to modern times
but -eth for 3S, now disappeared
-ly not -lich for adverbs
not y- hold -en,
had not hadd – geminated consonants
seid not seide
-es plural, not -ez
-ed not -t, asked weak past
-ig in French loanwords reign
hey not high, thow not though; the -ugh spellings are the most frustrating in MnE
This orthography was further driven home by Caxton’s printing. However, spoken English then changed! The Great Vowel Shift is discussed in two sessions on.
The Phonology of Modern English in (terse summary) is this. Its phonology is 44 phonemes out of 160 in all world languages. Vowels are what distinguish accents of English; consonants are fairly universal.
Vowel phonemes are 20 in number, including some diphthongs. A vowel involves the voice resonating in an open chamber; compare violin/ cello/ bass. The tongue (also lips) determines volume of resonant chamber; compare trombone, organ pipes. The fundamental for f0: males 100 – 120 Hz, octave higher for women, 300 Hz for children. Voicing for speech therapists is normal, harsh, breathy, or falsetto. Vowels are differentiated acoustically by two harmonics, f1 and f2.
Consonants are 24 in number and are discriminated by place of articulation. The six stops are found twice in each of POP, BOB; TAT, DAD; KICK, GIG. The word stop refers to the stopping of the air stream, followed by explosive release. Nine sounds involve a hiss or whistle through a narrow frictional gap, hence “fricative”. Then come 4 approximants, 3 nasals and two affricates.