Pronunciation

Old English spans several centuries, and there are variations to its pronunciation across this period, not to mention differences in dialect. The pronunciations I share are only one version of Old English.

Some people have asked about the audio pronunciations in the iOS app. The developer and I worked hard to make them as accurate as possible, but there are limits and it will never sound natural. I recommend using the audio to give you a general idea of what the word sounds like and comparing it to the written pronunciation, paying particular attention to which syllables have are emphasised.

The pronunciation guide below explains IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) symbols. To hear examples of how IPA characters sound, visit the Seeing Speech project.

The high-set stress mark ( ˈ ) precedes syllables with primary (strongest) stress. The low-set stress mark ( ˌ ) precedes syllables with secondary (medium) stress. The triangular colon ( ː ) indicates a longer vowel sound.

A diphthong is a speech sound that combines two vowels in one syllable. For example, modE ‘toy’ (one syllable) has a diphthong, but ‘chaos’ (two syllables) does not. When there is no hyphen between a pair of vowels, this indicates a diphthong.

Vowels

  • i see, neat
  • ɪ pin, lick
  • e say, rain
  • ɛ ten, bread
  • æ mad, cat
  • a far, start
  • u pool, blue
  • o hole, toe
  • ʌ bus, mud
  • ɔ store, corn
  • y French tu, German müde (like u but with pursed lips)
  • ə believe, cinnamon (in an unstressed syllable)

Stops

  • p peach, apple
  • b ball, above
  • t tall, light
  • d dill, adore
  • k cave, ticket
  • g give, dig

Fricatives

  • f phone, raffle
  • v lively, love
  • θ thin, author
  • s passing, bus
  • z zebra, deposit
  • ʃ shell, ocean
  • h hill, ahead
  • x loch, challah

Affricates

  • tʃ chip, ditch
  • dʒ adjoin, bridge

Nasals

  • m mill, hammer
  • n nickel, sunny
  • ŋ singer, wrong

Approximants

  • l lamb, ill
  • r rat, furry (but slightly trilled)
  • j yellow, royal
  • w winter, flower

If you want to learn more about how to pronounce Old English words, here are some helpful resources:

  • R. Marsden, The Cambridge Old English Reader, 2nd edn (2015)
  • B. Mitchell and F. C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 8th edn (2011)
  • P. Baker, Introduction to Old English, 3rd edn (2012)
  • Þæt Eald-Ænglisce Blog