Post by fairies wear boots 👢 on Jul 19, 2023 12:32:58 GMT -5
Spricst þū Englisċ?
"Do you speak English?"
Here is a quick and simplified overview of alphabetical characters used in Old English, how to pronounce them, and a list of words in Old English that you may encounter in this role-playing game, the Old North.
This is in no way intended to be fully accurate or academically sound; I am an amateur hobbyist with Old English and this guide is simply intended to get those unfamiliar with Old English up to speed with words like æþeling and scytta.
For a full guide to pronunciation of letters and sounds, use the below link:
oldenglish.info/advpronunciationguide.html
A common way to find words in Old English is to use Wiktionary.org - simply type in a word in modern English, and follow the etymology. You will find many modern English words are not in English in origin, and have even replaced native Old English words in usage.
Special Letters & Pronunciations in Old English
Firstly, there are four characters (ie, alphabetical letters or runes) used in Old English which do not appear in modern English. You may recognize some of these from usage in modern Icelandic and Old Norse.
Upper case followed by lower case
Þ , þ - this is called a "thorn" ("þorn") and was replaced by "th" in written English in the Renaissance period. It is sufficient to write it as "th".
Æ , æ - this is called an "ash" ("æsc") and represents the "a" sound found in words such as "rash", "math", and "last." It is sufficient to write it as "ae".
Ð , ð - this is called an "eth" ("eð") and represents *almost* exactly the same sound as the thorn (þ, th). It was used in Mercian texts but was replaced by the thorn which was used by West Saxon texts after English unification. It can be written sufficiently as "th", or, if one is inclined, "dh".
Ƿ , ƿ - this is called a "wynn" ("ƿyn") and represents the same sound as "w" in modern English. It is sufficient to write it as "w".
Furthermore, many consonants and vowels were pronounced differently in Old English than today in modern English.
- The G or g was pronounced 2 different ways (actually 3, but I'm simplifying it). If before front vowels (i, e, æ), the 'g' is pronounced like a modern 'y' in 'yet'. If 'g' is before or after a consonant or back vowel (a, o, u), the g is pronounced like "g" in 'garden'.
- The Y or y (ie, "ƿyn") was pronounced like "yew". Thus "cyning" in Old English is not "kin-ing" but "kew-ning".
- The C or c was pronounced like 'ch' when before a front vowel (i, e, æ), for example, cild, lice, ceaster are pronounced 'child', 'lich', and 'chester'. If 'c' comes before a back vowel (a, o, u) or a consonant, it is pronounced like "k", for example, cyning, cræft, cnapa.
- Sc or sc is pronounced like the modern English 'sh', so words like biscop, scip, and fisc are all pronounced like their modern English equivalents, bishop, ship, and fish. There are only two instances where 'sc' is pronounced like 'sk'. The first is if the 'sc' occurs due to a compound like 'iscald - ice cold'. The second is when 'sc' occurs before or after a back vowel (a, o, u). For example, ascian and tusc are pronounced 'askian' and 'tusk'.
Glossary of Words you may encounter, listed alphabetically
(work-in-progress)
Ælf - “elf”; “Ælfe” or “ælfas” are referred to in Christian period literature in negative ways, but the word element is present in a large amount of English names, such as Ælfwine, meaning “elf-friend”.
Æþele - adjective, “of noble descent”
Æþeling - “noble-descended one”; later used for the sons of kings (cyningas) in the Christian period.
Bearn - “child, offspring”, sometimes “boy, servant”
Beorn - “warrior, man”; perhaps related to “bearn”
Burh - “fort, fortified place”; related to “beorg”
Beorg - “mountain, high place”; related to “burh” and sometimes used to mean “fortified, protected place”
Brego - “the first, premier, leader”; ie, “king” or “ruler”
Bret - “a Briton”; borrowed from either Latin or Brythonic
Cynn - “kin”
Cyning - “king”; literally “someone of the family (kin)”, but at some point came to mean a ruler and was used as a translation for Latin “rex”
Cwen - “queen, wife of a king;” an old word for “woman, wife” that came to be used for the consorts of rulers
Cynecynn - “royal family;” literally “kin of kins”
Dryhten - “lord”; probably “leader of men”, as “dryht” and “ġedryht” mean “troop, body of men”; used in the Christian era to refer to “the Lord”, ie God.
Draca - “dragon”; borrowing ultimately from Latin
Englisċ - “English, Anglish”; “Engle” or “Angle” + “-ish”; usually means “the English language”, but can also be used as an adjective for someone who speaks English or something that belongs to English-speakers.
Ealdormann - “elder + man”; a title reserved for community or tribal leaders, such as elders, later specifically used for local rulers under a king.
Ealdor - “elder”
Frea - “lord”; cognate with Old Norse “Freyr”, but never actually used to refer to a god before Christian usage.
Folc - “folk”
Ġesith - “companion”
Ġeoguþ - “youth”; both “state of being young” and “young person”
Ġerēfa - “reeve”; ultimate origin of “sheriff” via “shire-reeve” via “scīrġerēfa”; probably originally meant someone given a local jurisdiction on behalf of a ruler
Ham - “village”; literally “home”, used as a suffix in place-names
Hæleþ - “hero”
Hlāfweard - “lord”; literally means “bread-guard”, becoming later “Hlāford” and eventually modern “Lord”
Hlǣfdīġe - “lady”; literally means “bread-maker” or “bread-kneader”, becoming eventually modern “Lady”
Rīċe - “realm, domain”, usually “kingdom”; comes from Germanic “rich, mighty”, distantly related to Latin “rex”
Stede - “place”, used as a suffix usually in place-names
Þeod - “people”; related ultimately to modern German “Deutsch”
Tūn - “town”, used as a place-name suffix
Wigfruma - “battle leader”, literally “battle-first”
Walda - “ruler”, from “power, authority”
Wealh - “Celtic or Roman person”; origin of modern English “Welsh”, which comes from “Wīelisċ”; originally referred to essentially any inhabitant of the Western Roman Empire, and had the second meaning of “slave” due to these “foreign” peoples often becoming slaves to the Germanic peoples
Wǣrloga - “oath-liar”; origin of modern “warlock”
Weald - “forest”, especially wooded hills or uplands
Wic - from Latin “vicus”, meaning village
Wyrm - “serpent”; snakes, dragons, worms, related to modern “worm”
"Do you speak English?"
Here is a quick and simplified overview of alphabetical characters used in Old English, how to pronounce them, and a list of words in Old English that you may encounter in this role-playing game, the Old North.
This is in no way intended to be fully accurate or academically sound; I am an amateur hobbyist with Old English and this guide is simply intended to get those unfamiliar with Old English up to speed with words like æþeling and scytta.
For a full guide to pronunciation of letters and sounds, use the below link:
oldenglish.info/advpronunciationguide.html
A common way to find words in Old English is to use Wiktionary.org - simply type in a word in modern English, and follow the etymology. You will find many modern English words are not in English in origin, and have even replaced native Old English words in usage.
Special Letters & Pronunciations in Old English
Firstly, there are four characters (ie, alphabetical letters or runes) used in Old English which do not appear in modern English. You may recognize some of these from usage in modern Icelandic and Old Norse.
Upper case followed by lower case
Þ , þ - this is called a "thorn" ("þorn") and was replaced by "th" in written English in the Renaissance period. It is sufficient to write it as "th".
Æ , æ - this is called an "ash" ("æsc") and represents the "a" sound found in words such as "rash", "math", and "last." It is sufficient to write it as "ae".
Ð , ð - this is called an "eth" ("eð") and represents *almost* exactly the same sound as the thorn (þ, th). It was used in Mercian texts but was replaced by the thorn which was used by West Saxon texts after English unification. It can be written sufficiently as "th", or, if one is inclined, "dh".
Ƿ , ƿ - this is called a "wynn" ("ƿyn") and represents the same sound as "w" in modern English. It is sufficient to write it as "w".
Furthermore, many consonants and vowels were pronounced differently in Old English than today in modern English.
- The G or g was pronounced 2 different ways (actually 3, but I'm simplifying it). If before front vowels (i, e, æ), the 'g' is pronounced like a modern 'y' in 'yet'. If 'g' is before or after a consonant or back vowel (a, o, u), the g is pronounced like "g" in 'garden'.
- The Y or y (ie, "ƿyn") was pronounced like "yew". Thus "cyning" in Old English is not "kin-ing" but "kew-ning".
- The C or c was pronounced like 'ch' when before a front vowel (i, e, æ), for example, cild, lice, ceaster are pronounced 'child', 'lich', and 'chester'. If 'c' comes before a back vowel (a, o, u) or a consonant, it is pronounced like "k", for example, cyning, cræft, cnapa.
- Sc or sc is pronounced like the modern English 'sh', so words like biscop, scip, and fisc are all pronounced like their modern English equivalents, bishop, ship, and fish. There are only two instances where 'sc' is pronounced like 'sk'. The first is if the 'sc' occurs due to a compound like 'iscald - ice cold'. The second is when 'sc' occurs before or after a back vowel (a, o, u). For example, ascian and tusc are pronounced 'askian' and 'tusk'.
Glossary of Words you may encounter, listed alphabetically
(work-in-progress)
Ælf - “elf”; “Ælfe” or “ælfas” are referred to in Christian period literature in negative ways, but the word element is present in a large amount of English names, such as Ælfwine, meaning “elf-friend”.
Æþele - adjective, “of noble descent”
Æþeling - “noble-descended one”; later used for the sons of kings (cyningas) in the Christian period.
Bearn - “child, offspring”, sometimes “boy, servant”
Beorn - “warrior, man”; perhaps related to “bearn”
Burh - “fort, fortified place”; related to “beorg”
Beorg - “mountain, high place”; related to “burh” and sometimes used to mean “fortified, protected place”
Brego - “the first, premier, leader”; ie, “king” or “ruler”
Bret - “a Briton”; borrowed from either Latin or Brythonic
Cynn - “kin”
Cyning - “king”; literally “someone of the family (kin)”, but at some point came to mean a ruler and was used as a translation for Latin “rex”
Cwen - “queen, wife of a king;” an old word for “woman, wife” that came to be used for the consorts of rulers
Cynecynn - “royal family;” literally “kin of kins”
Dryhten - “lord”; probably “leader of men”, as “dryht” and “ġedryht” mean “troop, body of men”; used in the Christian era to refer to “the Lord”, ie God.
Draca - “dragon”; borrowing ultimately from Latin
Englisċ - “English, Anglish”; “Engle” or “Angle” + “-ish”; usually means “the English language”, but can also be used as an adjective for someone who speaks English or something that belongs to English-speakers.
Ealdormann - “elder + man”; a title reserved for community or tribal leaders, such as elders, later specifically used for local rulers under a king.
Ealdor - “elder”
Frea - “lord”; cognate with Old Norse “Freyr”, but never actually used to refer to a god before Christian usage.
Folc - “folk”
Ġesith - “companion”
Ġeoguþ - “youth”; both “state of being young” and “young person”
Ġerēfa - “reeve”; ultimate origin of “sheriff” via “shire-reeve” via “scīrġerēfa”; probably originally meant someone given a local jurisdiction on behalf of a ruler
Ham - “village”; literally “home”, used as a suffix in place-names
Hæleþ - “hero”
Hlāfweard - “lord”; literally means “bread-guard”, becoming later “Hlāford” and eventually modern “Lord”
Hlǣfdīġe - “lady”; literally means “bread-maker” or “bread-kneader”, becoming eventually modern “Lady”
Rīċe - “realm, domain”, usually “kingdom”; comes from Germanic “rich, mighty”, distantly related to Latin “rex”
Stede - “place”, used as a suffix usually in place-names
Þeod - “people”; related ultimately to modern German “Deutsch”
Tūn - “town”, used as a place-name suffix
Wigfruma - “battle leader”, literally “battle-first”
Walda - “ruler”, from “power, authority”
Wealh - “Celtic or Roman person”; origin of modern English “Welsh”, which comes from “Wīelisċ”; originally referred to essentially any inhabitant of the Western Roman Empire, and had the second meaning of “slave” due to these “foreign” peoples often becoming slaves to the Germanic peoples
Wǣrloga - “oath-liar”; origin of modern “warlock”
Weald - “forest”, especially wooded hills or uplands
Wic - from Latin “vicus”, meaning village
Wyrm - “serpent”; snakes, dragons, worms, related to modern “worm”