The Fascinating History of Middle English Yogh

In medieval times, a unique letter called yogh was used in the Latin alphabet to represent various phonemes, including the sound /j/ and velar sounds. The letter yogh, denoted by the symbol Ȝ (majuscule) or ȝ (minuscule), originated from the Latin alphabet and was commonly used in manuscripts written in the British Isles.

Interestingly, yogh was not uniformly represented across various regions. Different authors, copyists, and printers employed different forms to represent allophones of /g/. For instance, in Scottish texts, yogh remained in use until the 17th century.

In Middle English, yogh was an independent letter of the alphabet. Its usage varied depending on the context, with some examples including the gh-group (niȝt > night) and y or j (original spelling Yogh being Ȝoȝ). Unlike other languages where a simple substitution of the g-letter sufficed, yogh was often represented by multiple characters or groups of characters.

The Carolingian minuscule script, which used karolinské g at the beginning of words and yogh in medial and final positions, was one such example. Following the Norman Conquest of England, yogh gradually fell out of use, replaced by the continental variant of g introduced from Europe. The old yogh persisted until the 14th century.

In the development of open g, two variants emerged: the 'old' or 'yogh-like' g and the 'new' or 'continental' g. Although not used consistently, these variations can be seen in the evolution of otevřené g, which appeared in polounciále scripts and later found its way into insular (Irish and Anglo-Saxon) writings used in Ireland and Britain.

In Middle English, yogh was represented by the symbol Ȝ (minuscule), known as yogh. This letter was used to represent velar sounds such as,, and . The significance of yogh lies not only in its unique history but also in its role as a bridge between various linguistic traditions, reflecting the complex evolution of languages over time.

Middle english yogh