Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Afrikaans Vowel Shift

It has been my sense that a great vowel shift has been under-way in Afrikaans, during our lifetimes. There was, in English, the Great Vowel Shift of 1350-1700. For instance, 'mouse' was once pronounced 'moose' (and still is by some). OBSERVATION: But I found nothing on the Internet about an Afrikaans vowel shift -- except this study by Daan Wissing (Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe): 'I found some indication of the presence of two different chronolects.' That is, different varieties of Afrikaans, separated by the age of the speakers. In my view, this includes a 'great vowel shift'. Take, as an example, the word 'jaar', until recently pronounced like the UK 'car' but now pronounced 'your'.

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