Alain, Standardization of both grammar and spelling were going on in that period, and Ben Jonson was paramount in that movement with respect to his book English Grammar. So you will see for a time different spellings (son vs sun). But the pronunciations would be similar.
As for the alphabet being deficient for sounds, this is one reason linguists (i.e. Crystal et. al.) turn to the International Phonetics Alphabet. If you look at Crystal's web site, http://originalpronunciation.com, you will find examples of Shakespeare written out in IPA. I will also remind everyone that Prof. Crystal is a most gracious man and very happy to chat in email about this subject. He is also amenable to making flat recordings (flat meaning no vocal intonation to denote interpretation of how a line should be acted or sung, but only the pronunciation of the words in mostly monotone) of any text you might want translated to OP. I have worked in plays where he recorded the entire play for the benefit of the actors. Regards, Craig > On June 8, 2019 at 1:53 AM Alain Veylit <al...@musickshandmade.com> wrote: > > > I was puzzled that the printers of Dowland's First booke of songes > consistently spelled "sun" as "son" - in spite of rhymes that would > indicate a -un sound to a modern reader. Spelling varies in that same > book from one part - altus, tenor etc. - fairly frequently. But this > seems to be a consistent typo - or an obliterated pun on words in > modern editions? > > Sometimes the alphabet is a very deficient way of representing sounds > - we use the same one in French and English ... - and it seems to work > without rhyme or reason (sans rime ni raison). In spite of the best > scholarship available. > > Alain > > On 6/7/19 6:04 PM, Timothy Swain wrote: > > You obviously have NOT heard of David Crystal's OXFORD DICTIONARY OF > ORIGINAL SHAKESPEAREAN PRONUNCIATION published by Oxford in 2016 (the > 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death). A very respected scholar, > his son has become an expert on Shakespeare. David has authored many > texts, including ones in his own fields of study. As David says, "This > dictionary has been over ten years in the making. I downloaded an > electronic edition of the First Folio in December 2004, once it became > apparent that the initiative of Shakespeare's Globe to present plays in > original pronunciation (OP) was going (forward)..." > You can see his son, Ben Crystal, wax eloquent on Shakespeare through > several entries on YouTube. Ben Crystal is quite an accomplished > scholar & a visiting scholar the world around, including our own USA. > And the book is the first OP production, Original Pronunciation (which > is NOT the never-achievement it has for so long presumed to be!). David > Crystal is remarkable! > I am tired of the incessant deluge of emails from some people that > should know better. They reveal their ignorance of a vital subject. > (May it be said that is does NOT apply only to Shakespeare!) More > restraint is urged! > From an old man (who hereby betrays his own considered silence). > Timothy Swain > > -- > > > To get on or off this list see list information at > [1]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html > > -- > > References > > 1. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
