Old English Core Vocabulary: Pronunciation
Soundfiles of Old English Texts being read aloud:
Recording of Joshua Tyra reading from the Old English Gospel of Luke
Recording of Christine Rauer reading Beowulf lines 2516-2558
Recording of Christine Rauer reading Beowulf lines 2559-2599a
Link to Oxford CLASP project recordings page
Pronunciation rules:
Þ, þ (letter known as 'thorn') = th
Ð, ð (letter known as 'eth') = th
Æ, æ (letter known as 'ash') = 'a' as in apple
sc = sh, i.e. the Old English word 'fisc' is pronounced as modern English 'fish'
cg = dg, i.e. the Old English word 'ecg' is pronounced as modern English 'edge'
r = should be rolled, as in Italian, Welsh, Spanish, Russian etc.
a, e, i, o, u = pronounced as in most other foreign languages (ie. German, Latin, Italian, Russian etc.). Thus, 'a' as in 'but'; 'e' as in 'let'; 'i' as in 'in'; 'o' as in 'on'; 'u' as in 'full'
g next to i or e = pronounced 'y', as in 'yellow'
g next to a, o, u = pronounced 'g', as in 'garden'
c next to i or e = pronounced 'ch', as in 'child'
c next to a, o, u = pronounced 'k' as in 'king'
h in initial position: as 'ch' in 'loch'. Examples: hwær, hwit, hwa
stress: on first syllable, unless first syllable is a prefix. Typical prefixes: ge-, be-, on-, a-, etc.