The changes under Grimm's Law and Verner's Law PG had the following two sets of fricative consonants: voiceless [f, th, x, s] and voiced [v z y z]

Grimm’s law : plosive p,t,k > f, ð , h \\ Voiced plosives B, d, g > p,t,c [k]\\ Aspirated voiced pl Bh, gh, gh > b, d, з, cз

Verner’s Law: IE t > ð , d (hardening)  \\ P > f [v] \\ K > з[g, y], cз [g’] \\ S > s[z], r (rhotacism)

Hardening (the process when a soft consonant becomes harder)– usually initially and after nasals ([m, n])

PG [z] underwent a phonetic modification through the stage [5] into [r] and thus became a sonorant, which ultimately merged with the older IE [r]. This process, termed rhotacism

Growth of New Phonemes

Growth of new phonemes: Palatalisation of Consonants (a process when hard vowels become soft) – before a front vowel and sometimes also after a front vowel [g, γ, k, h] à [g’, γ’, k’, h’]

Though the difference between velar and palatal consonants was not shown in the spellings of the OE period, the two sets were undoubtedly differentiated since a very early date. In the course of time the phonetic difference between them grew and towards the end of the period the pal­atal consonants developed into sibilants and affricates: |k')>ch [gl>ld31; in ME texts they were indicated by means of special digraphs and letter sequences

Loss of Consonants:

· sonorants before fricatives (e.g. fimf (Gothic) – fīf (OE) (five));

· fricatives between vowels and some plosives (e.g. sæζde (early OE) – sæde (late OE) (said));

· loss of [j] – as a result of palatal mutation (see examples above);

· loss of [w] (e.g. case-forms of nouns: sæ (Nominative) – sæwe (Dative) (OE) (sea).

Another important event was the loss of quantitative distinc­tions in the consonant system.

It should be recalled that in OE long consonants were opposed to short at the phonological level. This is confirmed by their occurrence in identical conditions, their phonological application and the consistent writing of double letters, especially in intervocal position. In Late ME long consonants were shortened and the phonemic opposi­tion through quantity was lost.

Growth of affricates

The most important developments in the history of English conso­nants were the growth of new sets of sounds, — affricates and sibilants (свистячие), — and the new phonological treatment of fricatives. Both changes added a number of consonant phonemes to the system. On the other band, some consonants were lost or vocalised, which affected both the consonant and the vowel system.

In OE there were no affricates and no sibilants, except [s, z]

The earliest distinct traces of these sounds appeared towards the end of OE or during the Early ME period. The new type of consonants de­veloped from OE palatal plosives [k', g'] (which had split from the corresponding velar plosives [k and g] in Early OE and also from the consonant cluster [sk']. The three new phonemes which arose from these sources were [t∫, дж and ∫]. In Early ME they began to be indicated by special letters and digraphs, which came into use mainly under the influence of the French scribal tradition — ch, tch, g, dg, sh, ssh, sch

Palatalisation – as a result of reduction of unstressed vowels several consonants merged into one: (ME Sounds-NE Sounds-ME-N)

· [sj] à-[∫]-commissioun [komi’sjon]-commission [kə’mi∫ən]

· [zj] à-[ζ]-pleasure [ple’zjur]-pleasure [‘pleζə]

· [tj] à-[t∫]-nature [na’tjur]-nature [‘neit∫ə]

· [dj] à-[dζ]-procedure [,pros’djur]-procedure [prə’si dζə]

There were some exceptions though, e.g. mature, duty, due, suit, statue, tune, etc

Treatment of Fricative Consonants in ME and Early NE

A new, decisive alteration took place in the 16th c. The fric­atives were once again subjected to voicing under certain phonetic conditions. They were voiced: in functional words and auxiliaries that are never stressed; when preceded by an unstressed and followed by a stressed vowel: [q] à [ð], [f] à [v], [ks] à [gz], [t∫] - [dζ])