User:Espreon/pron-stuff

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In Old English, letters of the Latin alphabet are pronounced similarly as they are in Modern English — most of the time, but this section shall list the exceptions. Rough descriptions of sounds along with phonetic symbols from the IPA (in square brackets) are used in these. Note that you can find more information (and audio files) about the sounds and concepts being described by clicking on the red terms and symbols.

Warning: since vowel sounds are highly inconsistent amongst Modern English dialects, comparisons of Old English vowels sounds to Modern English vowel sounds will only involve comparison to the vowel sounds of “standard”, non-regional American English and British English dialects; in addition, examples from other languages will be provided as needed. When in doubt, or if your dialect is not covered, click on the red phonetic symbols for more information.

Also be aware of the fact that temporal vowel/consonant length actually matters in Old English, so do not apply temporal length from the “sound-alikes” of Modern English and the other languages mentioned.


 * a is pronounced like the a in father ([ɑ]).


 * æ, known as ash in Modern English and æsc in Old English, is pronounced like the a in cat ([æ]).


 * c is sometimes pronounced like k ([k]]) and sometimes like the ch of chicken ([t͡ʃ]). Here, cs that are pronounced like ch will be written as ċ.


 * cg is usually pronounced like the dge of sedge ([d͡ʒ]) . Here, when it is pronounced as such, it will be written as ċȝ. If written here as cg, then it is pronounced as a temporally-lengthened hard g ([ɡ]), so like the bolded sequence in the phrase big guy ([ɡː]).


 * e is pronounced like the first part of the a in cake, before it glides into the y-ish sound ([e]). Some, however, believe that when temporally short, e is pronounced as the e in set ([ɛ]).


 * f is pronounced like a "v", and "s" is pronounced like a "z", and "þ" or "ð" is pronounced like "th" in "that", when it is in between two vowels or a vowel and a consonant, unless the consonant is c, f, h, k, p, s, t, þ, ð, or x, or the sounds comes at the beginning or end of a syllable - in when case those sounds are pronounced like "f", "s", and "th" in think, respective


 * g is sometimes pronounced like the y of yes ([j]); other times, it is pronounced as a hard g ([ɡ]). After a vowel, an l, or an r, what would be pronounced as a hard g is instead pronounced like the g in Icelandic saga; like a stronger, more turbulent version of the g in Spanish agua ([ɣ]). And after n, it is sometimes pronounced like the g in angel ([d͡ʒ]). Here, when it is to be pronounced like y or the g in angel, it will be written as ȝ.


 * h, at the beginning of a syllable, is pronounced like Modern English h ([h]). After æ, e, i, and oe, it is pronounced like the h in non-h-dropping pronunciations of human, also the ch of German ich ([ç]). After a, l, o, r, and u, it is pronounced like the ch of Scottish English loch, also the ch in German Buch and the j of Spanish joven. ([x]). Note that in the sequences hl, hn, hr, hƿ, the second part of the sequence takes on the voicelessness of the h.


 * i is pronounced like the ee in see ([i]). Some, however, believe that when temporally short, it is pronounced like the i of if ([ɪ]).


 * n is usually pronounced like it typically is in Modern English ([n]); it always assimilates to k and g, thus before a k or a g, it is always pronounced like the n in pink ([ŋ]). In ng, the g is always pronounced.


 * o is pronounced like the very first part of the oa of boat in American English, before it glides into the w-ish sound; the o of Italian foro; Spanish o ([o]). Some, however, believe that when temporally short, o is pronounced like the the sound of the word awe in pronunciations not affected by the cot–caught merger ([ɔ]).


 * oe is pronounced like e, but with the lips rounded like they are in Old English o, u, and y ([ø]). Note that the oe sounds only occur in the Mercian and Northumbrian dialects. Also note that grammarians and runologists often refer to this sound with the letter œ, but this convention should not be used when actually writing in Old English.


 * r could have been pronounced as it typically is in Modern English ([ɹ]), as in Spanish perro ([r]) — also the stereotypical Scottish English trilled r, or as in Spanish pero ([ɾ]). The true basic phonetic value of Old English r is most likely the one of the last two possibilities, however. Also note that Old English r is always pronounced as a full consonant.


 * sc is usually pronounced like sh ([ʃ]); when it is, it will be written here as sċ. Sometimes, however, it is pronounced as the sequence sk ([sk]); when it is, it will be written here as sc.


 * þ, known as thorn (typically spelled þorn in Old English), and ð, known as eth in Modern English and ðæt in Old English, are pronounced like the th sounds of Modern English ([θ] and [ð]). See f's section for further pronunciation information. Note that in earlier manuscripts, th and d are used in place of þ and ð.


 * u is pronounced like the oo in cool ([u]), but for a shorter amount of time. Some, however, believe that when temporally short, u is pronounced like the oo of foot ([ʊ]).


 * ƿ, known as wynn, is pronounced as the w in water ([w]). Note that wynn is not p and is typically written in a way distinct from it. Also keep in mind that in most modern transcriptions of Old English, w will be seen in wynn’s place; in some early manuscripts, uu and sometimes even u will be seen instead of wynn. These letters are always pronounced in Old English, even in words such as ƿritan (write in Modern English).


 * y is pronounced like the ee in see, but with the lips rounded like they are in the ew of yew ([y]) — like the u in French tu or ü in German über.

Double consonant sequences (such as ff) and long vowels are usually pronounced like their short versions, but for a longer amount of time. In many modern texts, long vowels are either marked with macra, like ē or ū or with acute accent marks, like é or ú. For oe, if length is to be marked, the long form can either be written as ōe or óe. Note that using acute accent marks to mark long vowels is an older practice that was typically used in things that dicuss both Old Norse and Old English, so it is best to use macra to mark long vowels. Note that in most manuscripts, you will not find long vowels marked at all.

When two vowels are next to each other, they are part of separate syllables, but sometimes, they actually make up one vowel. Vowels that are actually made up of two vowels are known as diphthongs. Modern English itself has lots of diphthongs, like the sound of the pronoun I. There is a smooth transition between the two vowels that make up a diphthong; you can observe this by breaking the smooth transition in the sound of the pronoun I by saying it very slowly.

The diphthong ea ([æɑ]) starts with the sound of æ and ends with the sound of a. eo ([eo]) starts with the sound of e and ends with the sound of o. ie ([ie] or [iy]) started with the sound of i and then either ended with the sound of e or y; sadly, it is uncertain which. Note that there are also long versions of these diphthongs; the long versions have the first element lengthened while the second element remains unchanged.

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