How did some English words get a "y" sound in front of "uː"-sounding vowels?

Solution 1:

Just guessing, but perhaps the /ju/, which came by breaking a high front rounded [y] in words borrowed from French, came to be regarded as a high prestige form. Then, hearing /u/, some English speakers interpreted that as a mistaken or low-class way of saying /ju/ and decided to correct it in their own pronunciations. If that's right, the /ju/ from earlier /u/ should turn up in words most easily interpreted as having been borrowed from French. Folk loan phonology.

"courgettes" vs. "zucchini" under a historical perspective

Differentiate between past and present just by pronunciation when word is followed by d- or similiar sound

19th century American English "slang"?

"How much water do you take a bath with?" — Is this sentence correct?

Can anyone explain the use of determiners in this passage?

What's a good word for a person, or a state, when a person is constantly waiting for life to get good, but does nothing to actually make it happen

Is there a word that describes this gesture of interlocking hands on the lower stomach?

In a conversation, do native speakers people call each other by name? [closed]

Word for the behavior of people who complain at everything you do

There is no headache strong enough, that a good coffee won't relieve

What is the term for giving an action or phenomenon somebody's name, e.g. "Doing a Lord Lucan"?

Is there an English variant of "Zeitgeist" other than "spirit of the times"?