I

I [əi]
Letter
== Meaning ==
In Modern English spelling, ⟨i⟩ represents several different sounds, either the diphthong /aɪ/ (long ⟨i⟩) as in kite, the short /ɪ/ as in bill, or the ⟨ee⟩ sound /iː/in the last syllable of machine. The diphthong /aɪ/ developed from Middle English /iː/ through a series of vowel shifts. In the Great Vowel Shift, Middle English /iː/ changed to Early Modern English /ei/, which later changed to /əi/ and finally to the Modern English diphthong /aɪ/ in General American and Received Pronunciation. Because the diphthong /aɪ/ developed from a Middle English long vowel, it is called long ⟨i⟩ in traditional English grammar.
Category:I