Middle English

===Letter-to-sound correspondences===
Although Middle English spelling was never fully standardised, the following table shows the pronunciations most usually represented by particular letters and [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s towards the end of the Middle English period, using the notation given in the article on [[Middle English phonology]].<ref>For certain details, see "Chancery Standard spelling" in Upward, C., Davidson, G., ''The History of English Spelling'', Wiley 2011.</ref> As explained above, single vowel letters had alternative pronunciations depending on whether they were in a position where their sounds had been subject to lengthening. Long vowel pronunciations were in flux due to the beginnings of the [[Great Vowel Shift]].

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Symbol !! Description and notes
|-
! a
| {{IPAslink|a}}, or in lengthened positions {{IPA|/a{{IPA link|ː}}/}}, becoming {{IPA|[{{IPA link|æ}}ː]}} by about 1500. Sometimes {{IPA|/au/}} before {{vr|l}} or nasals (see [[Phonological history of English diphthongs#Late Middle English|Late Middle English diphthongs]]).
|-
! ai, ay
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|a}}{{IPA link|i}}/}} (alternatively denoted by {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}i/}}; see [[Vein–vain merger|''vein–vain'' merger]]).
|-
! au, aw
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|a}}{{IPA link|u}}/}}
|-
! b
| {{IPAslink|b}}, but in later Middle English became silent in words ending ''-mb'' (while some words that never had a {{IPA|/b/}} sound came to be spelt ''-mb'' by analogy; see [[Phonological history of English consonant clusters#mb|reduction of /mb/]]).
|-
! c
| {{IPAslink|k}}, but {{IPAslink|s}} (earlier {{IPAslink|ts}}) before {{vr|e}}, {{vr|i}}, {{vr|y}} (see [[C]] and [[hard and soft C]] for details).
|-
! ch
| {{IPAslink|tʃ}}
|-
! ck
| {{IPAslink|k}}, replaced earlier {{vr|kk}} as the doubled form of {{vr|k}} (for the phenomenon of doubling, see above).
|-
! d
| {{IPAslink|d}}
|-
! e
| {{IPAslink|e}}, or in lengthened positions {{IPA|/e{{IPA link|ː}}/}} or sometimes {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}ː/}} (see '''ee'''). For silent {{vr|e}}, see above.
|-
! ea
| Rare, for {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}} (see '''ee''').
|-
! ee
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|e}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}, becoming {{IPA|[{{IPA link|i}}ː]}} by about 1500; or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}ː/}}, becoming {{IPA|[eː]}} by about 1500. In [[Early Modern English#Orthography|Early Modern English]] the latter vowel came to be commonly written {{vr|ea}}. The two vowels [[meet-meat merger|later merged]].
|-
! ei, ey
| Sometimes the same as {{vr|ai}}; sometimes {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}} or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|e}}ː/}} (see also [[fleece merger|''fleece'' merger]]).
|-
! ew
| Either {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}{{IPA link|u}}/}} or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|i}}u/}} (see [[Phonological history of English diphthongs#Late Middle English|Late Middle English diphthongs]]; these later merged).
|-
! f
| {{IPAslink|f}}
|-
! g
| {{IPAslink|ɡ}}, or {{IPAslink|dʒ}} before {{vr|e}}, {{vr|i}}, {{vr|y}} (see [[g|{{vr|g}}]] for details). The {{vr|g}} in initial ''gn-'' was still pronounced.
|-
! gh
| {{IPAblink|ç}} or {{IPAblink|x}}, post-vowel allophones of {{IPAslink|h}} (this was formerly one of the uses of [[yogh]]). The {{vr|gh}} is often retained in Chancery spellings even though the sound was starting to be lost.
|-
! h
| {{IPAslink|h}} (except for the allophones for which {{vr|gh}} was used). Also used in several digraphs ({{vr|ch}}, {{vr|th}}, etc.). In some French loanwords, such as ''horrible'', the {{vr|h}} was silent.
|-
! i, j
| As a vowel, {{IPAslink|i}}, or in lengthened positions {{IPA|/i{{IPA link|ː}}/}}, which had started to be diphthongised by about 1500. As a consonant, {{IPAslink|dʒ}} ((corresponding to modern {{vr|j}}); see above).
|-
! {{Not a typo|ie}}
| Used sometimes for {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɛ}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}} (see '''ee''').
|-
! k
| {{IPAslink|k}}, used particularly in positions where {{vr|c}} would be softened. Also used in {{vr|kn}} at the start of words; here both consonants were still pronounced.
|-
! l
| {{IPAslink|l}}
|-
! m
| {{IPAslink|m}}
|-
! n
| {{IPAslink|n}}, including its allophone {{IPAblink|ŋ}} (before {{IPAslink|k}}, {{IPAslink|ɡ}}).
|-
! o
| {{IPAslink|o}}, or in lengthened positions {{IPA|/ɔ{{IPA link|ː}}/}} or sometimes {{IPA|/{{IPA link|o}}ː/}} (see '''oo'''). Sometimes {{IPAslink|u}}, as in ''sone'' (modern ''son''); the {{vr|o}} spelling was often used rather than {{vr|u}} when adjacent to ''i, m, n, v, w'' for legibility, i.e. to avoid a succession of vertical strokes.<ref>Algeo, J., Butcher, C., ''The Origins and Development of the English Language'', Cengage Learning 2013, p. 128.</ref>
|-
! oa
| Rare, for {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɔ}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}} (became commonly used in Early Modern English).
|-
! oi, oy
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɔ}}{{IPA link|i}}/}} or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|u}}i/}} (see [[Phonological history of English diphthongs#Late Middle English|Late Middle English diphthongs]]; these later merged).
|-
! oo
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|o}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}, becoming {{IPA|[{{IPA link|u}}ː]}} by about 1500; or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɔ}}ː/}}.
|-
! ou, ow
| Either {{IPA|/{{IPA link|u}}{{IPA link|ː}}/}}, which had started to be diphthongised by about 1500, or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|ɔ}}u/}}.
|-
! p
| {{IPAslink|p}}
|-
! qu
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|w}}/}}
|-
! r
| {{IPAslink|r}}
|-
! s
| {{IPAslink|s}}, sometimes {{IPAslink|z}} (formerly {{IPA|[z]}} was an allophone of {{IPA|/s/}}). Also appeared as '''ſ''' ([[long s]]). 
|-
! sch, sh
| {{IPAslink|ʃ}}
|-
! t
| {{IPAslink|t}}
|-
! th
| {{IPAslink|θ}} or {{IPAslink|ð}} (which had previously been allophones of a single phoneme), replacing earlier [[eth]] and [[thorn (letter)|thorn]], although thorn was still sometimes used.
|-
! u, v
| Used interchangeably. As a consonant, {{IPAslink|v}}. As a vowel, {{IPAslink|u}}, or {{IPA|/{{IPA link|i}}u/}} in "lengthened" positions (although it had generally not gone through the same lengthening process as other vowels – see [[Phonological history of English close back vowels#ju|Development of /juː/]]).
|-
! w
| {{IPAslink|w}} (replaced Old English [[wynn]]).
|-
! wh
| {{IPAslink|hw}} (see [[English wh|English {{vr|wh}}]]).
|-
! x
| {{IPA|/{{IPA link|k}}{{IPA link|s}}/}}
|-
! y
| As a consonant, {{IPAslink|j}} (earlier this was one of the uses of yogh). Sometimes also {{IPAslink|ɡ}}. As a vowel, the same as {{vr|i}}, where {{vr|y}} is often preferred beside letters with downstrokes.
|-
! z
| {{IPAslink|z}} (in Scotland sometimes used as a substitute for yogh; see above).
|}