2.4. Syllable length

The length of a syllable (sometimes called its weight) is important in both Old English grammar and meter. A long syllable has a long vowel or long diphthong, or it ends with at least one consonant. These one-syllable words are long: sǣ ‘sea’, fæt ‘container’, blind ‘blind’, dǣd ‘deed’, hēng ‘hung’. A short syllable must have a short vowel or diphthong and must not end with a consonant. The demonstrative pronoun se is a short syllable.

When a single consonant falls between two syllables, it belongs to the second. Add an ending to fæt ‘container’, for example fæte, and the -t- no longer belongs to the first syllable, but rather to the second: fæ-te, in which the first syllable is now short rather than long. Add an ending to dǣd ‘deed’ (dǣ-de), and the first syllable is still long because it contains a long vowel.

Two short syllables may count as one long one, so a two-syllable word like reċed ‘hall’ behaves like a word with one long syllable. But when a two-syllable word begins with a long syllable—for example, hēafod ‘head’—the second syllable counts as short, even if a consonant ends it. If you ponder this long enough, it may start to make some sense.

2.5. Accentuation

All Old English words are accented on the first syllable, except that words beginning with the prefix ġe- are accented on the second syllable, and verbs beginning with prefixes are accented on the next syllable after the prefix. It may seem odd, but it is a fact that nouns and adjectives with prefixes (except ġe-) are accented on the prefixes. The verb forwéorðan ‘perish’ is accented on the second syllable; a noun derived from it, fórwyrd ‘destruction’, is accented on the prefix.

Words borrowed from Latin are accented on the first syllable, despite Latin rules of accentuation. So paradīsus ‘paradise’ is accented on the first syllable (páradīsus) instead of on the penultimate (paradísus), as in Latin.

2.6. On-line pronunciation practice

You will find pronunciation exercises at faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/. Audio also accompanies the Old English Aerobics texts “The Fall of Adam and Eve” and “The Story of Cædmon”.

2.7.Summary

Table 2.2 presents the Old English pronunciation rules in summary form. Make a copy of it and keep it by your side as you practice reading aloud.

Table 2.2. Old English pronunciation
Spelling	Pronunciation
a	[ɑ] as in Modern English father
æ	[æ] as in Modern English cat
e	[e] as in Modern English fate
ea	[æɑ] a diphthong, starting with [æ] and ending with [ɑ]
eo	[eo] or [eʊ] a diphthong, starting with [e] and ending with [o] or [ʊ]
i	[i] as in Modern English feet
ie	[ɪ] as in Modern English sit
o	[o] as in Modern English boat
u	[u] as in Modern English fool
y	[y] as in German über or Füße, French tu or dur
c	[k] as in Modern English cow
ċ	[ʧ] as in Modern English chew
cg	[ʤ] like the dge in Modern English edge
f	[f] as in Modern English fox; between voiced sounds [v]
g	[ɡ] as in Modern English good; between voiced sounds [ɣ], a voiced velar spirant
ġ	[j] as in Modern English yes; after n [ʤ] as in angel
h	within words or finally, [x] or [ç] like German ch
s	[s] as in Modern English sin; between voiced sounds [z]
sc	[ʃ] usually as in Modern English show; occasionally [sk]
þ/ð	[θ] as in Modern English thin; between voiced sounds, [ð] as in then