Great Vowel Shift and Its Impact

What phenomenon is responsible for the inconsistencies between English spelling and pronunciation?

• The Norman Conquest

• The Printing Press

• The Great Vowel Shift

• The Renaissance

Who coined the term "Great Vowel Shift" and approximately when did this linguistic change occur?

• William Shakespeare, 16th-17th century

• Geoffrey Chaucer, 14th-15th century

• Otto Jespersen, 15th-18th century

• Samuel Johnson, 18th-19th century

What historical event is proposed as a trigger for the Great Vowel Shift?

• The Hundred Years' War

• The Black Death

• The invention of the printing press

• The English Civil War

What did some linguists suggest about the Great Vowel Shift regarding attempts to sound more or less French?

• It was an unconscious process unrelated to social factors.

• It was primarily driven by attempts to sound more prestigious.

• It may have been driven by conscious attempts to sound more or less French.

• It was solely influenced by the Black Death.

How did the invention of the printing press impact the English language?

• It led to a decrease in literacy rates.

• It caused people to change their speech to match written spellings.

• It made English pronunciation more consistent with its spelling immediately.

• It had no significant effect on language standardization.