- GreatVowel Shift
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Great Vowel Shift
n.
A series of phonetic changes occurring in Early Modern English in which the Middle English low and mid long vowels were raised, (ä) and (ō) becoming (ā) and (o͞o), for example, while the high long vowels (ē) and (o͞o) became the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
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Universalium. 2010.