> "The 'v' in 'víkingr' was definitely pronunced like english 'w'.
> Because of this, one should really write 'wiking' in english.
> Personally I pronunce it with the w-sound when discussing the
> subject in that language."
>
> Yes, ´v´ was definitely pronounced like ´w´ during at least the
> earlier half of the viking age and probably until the end of the
> viking age in many Scandinvian dialects; however, the question as to
> whether one should pronounce ´v´ or ´w´ today has more to do with
> whether or not one wants to speak norse. Those who wish to actually
> speak norse must learn to pronounce ´v´, whereas those who do not
> wish to speak norse may pronounce ´w´ in quoting norse words in a
> non-nordic language. ´W´ does not work with nordic speakers today,

I will not vouch for the phonological subtleties of other northern
languages - but at least in Icelandic our 'v' is neither pronounced
as the English 'v' nor as the English 'w'. To me the English 'v'
sounds almost exactly like 'f' and I have trouble differentiating
between 'f', 'v' and 'w' when I (try to) speak English. I think many
or most Icelanders have trouble with that distinction - it tends to
end up as either no difference between 'v' and 'f' or no difference
between 'v' and 'w' (probably more common).

I agree that 'wiking' would be a more logical English form than
'viking'. I suppose the Old English 'wícing' died out and 'viking'
is a fairly recent loan word.

> Grammar will make a good king, but his brother Pronounciation
> is not suitable for the throne.

Who better for the position of jester? :-)

Kveðja,
Haukur


--
I'll grant thee random access to my heart,
Thoul't tell me all the constants of thy love;
And so we two shall all love's lemmas prove
And in our bound partition never part.

Cancel me not -- for what then shall remain?
Abscissas, some mantissas, modules, modes,
A root or two, a torus and a node:
The inverse of my verse, a null domain.

I see the eigenvalue in thine eye,
I hear the tender tensor in thy sigh.
Bernoulli would have been content to die
Had he but known such a-squared cos 2(thi)!
-- Stanislaw Lem, "Cyberiad"