Examine spelling changes from Old to Middle English.

1. Vowels:
- In Old English, the vowel sound "æ" was often replaced by "a" in Middle English. For example, the Old English word "fæder" became "father" in Middle English.
- The Old English vowel "ēo" often changed to "i" in Middle English. For example, the Old English word "hēo" became "she" in Middle English.

2. Consonants:
- The Old English "sc" sound often changed to "sh" in Middle English. For example, the Old English word "scip" became "ship" in Middle English.
- The Old English "cg" sound often changed to "gg" in Middle English. For example, the Old English word "brycg" became "bridge" in Middle English.

3. Silent letters:
- In Middle English, many silent letters were dropped from words. For example, the Old English word "cniht" became "knight" in Middle English, with the "c" being dropped.
- The Old English word "sceap" became "sheep" in Middle English, with the "c" being dropped.

4. Spelling simplifications:
- In Middle English, some spellings were simplified to make them easier to read and write. For example, the Old English word "eorþe" became "earth" in Middle English, with the "þ" being replaced by "th".

Overall, the spelling changes from Old to Middle English reflect the evolution of the English language and the influences of other languages on its development.

Consonants

- Loss of final consonants: Many final consonants were lost in Middle English, such as:
- -e in words like love (OE -lufu-)
- -n in words like open (OE -open-)
- -d in words like and (OE -and-)
- Voicing of unvoiced consonants: Some unvoiced consonants became voiced in Middle English, such as:
- f to v in words like seven (OE -seofon-)
- p to b in words like above (OE -abufan-)
- k to g in words like seek (OE -sécan-)
- Assimilation: Consonants often assimilated to neighboring consonants, such as:
- ld to ll in words like old (OE -eald-)
- nd to nn in words like man (OE -mann-)

Vowels

- Diphthongization: Many long vowels became diphthongs in Middle English, such as:
- ā to au in words like name (OE -nāma-)
- ē to ei in words like street (OE -strēt-)
- ī to i in words like night (OE -niht-)
- Shortening of long vowels: Some long vowels were shortened in Middle English, such as:
- ā to a in words like cat (OE -catt-)
- ē to e in words like set (OE -settan-)
- Raising of vowels: Some vowels were raised in height, such as:
- a to o in words like home (OE -hām-)
- e to i in words like pine (OE -pīn-)

Other Changes

- Loss of inflexions: Many inflexions, such as case endings and verb endings, were lost in Middle English.
- Use of articles: Articles (a, an, the) began to be used more regularly in Middle English.
- Appearance of new words: Many new words were introduced into English from French, Latin, and other languages.