Thought Split

The phonology of the open back vowels of the English language has undergone changes both overall and with regional variations, through Old and Middle English to the present. The sounds heard in modern English were significantly influenced by the Great Vowel Shift, as well as more recent developments such as the ''cot–caught'' merger.

Overview

Old and Middle English

In the Old English vowel system, the vowels in the open back area were unrounded: . There were also rounded back vowels of mid-height: . The corresponding spellings were and , with the length distinctions not normally marked; in modern editions of Old English texts, the long vowels are often written , .

As the Old English (OE) system developed into that of Middle English (ME), the OE short vowel merged with the fronted to become a more central ME . Meanwhile, the OE long vowel was rounded and raised to ME . OE short remained relatively unchanged, becoming a short ME vowel regarded as , while OE long became ME (a higher vowel than ). Alternative developments were also possible; see English historical vowel correspondences for details.

Later, ME open syllable lengthening caused the short vowel to be normally changed to in open syllables. Remaining instances of the short vowel also tended to become lower. Hence in Late Middle English (around 1400) the following open back vowels were present, distinguished by length:
* , spelt , as in ''dog'', ''god''
* , often spelt , or before consonant+vowel or certain consonant pairs, as in ''boat'', ''whole'', ''old''

16th-century changes

By 1600, the following changes had occurred:
* The long vowel of ''boat'' had been raised to as a result of the Great Vowel Shift. Before non-prevocalic , the raising did not take place, so ''more'' was still .
* The diphthong found in words such as ''cause'', ''law'', ''all'', ''salt'', ''psalm'', ''half'', ''change'', ''chamber'', ''dance'' had become an open back monophthong or .
* At this time, the short in ''dog'' was lowered to

There were thus two open back monophthongs:
* as in ''lot''
* or as in ''cause'' and (before ) in ''more''

and one open back diphthong:
* as in ''low''

17th-century changes

By 1700, the following further developments had taken place:
* The diphthong of ''soul'' was raised to , and then monophthongized to , merging with ''boat'' (see ''toe–tow'' merger). Before , this change was later undone by the horse–hoarse merger except in some varieties, as currently seen in Irish English, Scottish English and African American Vernacular English.
* Short was retracted and rounded to . The shift was suppressed before a velar consonant, as in ''quack'', ''twang'', ''wag'', ''wax'', and also was suppressed in ''swam'' (the irregular past tense of ''swim''). The change of to did not occur in Mid-Ulster English.
* had begun to partake in lengthening and raising before a nonprevocalic voiceless fricative. That resulted in words like ''broth'', ''cost'' and ''off'' having instead of , and was the start of the split (see further below).
* In words such as ''change'' and ''chamber'', the pronunciation was gradually replaced in the standard language by a variant with , derived from Middle English . That explains the contemporary pronunciation of these words with .
* However, when preceded , as in ''laugh'' and ''half'', was shifted to instead, derived from Middle English .
* An unrounded back vowel developed, found in certain classes of words that had previously had , like ''start'', ''father'' and ''palm''.

That left the standard form of the language with four open back vowels:
* in ''lot'' and ''want''.
* in ''cloth'' and ''cost''.
* in ''start'', ''father'' and ''palm''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', and ''corn''.

Later changes

From the 18th century on, the following changes have occurred:
* The three-way distinction between , , and was simplified in one of two ways:
** In General American and old-fashioned RP, was raised to , merging with the vowel in (the ''cloth-thought'' merger).
** In many accents of England, the lengthening of the set was undone, restoring the short pronunciation . This became standard RP by the mid-20th century.
* In General American, the ''lot'' vowel has become unrounded and merged into (the ''father–bother'' merger).

This leaves RP with three back vowels:
* in ''lot'', ''want'', ''cloth'', and ''cost''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', and ''corn''.
* in ''start'', ''father'', and ''palm''.

and General American with two:
* in ''lot'', ''want'', ''start'', ''father'', and ''palm''.
* in ''tor'', ''cause'', ''corn'', ''cloth'' and ''cost''.

Unrounded

In a few varieties of English, the vowel in ''lot'' is unrounded, pronounced toward []. This is found in the following dialects:
* Irish English
* Much of the Caribbean
* Norwich
* The West Country and the West Midlands of England
* Most of North American English
** Excluding Boston and Western Pennsylvania accents, in which it is typically raised toward , merging with the vowel in ''thought''.

Linguists disagree as to whether the unrounding of the ''lot'' vowel occurred independently in North America (probably occurring around the end of the 17th century) or was imported from certain types of speech current in Britain at that time.

In such accents, ''lot'' typically is pronounced as , therefore being kept distinct from the vowel in ''palm'', pronounced or . However, the major exception to this is North American English, where the vowel is lengthened to merge with the vowel in ''palm'', as described below. This merger is called the merger or more commonly the ''father–bother'' merger. (See further below.)

''Father–bother'' merger

The ''father–bother'' merger is unrounded ''lot'' taken a step further. On top of being unrounded, the length distinction between the vowel in ''lot'' and ''bother'' and the vowel in ''palm'' and ''father'' is lost, so that the two groups merge.

Examples of possible homophones resulting from the merger include ''Khan'' and ''con'' () as well as ''Saab'' and ''sob'' ().

Out of North American dialects that have unrounded ''lot'', the only notable exception to the merger is New York City English, where the opposition with the -type vowel is somewhat tenuous.

While the accents in northeastern New England, such as the Boston accent, also remain unmerged, ''lot'' remains rounded and merges instead with ''cloth'' and ''thought'', though the outcome of that is still a longish free vowel that is heard as ''thought'' by British speakers.
*Some Singaporean English

{, class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
, + class="nowrap" , Homophonous pairs
!
! {{IPA, /ɒ/ or /ɔ/{{efn, only homophonous with the cot-caught merger
! IPA (using {{angbr IPA, ɑ for the merged vowel)
! Notes
, -
, Bali , , bolly , , {{IPA, ˈbɑli
, -
, Dalí , , dolly , , {{IPA, ˈdɑli
, -
, Hajj , , Hodge , , {{IPA, ˈhɑdʒ
, -
, Khan , , con , , {{IPA, ˈkɑn
, -
, Mali , , Molly , , {{IPA, ˈmɑli
, -
, Raab , , rob , , {{IPA, ˈrɑb
, -
, Saab , , sob , , {{IPA, ˈsɑb
, -
, Shah , , Shaw , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑ , , with the cot-caught merger
, -
, Siân , , Sean , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn , , with the cot-caught merger
, -
, Siân , , Shawn , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn , , with the cot-caught merger
, -
, Siân , , shone , , {{IPA, ˈʃɑn
, -
, Stalin , , stalling , , {{IPA, ˈstɑlɪn , , with the cot-caught merger and G-dropping.

{{sc2, LOT–CLOTH split

The {{sc2, LOT–CLOTH split is the result of a late 17th-century sound change that lengthened {{IPA, /ɒ/ to {{IPA, �ː} before voiceless fricatives, and also before {{IPA, /n/ in the word ''gone''. It was ultimately raised and merged with {{IPA, /ɔː/ of words like ''thought'', although in some accents that vowel is actually open {{IPA, �ː}. This means that {{sc2, CLOTH is not a separate vowel; rather, it means "either {{sc2, LOT or {{sc2, THOUGHT, depending on the accent". The sound change is most consistent in the last syllable of a word, and much less so elsewhere (see below). Some words that entered the language later, especially when used more in writing than speech, are exempt from the lengthening, e.g. ''joss'' and ''Goth'' with the short vowel. Similar changes took place in words with {{angbr, a; see ''trap–bath'' split and /æ/-tensing.

The cot–caught merger, discussed below, has removed the distinction in some dialects.

As a result of the lengthening and raising, in the above-mentioned accents ''cross'' rhymes with ''sauce'', and ''soft'' and ''cloth'' also have the vowel {{IPA, /ɔː/. Accents affected by this change include American English accents that lack the cot-caught merger and, originally, RP, although today words of this group almost always have short {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP. The split still exists in some older RP speakers.

The lengthening and raising generally happened before the fricatives {{IPA, /f/, {{IPA, /θ/ and {{IPA, /s/. In American English the raising was extended to the environment before {{IPA, /ŋ/ and {{IPA, /ɡ/, and in a few words before {{IPA, /k/ as well, giving pronunciations like {{IPA, /lɔŋ/ for ''long'', {{IPA, /dɔɡ/ for ''dog'' and {{IPA, /ˈtʃɔklət/ for ''chocolate''.

In the varieties of American English that have the lot–cloth split, the ''lot'' vowel is usually symbolized as {{IPA, /ɑ/, often called the "short o" for historical reasons, as the corresponding RP vowel {{IPA, /ɒ/ is still short (and it contrasts with {{IPA, /ɑː/ as in ''father'' and ''start''). The ''thought'' vowel is usually transcribed as {{IPA, /ɔ/ and it is often called the "open o". Its actual phonetic realization may be open {{IPAblink, ɒ, whereas the ''lot'' vowel may be realized as central {{IPAblink, ä. Some words vary as to which vowel they have. For example, words that end in ''-og'' like ''frog'', ''hog'', ''fog'', ''log'', ''bog'' etc. have {{IPA, /ɑ/ rather than {{IPA, /ɔ/ in some accents.

There are also significant complexities in the pronunciation of written ''o'' occurring before one of the triggering phonemes {{IPA, /f θ s ŋ ɡ/ in a non-final syllable. However, the use of the open o as opposed to the short o is largely predictable. Just like with /æ/-tensing and the trap–bath split, there seems to be an open-syllable constraint. Namely, the change did not affect words with /ɑ/ in open syllables unless they were closely derived from words with {{IPA, /ɑ/ in close syllables. Hence {{IPA, /ɔ/ occurs in ''crossing'', ''crosser'', ''crosses'' because it occurs in ''cross''; likewise in ''longing'', ''longer'', ''longest'' because it occurs in ''long''. However, ''possible'', ''jostle'', ''impostor'', ''profit'', ''Gothic'', ''bongo'', ''Congo'', and ''boggle'' all have {{IPA, /ɑ/. However, there are still exceptions in words like ''Boston'' and ''foster''.{{Cite Merriam-Webster, foster A further list of words is mentioned in the table below:

{, class="wikitable"
, +Vowels with lot–cloth splits
, -
!scope="col", Set
!scope="col", {{sc2, THOUGHT ({{IPA, /ɔ/)
!scope="col", {{sc, LOT ({{IPA, /ɑ/)
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-f/
, off, office, etc. , , profit
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-θ/
, cloth, moth, broth, etc. , , Goth, Gothic
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-s/
, loss, boss, etc. , , possible, jostle
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-st/
, Boston, foster, lost, etc. , , roster
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-ŋ/
, long, longest, etc. , , bongo, Congo
, -
!scope="row", {{IPA, /-g/
, dog, frog, hog, etc. , , boggle

Some words may vary depending on the speaker like (''coffee'', ''offer'', ''donkey'', ''soggy'', ''boondoggle'', etc. with either {{IPA, /ɑ/ or {{IPA, /ɔ/).{{citation needed, date=May 2017 Meanwhile, other words vary by region. For example, in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. dialect, most famously spoken in metropolitan Philadelphia and Baltimore, the single word ''on'' (pronounced {{IPA, /ɑn/ in General American) rhymes with ''dawn'' {{IPA, /dɔn/: {{IPA, /ɔn/ (in the mid-Atlantic, this vowel is diphthongized to {{IPA, �ə~oə})). Labov et al. regard this phenomenon as occurring not just in the Mid-Atlantic region, but in all regions south of a geographic boundary that they identify as the ON line, which is significant because it distinguishes most varieties of Northern American English (in which ''on'' and ''Don'' are closer rhymes) from most varieties of Midland and Southern American English (in which ''on'' and ''dawn'' are closer rhymes).{{sfnp, Labov, Ash, Boberg, 2006, p=189

''Cot–caught'' merger

{{main, Cot–caught merger{{!''Cot–caught'' merger

The ''cot''–''caught'' merger (also known as the low back merger or the {{sc2, LOT–THOUGHT merger) is a phonemic merger occurring in many English accents, where the vowel sound in words like ''cot'', ''nod'', and ''stock'' (the {{sc2, LOT vowel), has merged with that of ''caught'', ''gnawed'', and ''stalk'' (the {{sc2, THOUGHT vowel). For example, with the merger, ''cot'' and ''caught'' become perfect homophones.

Other changes

{{sc2, GOAT–THOUGHT merger

{{main, Rhoticity in English#Goat–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, GOAT–THOUGHT merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /oʊ/ and {{IPA, /ɔː/ that occurs in Bradford English and sometimes also in Geordie and Northern Welsh English.

{{sc2, THOUGHT–FOOT merger

{{main, Rhoticity in English#Foot–goose–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, THOUGHT–FOOT merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /ɔː/ and {{IPA, /ʊ/ that occurs in morphologically closed syllables in cockney, rendering ''fought'' homophonous with ''foot'' as {{IPA, �fʊʔ}. It is possible only in fast speech.

{{sc2, THOUGHT–GOOSE merger

{{main, Rhoticity in English#Foot–goose–thought–north–force merger
The {{sc2, THOUGHT–GOOSE merger is a merger of the English vowels {{IPA, /ɔː/ and {{IPA, /uː/ that occurs in cockney, rendering ''hoard'' homophonous with ''who'd'' as {{IPA, �ʊd}, with the vowel quality that is typical of {{sc2, FOOT. It is possible only in fast speech and, in the case of {{IPA, /ɔː/ (but not {{IPA, /uː/), only in morphologically closed syllables.

{{sc2, THOUGHT split

In some London accents of English, the vowel in words such as ''thought,'' ''force,'' and ''north,'' which merged earlier on in these varieties of English, undergoes a conditional split based on syllable structure: closed syllables have a higher vowel quality such as {{IPA, ː} (possibly even {{IPA, ʊ} in broad Cockney varieties), and open syllables have a lower vowel quality {{IPA, �̝ː} or a centering diphthong {{IPA, �ə}.

Originally-open syllables with an inflectional suffix (such as ''bored'') retain the lower vowel quality, creating minimal pairs such as ''bored'' {{IPA, ɔəd} vs. ''board'' {{IPA, oːd}.{{sfnp, Ostalski, 2009, pp=106–107

In broad Geordie, some {{sc2, THOUGHT words (roughly, those spelled with ''a'', as in ''walk'' and ''talk'') have {{IPAblink, aː (which phonetically is the long counterpart of {{sc2, TRAP {{IPA, /a/) instead of the standard {{IPAblink, ɔː. Those are the traditional dialect forms which are being replaced with the standard {{IPAblink, ɔː. {{IPAblink, aː is therefore not necessarily a distinct phoneme in the vowel system of Geordie, also because it occurs as an allophone of {{IPA, /a/ before voiced consonants.{{sfnp, Wells, 1982, pp=360, 375

Distribution of /ɑː/

The distribution of the vowel transcribed with {{angbr IPA, ɑː in broad IPA varies greatly among dialects. It corresponds to {{IPA, /æ/, {{IPA, /ɒ/, {{IPA, /ɔː/ and (when not prevocalic within the same word) {{IPA, /ɑːr/ and even {{IPA, /ɔːr/ in other dialects:
* In non-rhotic dialects spoken outside of North America, {{IPA, /ɑː/ corresponds mostly to {{IPA, /ɑːr/ in General American and so is most often spelled {{angbr, ar. In dialects with the trap–bath split (such as Received Pronunciation, New Zealand English and South African English), it also corresponds to GA {{IPA, /æ/, which means that it can also be spelled {{angbr, a before voiceless fricatives. In those dialects, {{IPA, /ɒ/ and {{IPA, /ɔː/ are separate phonemes.
* In native words, {{IPA, /ɑː/ in most non-rhotic speech of North America corresponds to both {{IPA, /ɑːr/ in GA (RP {{IPA, /ɑː/) and {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP, as those dialects feature the father–bother merger.
* In GA (which also features the father–bother merger), {{IPA, /ɑː/ mostly corresponds to {{IPA, /ɒ/ in RP.
* Many speakers in the US and most speakers in Canada use {{IPA, /ɑː/ not only for RP {{IPA, /ɒ/ but also for {{IPA, /ɔː/. Those dialects have the cot–caught merger in addition to the father-bother merger (though a tiny minority of speakers lack the latter merger, like Scottish English).
* In loanwords, the open central unrounded vowel {{IPAblink, ä in the source language is regularly approximated with {{IPA, /ɑː/ in North America and {{IPA, /æ/ in RP. However, in the case of mid back rounded vowels spelled {{angbr, o, the usual North American approximation is {{IPA, /oʊ/, not {{IPA, /ɑː/ (in RP, it can be either {{IPA, /əʊ/ or {{IPA, /ɒ/). However, when the vowel is both stressed and word-final, the only possibilities in RP are {{IPA, /ɑː/ in the first case and {{IPA, /əʊ/ in the latter case, mirroring GA.

In many Scottish dialects, there is just one unrounded open vowel {{IPA, /a/ that has two allophones. Those dialects usually do not differentiate {{IPA, /ɒ/ from {{IPA, /ɔː/ and use {{IPAblink, ɔ for both.

For the sake of simplicity, instances of an unrounded {{sc2, LOT vowel (phonetically {{IPAblink, ɑ) that do not merge with {{sc2, PALM/{{sc2, START are excluded from the table below. For this reason, the traditional Norfolk dialect is included but the contemporary one, nor the Cardiff dialect, are not.

{, class="wikitable"
, + {{IPA, /ɑː/ in native words and non-recent loanwords
! rowspan="2" , Variety
! rowspan="2" , Rhotic
! colspan="9" , Mergers and splits
! colspan="6" , Possible spellings
, -
! {{small, {{IPA, /ɒrV-ɑːrV/ merger
! {{small, card-cord merger
! {{small, cot-caught merger
! {{small, father-bother merger
! {{small, father-farther merger
! {{small, god-guard merger
! {{small, lot-cloth split
! {{small, trap-palm merger
! {{small, trap-bath split
! {{angbr, a
! {{angbr, ar
! {{angbr, au
! {{angbr, aw
! {{angbr, o
! {{angbr, or
, -
! Australian English
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! Canadian English
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, yes
, yes
, yes
, no
, -
! General American
, yes
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, -
! Hiberno-English
, yes
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, variable
, no
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! New York City English
, variable
, possible
, no
, no
, variable
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, -
! New Zealand English
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! New England English, Northeastern New England English
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, yes
, no
, {{N/A
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! Northern England English
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! Philadelphia English
, yes
, possible
, no
, no
, yes
, {{N/A
, {{N/A
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, -
! Received Pronunciation
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! Scottish English
, variable
, no
, no
, variable
, no
, no
, no
, (unclear)
, variable
, mostly no
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! South African English
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, variable
, no
, yes
, yes
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, -
! Southern American English
, variable
, mostly no
, mostly no
, variable
, yes
, variable
, variable
, yes
, no
, no
, yes
, variable
, variable
, variable
, yes
, mostly no
, -
! Traditional Norfolk dialect
, no
, variable
, no
, no
, variable
, yes
, variable
, yes
, no
, yes
, variable
, variable
, no
, no
, yes
, no
, -
! Welsh English
, mostly no
, no
, no
, no
, no
, mostly yes
, no
, no
, no
, no
, yes
, yes
, no
, no
, no
, no

Fronted /oʊ/

{{see also, English-language vowel changes before historic /l/#Goat split

In many dialects of English, the vowel {{IPA, /oʊ/ has undergone fronting. The exact phonetic value varies. Dialects with the fronted {{IPA, /oʊ/ include Received Pronunciation; Southern, Midland, and Mid-Atlantic American English; and Australian English. This fronting does not generally occur before {{IPA, /l/, a relatively retracted consonant.

Table

{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
, + Stages leading to some of the open back vowels of General American, summarized from Wells (1982), with the ''cot''–''caught'' merger added
! , , ''law''
''ball''
''taught''
''caught'' , , ''off''
''cloth''
''loss'' , , ''lot''
''stop''
''rob''
''cot''
''bother'' , , ''father''
''palm''
''calm''
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Middle English
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, aʊ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , rowspan="4" , {{IPA, a
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Quality change
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɒ , , rowspan="5" , {{IPA, ɒ
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''Thought''-monophthonging
, rowspan="5" , {{IPA, ɔː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Pre-fricative lengthening
, rowspan="4" , {{IPA, ɒː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''A''-lengthening
, {{IPA, aː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Quality change
, rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɑː
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! ''Lot''-unrounding
, {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: middle;"
! Loss of distinctive length
, {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɒ , , rowspan="2" , {{IPA, (ɑ) , , rowspan="2" , {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! ''Cloth''–''thought'' merger
, {{IPA, (ɔ) , , {{IPA, ɔ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! General American output
, {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɔ , , {{IPA, ɑ , , {{IPA, ɑ
, - style="vertical-align: top;"
! ''Cot''–''caught'' merger
, colspan="4" , {{IPA, ɑ

See also

* Phonological history of the English language
* Phonological history of English vowels

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* {{cite book
, last=Barber
, first=Charles Laurence
, title=Early modern English
, edition=second
, location=Edinburgh
, publisher=Edinburgh University Press
, year=1997
, isbn=0-7486-0835-4
, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iat4Bk_YeR4C

* {{cite book
, last1=Labov
, first1=William
, author-link=William Labov
, last2=Ash
, first2=Sharon
, last3=Boberg
, first3=Charles
, title=The Atlas of North American English: Phonetics, Phonology, and Sound Change: a Multimedia Reference Tool
, publisher=Walter de Gruyter
, year= 2006
, isbn=3-11-016746-8
, location=Berlin; New York
, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qa4-dFqi6iMC

* {{cite journal
, last=Ostalski
, first=Przemysław
, title=Back Vowels in British and American English
, journal=Przedsiębiorczość I Zarządzanie
, volume=5
, issue=4
, year=2009
, pages= 105–118
, url=http://www.swspiz.pl/wydawnictwo/pliki/2009/X-4.pdf
, access-date=2 February 2016

* {{Accents of English

{{History of English

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phonological History Of English Open Back Vowels
Scottish English
American English
English language in Canada
Splits and mergers in English phonology
Sociolinguistics