OLD ENGLISH ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION Apart from the runic alphabet, which had been used in earlier Germanic society for inscriptions on all kinds of objects, from weapons to standing stones, the earliest speakers of English were pagan and illiterate.
The coming of Christianity in 597 AD introduced Latin literacy to England, which was followed by attempts to render the English language in the letters of the Latin alphabet.
Old English forms of the Latin letters were very different from modern printed forms and in addition OE used some letters no longer found in English: D – eth, Z – yogh (it is printed as g in modern editions). These two letters were derived from Irish Latin.
P P x thorn wynn (printed as w in modern editions) ash (Latin digraph) Thorn and eth are equivalent to “th” in the Modern spelling system.
• The letters v and z were not normally used in OE texts, and their roles were filled by f and s. The letters f and s stand for voiced fricatives between vowels / a vowel and a voiced consonant. e. g. ofer [ 'Ovqr], risan ['r. Jzan] • The same with p and D: o. Der ['LDqr], wyrpe ['wyr. Dq]
By comparison with Modern English, OE was written relatively “phonetically”. So when reading, each letter is individually sounded even double consonants and in the initial position as in hring, hlaford, writan, cniht Vowels had a similar value to those in Latin.
Ways of Reading Letter Z /g/ before consonants before back vowels in the middle of the word after n Zreat Zuma sin. Zan
/g/ after l after r in the middle of the word between back vowels fol. Zian sor. Z dra. Zan
/h/ in the final position after front vowel dæZ wæZ
/j/ in the beginning of the word before front vowel Zeong Zear
The Old English Phonetic Structure (Vowels) front short long back x e ı y œ a o u å x e ı y œ a o u -
The Old English Phonetic Structure (Consonants) Occlusive stops short p b t k sonorants k´ g g´ d m n N long pp bb tt kk k´k´ gg g´g´ dd mm nn -
Constrictive fricatives sonorants short f(v) T(D) s(z) h(g) x x´ r j w l long ff - - TT ss hh - - rr ll
Breaking x > ea e > eo if they were followed by i > io r, l, h + consonant or single h e. g. xrms > earm cxlds > ceald werc > weorc lirnen > liornen
Palatal Mutation a o u (if followed by i, j) x e y e. g. Laisjan > OE Lxran fodian > OE fedan Luttil > OE Lytel
Exceptions from Palatal Mutation Palatal mutation didn’t take place: 1) due to the failure of chronological coincidence e. g. folcisc (folk) 2) if sound i was stressed e. g. an'lic (only) 3) due to the restoration of unmutated vowels from cognate words e. g. mod, n modi. Z, adj
Double Mutation In words consisting of three syllables a, o, u / i the vowels of the first two syllables became front: e. g. OS arundi – OE ærende OS saturni-dæZ – OE sæterndæZ
Traces of Palatal Mutation in Modern English 1. In some plurals of nouns e. g. man – men 2. In some abstract nouns formed from adjectives e. g. strong – strength
3. In some verbs formed from nouns e. g. food – feed 4. In some verbs formed from adjectives e. g. full – fill 5. In some comparatives e. g. old – elder – eldest
Back Umlaut Front vowels x, e, I turned into diphthongs if the following syllable contained a back vowel – a, o, u e. g. x > ea e > eo i > io cxru > cearu hefon > heofon silufr > siolufr
Lengthening of Vowels 1. The rejection of nasals before fricatives: OHG Zans – OE Zos sinþs – siþ, uns - us
2. The loss of /h/ before /d/ mæZden – mæden sæZde – sæde
3. As a result of contraction: sla. Zan > sleaan > slean
![Consonantal Changes Palatalisation of Initial Consonants 1. Initial consonants [k, g, g] were palatalized](https://present5.com/presentation/22222136_154559871/image-24.jpg "Consonantal Changes Palatalisation of Initial Consonants 1. Initial consonants [k, g, g] were palatalized")
Consonantal Changes Palatalisation of Initial Consonants 1. Initial consonants [k, g, g] were palatalized and turned into [k', g'] e. g. ceap, sen. Zian, Zear 2. Combination sc was always palatal e. g. scip
3. Later the palatal consonants turned into sibilants (assibilation) k'>t. S g'>d. Z sk'>S e. g. cild > child bryc. Z > bridge scip > ship
If the vowel was not original, assibilation didn’t take place. Goth. kunin. Z > cynin. Z > kin. Z
Changes of Vowels in Unstressed Syllable loss of vowels shortening of vowels - in open syllable - all long vowels unstressed vowel was became short in lost unstressed e. g. ma. Zaþs > mx. Zden syllable haitada > hatte e. g. stanx > stane - vowel [u] was lost if the vowel in the stressed syllable was long e. g. sceapu > sceap reduction of vowels - in unstressed syllable vowels are reduced [a, x, e] > e [u] > o e. g. blxcust > blacost stanx > stane
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