Old English alphabet and pronunciation

Aa [Q]

Āā [R]

Ææ ‘ash’ [x]

Ææ [x:]

Bb [b]

Cc [k’] before and after front vowels (æ, e, i, y)

[k] in all other positions

Dd [d]

Ee [F]

Ēē [F:]

Ff [f]

[v] in an intervocalic position

Hh ‘yogh’:

[j] before and after front vowels (æ, e, i, y)

[γ] the Belarusian fricative [г] (бегаць) – between two back vowels, after the sonorants l and r

[g] before back vowels (a, o, u) and consonants at the beginning of words, after n

Hh [ç] close to Russian [x’] in the word химия –after front vowels (æ, e, i, y)

[x] a hoarse sound originating deep in the throat, voiceless fricative opposite to [γ] – after back vowels (æ, e, i, y), before consonants at the beginning of words, after the consonants l and r

[h] before vowels at the beginning of words

Ii [I]

Īī [J]

Ll [l]

Mm [m]

Nn [n]

Oo [o]

Ōō [o:]

Pp [p]

Rr [r]resembles the Russian sound [p]

Ss [s]

[z] in an intervocalic position

Tt [t]

Þþ ‘thorn’ / Ðð ‘eth’: [T]

[ð] in an intervocalic position

Uu [V]

Ūū [H]

Ww [w]

Yy [y] a close front vowel

Yy [y:]

*ch [g’g’]

SOME IMPORTANT PECULIARITIES OF THE SOUND SYSTEM:

1. The intervocalic position means that the fricative occurs between two vowels or a vowel and a voiced consonant within words (see hlaford, risan, hæfde)

2. The existence of long consonants expressed by double consonants;

3. The stress, as a rule, falls on the first root syllable. However, prefixes, especially verbal ones, tend to be unstressed (he -, ā -, on -, ut- etc.) and do not create an intervocalic position, e.g. āhān [Rg'Rn] vs. ahan ['QγQn].

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