What were the primary causes of Middle English losing its system of Old English diphthongs?

Question

Answer

The Great Vowel Shift converted all Old English diphthongs into long monophthongs during the transition to Middle English.

Answer

Scribal conventions simplified spelling by eliminating diphthong representations, though the sounds themselves remained unchanged in speech.

Answer

The Norman Conquest introduced French pronunciation patterns that systematically replaced all Old English diphthongs with French vowel sounds.

Answer

OE diphthongs underwent monophthongization before specific consonant clusters and after palatal consonants, while others merged with monophthongs, completely eliminating the inherited diphthong system.

Crowdly

What were the primary causes of Middle English losing its system of Old English ...

Want instant access to all verified answers on virt.ldubgd.edu.ua?