Episode 159: Elizabethan Voices
The History of English Podcast
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The Evolution of Vocal Folds in Old English
Pronunciation of later can be seen as a natural development that occurs when all the sounds are voiced. So it isn't surprising that some speakers tend to cheat a little bit, and they keep those vocal folds constricted and narrowed all the way through. That situation involved the F sound at the end of words like leaf and thief and wife. It explained why that F sound switches to a V sound when those words are made plural,. thereby becoming leaves, thieves, and wives.
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