Old Norse/Grammar/Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Old Norse Alphabet
editThe Old Norse alphabet consisted of the following lettersː a b c d ð e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z þ æ ǫ ø œ
This is based on the more modern 'standardized' spelling, as older texts in most every language lacked unified spelling standards, meaning the same word could appear in several different ways within the same text. The above Latin alphabet will be used in this page for all words in Old Norse.
Consonants
edit| Consonant | IPA | English example |
|---|---|---|
| b | /b/ | boy |
| c | /k/ | call |
| d | /d/ | dog |
| ð | /ð/ | this |
| f | /f/ /v/ |
far (initial) very (middle or final position) |
| g | /g/ /x/ /ɣ/ |
good (initial, after n) Scots loch (before s or t) Scots loch (otherwise; voiced) |
| h | /h/ | have |
| j | /j/ | year |
| k | /k/
/x/ |
call loch (immediately before s or t) |
| l | /l/
/l̥/ |
leaf leaf (voiceless directly after h at the beginning of a word, ends of words after voiceless consonants or between voiceless consonants) |
| m | /m/ | man |
| n | /n/ | new |
| p | /p/
/f/ |
happy far (before s or t) |
| q | /k/ | call (only in qu) |
| r | /r/ | roof (trilled like Scottish) |
| s | /s/ | safe |
| t | /t/ | time |
| v | /v/ | victory |
| w | /w/ | win |
| x | /x/ | lochs (Scottish) |
| z | /t͡s/ | cats (like German z) |
| þ | /θ/ | thin |
Vowels
edit| Vowel | IPA | English example |
|---|---|---|
| a | /a/ | father (short) |
| á | /aː/ | father (long) |
| e | /e/
/ɛ/ |
é as in French 'été' (short) |
| é | /eː/ | é as in French 'été' (long) |
| i | /i/ | ee as in feet (short) |
| í | /iː/ | ee as in feet (long) |
| o | /o/ | o as in vote (short) |
| ó | /oː/ | o as in vote (long) |
| u | /u/ | u as in droop (short) |
| ú | /uː/ | u as in droop (long) |
| y | /y/ | ü as in German München (short) |
| ý | /yː/ | ü as in German Füße (long) |
| æ | /æ/
/ɛ/ |
a as in 'cat' (long) |
| ǫ | /ɔ/ | o as in 'lot', (short) |
| ǫ́ | /ɔː/ | o as in 'lot', (long) |
| ø | /ø/ | eu as in French 'feu' |
| œ | /øː/ | eu as in French 'feu', (long) |
Diphthongs
edit| Diphthong | English example |
|---|---|
| au | ow as in 'now' |
| ei | ay as in 'hay' |
| ey | combination of ON e+y |
Examplesː
- baugr (bäʊ̯ɣʀ)
- heitir (heɪ̯tiʀ) (hay-tir)
̈Similar to other Germanic languages, the vowel change, or umlaut, operates in Old Norse. There are two kinds: i-umlaut, and u-umlaut.
The i-umlaut appears thus:
| Underlying vowel | I-Umlaut vowel |
|---|---|
| a | e |
| á | æ |
| o | ø |
| ó | œ |
| u | y |
| ú | ý |
This is the fronting of a back vowel (a, o, u) to its frontal version, similar to how German has (a, o, u) become (ä, ö, ü).
In certain circumstances, the presence of a 'u' in the endings of adjectives or nouns causes what is called 'u-umlaut' or 'back mutation' to the stem vowel. This is how that change presents itself:
| Underlying vowel | U-Umlaut vowel |
|---|---|
| a | ǫ |
| á | (ǫ́) > á |
| e | ø |
| é | œ |
| i | y |
| í | ý |
| a (unstressed) | u |