Re: sound change

This led me to thinking about OE /a:/ to ME things.

OE /a:n/ became PDE /wVn/, presumably via ME /O:n/ (judging by its
spelling). Does anyone know why?
OE /hwa:m/ became PDE /hu:m/, presumably via ME /hwo:m/
OE /na:m/ became PDE /neim/

And yet the general given sound change is OE /a:/ > ME /O:/ > PDE /@u/.
Is the 'Why?' known?

Tristan

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