<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> The Great Vowel Shift was a major series of changes in the pronunciation of the English language that took place primarily between 1350 and the 1600s and 1700s, beginning in southern England, and today having influenced effectively all dialects of English . Through this vowel shift, all Middle English long vowels changed their pronunciation . In addition, some consonant sounds changed as well, particularly those that became silent; the term Great Vowel Shift is sometimes used to include these consonant changes as well . </P> <P> English spelling was first becoming standardized in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Great Vowel Shift is responsible for the fact that English spellings now often strongly deviate in their representation of English pronunciations . The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860--1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who coined the term . </P>

When did the great vowel shift take place