Variation and change in sixteenth-century unstressed vowelism: scriptural practices and normative judgments

Abstract

Following a recent study (Paiva 2008) of the 16th century unstressed vowels based on the descriptions of contemporary grammarians that confirmed the raising of unstressed <a>, I continue the research about the raising of the remaining unstressed vowels based on the computer processing of the metalin- guistic texts of this period, which allowed the exhaustive examinations of the writings, in connection with the expressed value judgements. In order to achieve this, I describe the statu quo of the variation before the relatinisation, the conse- quences of this movement whether on the elimination of the previous schemata of variation or on the production of new ones; I delimit the change of <e>> <i>, interpret non usual writings with <e>, and infer that this kind of writing variation derived from the fact that <e> represents already []. Regarding [o], the unidirec- tional drift that since the Middle Ages leads to [u] (and witch the relatinisation strengthens) is clearly documented and raises negative evaluation judgements that reveal undoubtedly the ongoing dynamics.