Istr Movy 6

Rules of Reading in Old English
In general, the sound meaning of the majority of OE letters, correspond to the

sound meanings of corresponding Latin letters.
E.g. OE etan [etan], OE faran [faran], OE oxa [oksa] etc.
However, there are some exceptions and following rules should be observed for
letters indicating more than one sound.
1. The letter æ renders the sound [æ]. In OE manuscripts we often come across the vowel
combination ae, instead of æ. ǣ renders the corresponding long vowel.
2. The ligature oe stands for the sound [oe], like the French sound eu, and German ö.
3. The sound meaning of the letter y, corresponds to the French u, or German ü. E.g. OE
fyllan (to fill), ӯ renders a long vowel, e.g OE fӯr (fire).
4. The letter c stands for two sounds:

1) hard, velar [k];
2) soft, palatal [k’], which gradually became the affricate [tʃ]; e.g. OE macian
[makian] (to make);
OE ceosan [k’eozan] (to choose).
In a consonant combination sc, c always renders the sound [k];

e.g. OE fisc [fisk] (fish).
5. The letter n stands for [n] in all positions except when followed by [k] or [g]; in this
case it indicates the sound [ŋ];
e.g. OE sinZan [siŋgan] (to sing).
6. The letter Z represented four different sounds:

1) an initial Z before consonants and back vowels and medial Z after n,
represented the voiced stop [g];
e.g. OE Zōd [gōd] (good),
OE Zōs [gōs] (goose),
OE sinZan [siŋgan] (to sing)
2) an initial Z before front vowels represented the voiced palatal spirant [j];
e.g. OE Zeard [jæard] (yard), OE ZeonZ [jeoŋg] (young).
3) After back vowels and after the consonant r, the letter Z represented the
voiced guttural spirant [Y] (this sound corresponds to the Georgian sound ღ);
e.g. OE beorZ [beorY] (mountain, ბეორღ);
OE daZas [daYas] (days დაღას).
4) The letter Z also represented soft, palatal [g‘], which gradually developed into
a soft affricate [dZ].
Double g was represented by the letters cZ, e.g. OE secZan [seggan] (to say).
7. The letters f, s and Þ, ð stood for voiced fricatives between vowels and also between a
vowel and a voiced consonant; otherwise they indicate corresponding voiceless fricatives;
e.g. OE fyllan [fylan] (to fill),
but OE ofer [over] (over);
OE rīsan [rīzan] (to rise),
but OE rās [rās] (rose);
OE Þæt [θæt] (that),
but OE oÞer [oðer] (other).
8. The vowel combination ea renders a diphthong [æa] in OE;

e.g. OE bearn [bæarn] (a child).
9. The vowel combination eo represents the diphthong [eo] in OE.
10. The vowel combinations io and ie rendered the diphthogs [io, ie]. However, from the
X century this diphthongs developed into monophthongs [i, y].
Notes
1 When word initial and followed by a back vowel (a, o, u) or y, or
when word final and preceded by a back vowel, c is
a pronounced /k/.
b When followed by a front vowel (æ, e, i) or the
diphthongs ea or eo, or when preceded by the letter i AND not
followed by a back vowel, c is pronounced /ʧ/.
Ð/ð and Þ/þ are interchangeable, with no difference in
2 pronunciation or meaning caused.
When at the beginning or end of a word, or when adjacent to an
unvoiced consonant, f, ð/þ, and s are unvoiced: /f/, /θ/, /s/,
a respectively.
When falling between two vowels or adjacent to a voiced
3 b consonant, these letters are voiced: /v/, /ð/, /z/.
When syllable initial and followed by a back vowel or word final
a and preceded by a back vowel, g is pronounced /g/.
When falling between two voiced sounds, g is pronounced /γ/. If
you are unable to make this sound, simply say the
b approximant /w/ instead.
When followed by a front vowel or the diphthongs ea or eo, or
when preceded by a front vowel AND not followed by a back
4 c vowel, g is pronounced /j/, like the ‘y’ sound in Mn.E. yes.
a When syllable initial, h is pronounced /h/.
b When preceded by a back vowel, h is pronounced /x/.
5 c When preceded by a front vowel, h is pronounced /ç/.
The exact pronunciation cannot be known for sure. In most
recordings of Old English readings you will hear this letter
trilled, which may or may not have been the way Anglo-Saxons
would have produced this sound. The best approach is to
pronounce the letter whatever way you find easiest and/or most
6 pleasing.
When preceded by c, g, and sc, the graphemes ea or eo may not
be diphthongs, but rather the initial e may act as an
orthographical way of showing that the preceding sound should
a be softened; i.e., c = /ʧ/, g = /j/, and sc = /ʃ/.
Because the grapheme eu was not allowed in Old English
orthography (for unknown reasons), on such occasions eo is used
instead. In these cases, the initial e shows softening of the
preceding sound (see note 7a above), and o = /u/, ō = /uː/. For
example, Geōl, alternatively written as Iūl, is equivalent in sound
7 b and meaning to Mn.E. Yule.
8 This is another example of a phoneme whose exact nature isn’t
known. It could represent the diphthong /ie/ and /iːe/, or
alternatively it may simply represent the sound /ı/ and /ıː/.
When followed or preceded by a front vowel (æ, e, i, y) or the
a diphthongs ea or eo, sc is usually pronounced /ʃ/.
When followed or preceded by a back
9 b vowel, sc is sometimes pronounced /sk/.

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Rules of Reading in Old English

In general, the sound meaning of the majority of OE letters, correspond to the

4. The letter c stands for two sounds:

OE ceosan [k’eozan] (to choose).

In a consonant combination sc, c always renders the sound [k];

6. The letter Z represented four different sounds:

8. The vowel combination ea renders a diphthong [æa] in OE;

9. The vowel combination eo represents the diphthong [eo] in OE.

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