19. What consonants existed in Old English? How were they represented in writing?

The consonants in the Old English language are simple to learn for a

nowadays English-speaker. They look the following way:

Labials	p, b, f, v
Dentals	d, t, s, þ (English [th] in  thin), ð (English [th] in this)
Velars	c [k], g/Ʒ, h
Liquids	r, l
Nasals	n, m

1) The consonants b, d, k, l, m, n, p, r, t, x are pronounced in Old English in

much the same way as they are in Modern English.

2) The consonants s, f, and þ (thorn), ð (eth) are pronounced as follows:

s is pronounced like Modern English s at the beginning of a word, at the end

of a word, or if it is next to an unvoiced consonant within a word.

s is pronounced like Modern English z if it comes between two vowels or

between a vowel and a voiced consonant within a word.

f is pronounced like Modern English f at the beginning of a word, at the end

of a word, or if it is next to an unvoiced consonant within a word.

f is pronounced like Modern English v if it comes between two vowels or

between a vowel and a voiced consonant within a word.

þ OR ð are pronounced like Modern English th in the word thin (i.e. the

unvoiced sound) at the beginning of a word, at the end of a word, or if one of them

is next to an unvoiced consonant within a word. (These two letters are alternate

writings of the same consonant sound.)

þ OR ð are pronounced like Modern English th in the word that (i.e. the

voiced sound) if one of them comes between two vowels or between a vowel and a

voiced consonant within a word. (These two letters are alternate writings of the

same consonant sound.)

3) The letter h is pronounced just like Modern English h if it occurs at the

beginning of a word.

If it occurs after a vowel, it is pronounced as a kind of rough breathing, with

the tongue tense and pressed towards, but not touching, the roof of the mouth. The

actual sound depends on what kind of a vowel it comes after.

If it is after a vowel that is pronounced at the front of the mouth (for example,

i or e), it is also pronounced at the front of the mouth, and sounds like the

consonant you hear in the German word ich. (If you don't know German, you can

approximate this sound by pronouncing the sh sound of Modern English with your

teeth farther apart, your lips laxer, and your tongue quite a bit tenser.)

If the h is after a vowel that is pronounced at the back of the mouth (for

example, o or a), it is pronounced at the back of the mouth, and sounds like the

Scots pronunciation of last consonant sound in the word loch. If you don't know

what that means and Braveheart is out of the video store, you can get closest to this

sound by hawking as if to spit. (Note that I say as if: a little bit of vibration of

spittle at the back of the palate helps with a feeling of authenticity here, whereas

actual expectoration will not win you friends, even Anglo-Saxon ones.)

4) The letter c is pronounced with a k sound if it comes before a back vowel

(like o or a) or another consonant. If it comes before a front vowel (like i or e), or

at the end of a word following a front vowel, it is usually pronounced like Modern

English ch.

5) Of them the special attention is always attracted to the letter g (yogh). In

fact though it was written the same way in every position, it was pronounced in

three different ways:

1. As English [g] in gift while standing before any consonant or a, o, u (all

back vowels). The example is gōd (a god).

2. As Greek 'gamma' [] or Irish gh while standing after back vowels (these

very a, o, u or after r, l. For example dagas, folgian.

3. As English [j] in yellow while preceding or following any front vowel

(e, i, y). In this case it is no longer velar, but palatal: giefan (to give), dæg (a day).

As we see, this g in dæg later turned into the Modern English y.

6) In combinations of consonants, all of the consonants are pronounced, so

for example the word cniht starts with a k sound, followed by an n sound. Two

combinations of consonant letters have special values:

- The combination sc should be pronounced like Modern English sh.

- The combination cg should be pronounced like Modern English dg in a word like

judge.

When h occurs in combination with l, r, n, as in hlæder, hræw, or hnigan, it can

be pronounced a slight breathing before the second consonant sound, or, for the

linguistically adept, as an unvoicing of the following consonant. The linguistically

challenged may prefer not to attempt either.