Hoo noo, broon coo?

Before you conclude I have finally lost it (and not without evidence), the title is actually a close approximation of a Scots English rendering of “How now, brown cow?”. And a wonderful example of what has happened (and continues to happen) with English pronunciation.

Interestingly enough, Middle English pronunciation was much closer to the current Scottish version of the language, with the “o” sound being closer to “oo”, and quite distinct from the “ow-as-in-cow” sound. And then came the “Great Vowel Shift” which transpired from about 1400 to 1700, during which many or most of the vowels in “English English” shifted from one sound to another. (That’s also roughly the period English English stopped being rhotic, but that’s another story.)

Those words which in Middle English were pronounced as “oh” became spelled as “ow”, for example snow, know, grow, throw, slow. But those previously spelled with “û” also got spelled “ow” as in now, how, cow and brow. Spelled the same, spoken differently.

So far, so good?

The unfortunate word “bow” can be pronounced to rhyme with cow if it means the front of a boat, but will be pronounced to rhyme with slow if it’s paired with an arrow. Make sense? Which is why, whenever I am going to be introduced by an emcee, I give them a slip of paper which says: “Bowley, rhymes with slowly, holy moley!”

But here’s the weird part: in many parts of the English-speaking world, the shift is “unshifting”. In parts of Nova Scotia, the “oh” sound is quite often heard as the “ow-as-in-cow” sound, so that one hears “Now-va Scow-tia” and “crow” rhyming with “cow”. A somewhat similar shift seems to be occurring in South-east England. If you ask “Can we start?”, you’re not sure whether the answer is “no” or “now”. So maybe ultimately the unfortunate pairing “ow” will no longer be schizophrenic.

And in the meantime, the Scots (who had a powerful impact on Canadian English) will go on their merry way with “Hoo noo, broon coo?”

So, here’s a question for you: Is it better to have the government try to control the language, as in l’Académie française, or simply let the language run wild, as in English? I have no opinion on the matter, but I’d love to hear yours if you have one.