"But it doesn't seem unlikely that the 'á' was a bit round and
definitely so in the eastern dialects ..."

Of course it was slightly rounded. Or else, it is difficult to
explain why we have 'å' today in most dialects.

"... the 'æ' may well have been IPA [æ] though I usually think of it
as SAMPA [E] ..."

Well, maybe your theory is valid on Iceland, but in the north we may
have had a different pronunciation here.

"... and the accent certainly has old roots."

The accent is not a reconstruction - that's actually how I usually
speak. The name 'Snæbjörn Hákonsson' would be 'Snöbjörn Håkansson' in
Swedish (as a closest modernization), and I would pronunce it more or
less as in the sound file
www.geocities.com/jepe2503/snaebjorn.wav
but with three main differences:
(1) The 'ö' in 'Snö-'. It would be pronunced less open than the 'ö'
in '-björn' (like something between ON 'ö' and 'y'),
(2) The 'rn' cluster in '-björn'. I would assimilate them into either
a retroflex 'n' or as a usual 'n',
(3) The 'a' in 'Håkan-'. This 'a' is open.

/Sjul




--- Uti norse_course@yahoogroups.com, n Höuk Torgäirssa
<haukurth@...> skriivd falgjen:

> Hinn 09. júní 2003 lét sjuler þetta frá sér fara:
> > Here is a sound file (~40K) where I try to pronunce the
> > name 'Snæbjörn Hákonsson':
> > www.geocities.com/jepe2503/snaebjorn.wav
> > I hope that it will help to some extent. It is not an exact Old

Norse

> > pronunciation, but has there ever been a standard? Of course not,

so

>
> *chucklegiggle* :)
>
> Your 'á' is more round than mine, your 'æ' is closer to [æ] than

mine

> and the accent is significantly different.
>
> But it doesn't seem unlikely that the 'á' was a bit round and

definitely

> so in the eastern dialects, the 'æ' may well have been IPA [æ]

though I

> usually think of it as SAMPA [E] and the accent certainly has old

roots.

>
>
> > my pronunciation would probably be consider as a not too strange
> > dialectal pronunciation by a 13th century norseman.
>
> I suppose you're right!
>
> Haukur