Old English language

Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. It is a West Germanic language and therefore is similar to Old Frisian and Old Saxon. It is also quite similar to Old Norse (and by extension, to modern Icelandic).

Phonology and standardised orthography

Old English was at first written in runes (futhorc), but shifted to the Latin alphabet with some additions: the letter yogh, adopted from Irish; the letter eth and the runic letters thorn and wynn. Also used was a symbol for the conjunction 'and', a character similar to the number seven ('7'), and a symbol for the relative pronoun 'þæt', a thorn with a crossbar through the ascender (). Also used occasionally were macrons over vowels, abbreviations for following 'm's or 'n's. All of the sound descriptions below are given using IPA symbols.

Related Topics:
Runes - Futhorc - Latin alphabet - Yogh - Irish - Eth - Thorn - Wynn - Conjunction - Relative pronoun - Macron - IPA

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Consonants

• b: {{IPA|}}
• c: unpredictably either {{IPA|}} (soft) or {{IPA|}} (hard), except after an 's' (see sc) or before a 'g' (see cg). The soft-c is sometimes written with a diacritic by modern speakers for the sake of pronunciation, like so: '?' or '?' or 'ç'. Around the mid-fifth century, the soft-c developed in the following positions: at the beginning of a word, when before a front vowel; at the end of a word, when preceded by an i; in the middle of a word, when followed by an i or yod (that is /j/), or when preceded by an i and followed by a front vowel. However, subsequent sound change has largely obscured the original conditions. For example, drencan 'drench', derived from */drankjan/, is soft, but drincan 'drink', derived from */drinkan/, is hard. Similarly, swelc 'such', derived from */swalik/, is soft, but macian 'make', derived from */makójan/, is hard.
• cg: {{IPA|}}
• d: {{IPA|}}
• ð/þ: initially, finally or between a vowel and a voiceless consonant: {{IPA|}}; between two vowels or between a vowel and a voiced consonant: {{IPA|}}. Both symbols were used more or less interchangeably (to the extent that there was a rule, it was to avoid using ð word-initially ? but this was by no means universally followed). Many modern editions preserve the use of these two symbols as found in the original manuscripts, but some attempt to regularise them in some fashion, for example using only the þ. See also Pronunciation of English th.
• ðð/þþ: {{IPA|}}
• f: initially, finally or between a vowel and a voiceless consonant: {{IPA|}}; between two vowels or between a vowel and a voiced consonant: {{IPA|}}.
• ff: {{IPA|}}
• g: various pronunciations, somewhat unpredictable. When written doubled, always a hard-g {{IPA|}} (the doubled soft version is spelt cg). When following a nasal, unpredictably either {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}. The exact same rules determined this distinction as determined the difference between soft and hard-c. Otherwise, unpredictably either palatal {{IPA|}} or velar {{IPA|}}. Late in Old English, initial velar {{IPA|}} turned into {{IPA|}}. The distinction between the palatal and velar sounds developed around the mid-fifth century, at the same time as the distinction between soft and hard-c, but according to different rules, with palatalisation occurring in more environments. Specifically, the palatal sound developed: at the beginning of a word, when before a front vowel; at the end of a word, when preceded by a front vowel; in the middle of a word, when not preceded or followed by a back vowel. These rules still work fairly well in determining the pronunciation of Old English words, although certain adjustments need to be made, particularly in weak verbs. The soft-g {{IPA|(}}) is sometimes written with a diacritic by modern speakers for the sake of pronunciation, represented as '?' or the number three ('3') ? representing yogh {{IPA|(? ?}}), which is not to be confused with ezh {{IPA|(? ?}}), a similar looking letter.
• h: initial or following a consonant: {{IPA|}}; following a back vowel or a diphthong beginning with a back vowel: {{IPA|}}; following a front vowel or a diphthong beginning with a front vowel: either {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}, with the actual pronunciation unknown. Note that in the combinations hl, hr, hn and hw, the second consonant was certainly voiceless.
• k: {{IPA|}} (rarely used)
• l: {{IPA|}}; probably velarised (as in Modern English) when preconsonantal.
• m: {{IPA|}}
• n: when before a 'g' or 'c': {{IPA|}}; otherwise {{IPA|}}.
• p: {{IPA|}}
• q: {{IPA|}} ? Used before a 'u' representing the consonant {{IPA|}}, but rarely used, being rather a feature of Middle English. Old English preferred {{IPA|'c?'}} or in modern print 'cw'.
• r: {{IPA|}}; probably velarised ({{IPA|}}, as in Modern English) when preconsontal.
• s: initially, finally or between a vowel and a voiceless consonant: {{IPA|}}; between two vowels or between a vowel and a voiced consonant: {{IPA|}}.
• sc: {{IPA|}} or unpredictably {{IPA|}}. However {{IPA|}} is by far the more common; {{IPA|}} is used only in a few words, the most common being ascian 'to ask'.
• ss: {{IPA|}}
• t: {{IPA|}}
• {{IPA|?}} (wynn): {{IPA|}}, replaced in modern print by w.
• x: {{IPA|}}; according to some authors, pronounced as if written 'hs'
• z: {{IPA|}} rarely used as 'ts' was usually used instead, for example 'bezt' vs 'betst', said as {{IPA|}} meaning 'best'.

Doubled consonants have doubly long durations; 'ðð'/'þþ', 'ff' and 'ss' are shown above only to demonstrate that they cannot be voiced as their single constituents can be.

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Following are some hints to help you in determining whether to pronounce a 'c' or 'g' hard (velar) or soft (palatal). If in doubt, assume 'c' is hard and 'g' is soft.

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Rules for both 'c' and 'g':

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• When initial (in word or stem), 'c' and 'g' are soft when followed by 'i', 'ea' or 'eo'. NOTE: This applies even in violation of the rule about following modern cognates. For example, West Saxon ceald 'cold' and cealf 'calf' had {{IPA|}}; the modern English forms are from Anglian dialect cald and calf with {{IPA|}}. The verbs gievan, forgietan and beginnan ("give", "forget" and "begin", respectively), and related compounds, all had {{IPA|}}. The modern {{IPA|}} is due to Scandinavian influence or analogy with past-tense forms containing {{IPA|}}.
• When the last consonant of a verb stem, soft in all forms of weak verbs of first class (despite 'an' in the infinitive); hard in all forms of weak verbs of second class (despite 'ian' in the infinitive); generally hard in strong verbs. NOTE: This applies even in violation of the rule about following modern cognates: wyrcan and secan have {{IPA|}} despite their modern cognates 'work' and 'seek' having a {{IPA|}} (cf. 'beseech' from the same verb as 'seek').
• Follow the pronunciation of modern cognates, if they exist, except for conflicts with the previous two rules.
• When initial, hard if followed by a consonant, back vowel, or 'y'.

Rules for 'g', if the above don't apply:

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• Otherwise, assume that 'g' is soft unless adjacent to a back vowel ('a', 'o' or 'u').

Rules for 'c', if the above don't apply:

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• At the beginning of a word, 'c' is usually soft if followed by a front vowel (unless it's an 'é' that is not part of a diphthong, that is 'éa' or 'éo').
• Learn some common words where 'c' is soft: swelc/swylc 'such'; hwelc/hwylc 'which'; ?lc 'each'; ic 'I'; -lic '-ly'.
• At the end of a word, 'c' is hard unless preceded by 'i'.
• In the middle of a word, 'c' is hard unless there is an 'i' on one side and a front vowel on the other.

Vowels

Pure vowels and diphthongs in Old English have two degrees of length; though the distinction was originally unwritten, in our modern orthography we use acute accents (as in this article), macrons or following colons to denote long vowels and leave short ones unmarked.

Related Topics:
Length - Acute accent - Macron

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Pure vowels

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• a: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}} before {{IPA|}} in some cases (for example 'land', which was often said as {{IPA|}})
• á: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• æ: {{IPA|}}
• ?: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• e: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• é: {{IPA|}}
• i: {{IPA|}}
• í: {{IPA|}}
• o: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• ó: {{IPA|}}
• u: {{IPA|}}
• ú: {{IPA|}}
• y: {{IPA|}}
• ý: {{IPA|}}

Diphthongs

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• ea: {{IPA|}}
• éa: {{IPA|}}
• eo: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• éo: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• ie: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}
• íe: {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}} or {{IPA|}}