Orthography and Pronunciation

Orthography

The letters used by Anglo-Saxon scribes were sometime very like and sometimes very unlike those used in Modern English. These differences are in both shape and function. Where letters were different only in shape, modern English characters can (and will) be used to represent the them. So, in this guide we need only be concerned with differences in function. The following letters that were used in Old English are no longer in use today:

æ

ash (æsc), which represents the vowel in Modern English 'hat'. Capital æ is written Æ.

þ

thorn, which represents Modern English 'th'

ð

eth (or ðæt), which also represents Modern English 'th'. Capital ð is written Ð.

Stress

In Old English, as in Modern English, the stress usually falls on the first syllable. For example: mórgen (morning). However, the following points should be remembered:

1. The prefix ġe- is always unaccented.
2. Prepositional prefixes, e.g. for-, ofer-, can be either accented (usually in nouns or adjectives) or unaccented (usually in verbs).

   accented

   fórwyrd (ruin)

   unaccented

   forwíernan (refuse)

3. Compound words where both words retain their full meaning have a secondary stress on the first syllable of the second element.

Vowels

In Old English, short vowels must be distinguised from long vowels.

When you are completing the exercises, mark your long vowels with a macron (a line over the top). You will find that that is how they are marked in most introductory texts and, with two exceptions, this is how they will be marked in this guide. Unfortunately, due to limits of current browsers, long "æ" will be marked as "ǽ" and long "y" will be marked as "ŷ".

a

short "a", as the first vowel in 'aha'

ā

long "a", as the second vowel in 'aha'

æ

as in 'mat'

ǽ

as in 'has'

e

as in 'bet'

ē

approx. as in 'hate'

i

as in 'tin'

ī

as in 'seen'

o

as in 'got'

ō

approx. as in 'so'

u

as in 'bull'

ū

as in 'rule'

y

as i, with lips in a whistling position [French tu]

ŷ

as ī, with lips in a whistling position [French ruse]

Note that vowels in unstressed syllables should still be pronounced clearly.

Diphthongs

It is important to realise that Old English words such as heall, hēold, hielt, which contain diphthongs, are just as much monosyllables as Modern English 'meat' and 'field' (in which two letters represent one vowel) or Modern English 'fine' and 'base", which contain diphthongs. The Old English diphthongs, with approximate pronunciations, are:

ea

æ + a

ēa

ǽ + a

eo

e + o

ēo

ē + o

ie

i + e

īe

ī + e

A short diphthong is equal in length to a short vowel, a long diphthong to a long vowel. But remember that, like the Modern English word "I", they are diphthongs, not two distinct vowels such as we get in the ea of "Leander".

By this time, you will have noticed that I very frequently use the terms "Modern English" and "Old English". Fortunately, there are very common abbreviations for these terms: "MnE" and "OE" respectively. Also, though it won't be used very frequently in this guide, Middle English is usually abbreviated to "ME".

Consonants

All consonants must be pronounced, e.g c in cnapa (servant/boy), g in gnæt ('gnat' or midge).

Double consonants must be pronounced double or long. Thus, when you see -dd-, as in biddan, pronounce it as you do when you say "red D", not as you do when you say "ready".

Most consonants are pronounced in the same way as in MnE but there are some exceptions to this.

s, f, þ and ð

When the letters s, f, þ, and ð appear between vowels or other voiced sounds then they are voiced. That is, they are pronounced like MnE z, v, and the th in "clothe", respectively. Examples: rīsan (to rise), hlāfas (loaves) and paþas (paths).

In other positions, including the beginning and end of words, they are voiceless. That is, they are pronounced like MnE s, f and the th in "cloth", respectively. Examples: sittan (to sit), hlāf (loaf), pæþ (path), oft (often). The same rule accounts for the different sounds in MnE of "path", "paths" and "loaf", "loaves". Note that the prefix ġe- does not cause voicing. This means that, for example, findan and its past participle ġe-funden both have the sound of MnE f.

h

At the beginning of a word (initially) before a vowel, the letter h is pronounced as in MnE "hound". Examples: hund (hound),

hlāf (loaf), hrēam (noise, outcry).

 

Otherwise it is like German ch in ich. It can be pronounced like ch in Scots loch. Examples: fohten (fought), eahta (eight), feoh (cattle/money).

c

Before a, o, u, y, the letter c is pronounced k. Before e, i, the letter c is pronounced like ch in MnE "child". In the cases when it is pronounced as ch, the letter c is represented by ċ. For example, Old English ċīld "child" is pronounced exactly like Modern English "child".

g

Before a, o, u, y, the letter g is pronounced as in MnE "good". Before e, i, the letter g is pronounced like y in MnE "yet". In the cases when it is pronounced as y, the letter g is represented by ġ . For example, Old English ġēar "year" is pronounced like Modern English "year".

After or between back vowels (a, o, u, y), the letter g is pronounced roughly as w. For example: dragan (to draw), boga (bow).

"sc"

The combination sc is usually pronounced like MnE sh. Thus scip (ship) is pronounced the same in MnE and OE. But in ascian (ask), -sc- is pronounced -sk-.

"cg"

The combination cg is usually pronounced like MnE dge. Thus ecg (edge) is pronounced the same in MnE and OE.

Exercises

OK, I've told you the rules. Try pronouncing the words that follow. If you have got the pronunciation right, then they should all be understandable as modern English words.

Word                     Pronounced like

scip                     ship

ċiriċe                   ________________

ġear                     ________________

ecg                      ________________

<to do: expand the examples>

Tony Jebson <jebbo@texas.net> 14th May 2001