> I've recently joined your group and completed the first lesson. What
> I'm stuck on is this - when Old Norse is being spoken, for example,
> the sentence "hest ser draugr" (a ghost sees a horse) how will the
> listener know the ghost sees the horse rather than the other way
> around because the r on the end of draugr is silent?

Ves heill, Hrímálfr!

Your question is sensible. The answer is simple.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
*The final 'r' (or 'R') in Old Norse is NOT SILENT. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm not certain whence this misonception comes,
but it seems to be spread rather widely. Another
favorite for a 'silent letter' includes the 'h'
in the 'hr' combination. I will state a more general
extension of the above rule.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* There are NO SILENT LETTERS in Old Norse. *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

But I can think of two definitions for "silent letter".

1. A letter that when added to a word does not change
its pronunciation.

2. A letter that when added to a word may change its
pronunciation but is not "itself" pronounced:

According to the first definition the 'k' in 'know'
is not silent since 'know' is not pronounced like 'now'.

According to the second definition the same 'k' is
indeed silent since it is not pronounced "per se";
there is no trace of a stop in 'know' but that is
what 'k' usually stands for in English.

According to the first definition there are indeed
no silent letters in Old Norse (using normalized orthography).

According to the second definition you could decide
there were silent letters in Old Norse, if you wanted
to. For example you could insist that the 'h' in the
'hr' combination only modifies the 'r' sound and doesn't
correspond to an actual aspiration.

If something is done in the orthography it is also done
in the pronunciation. Look at the four words below for example.

at
att
át
átt

All four should be AUDIBLY different from each other.
Their meaning is different, their spelling is different
and their pronunciation is different.

Question: How is 'ea' pronounced in English?
Answers: As in 'steak'. As in 'speak'. As in 'dead'. As in 'learn'.

> PS greatly enjoying the course!

I'm glad :) You are welcome to share all of
your problems and ponderings with the list.

Kveðja,
Haukur

P.S. The 'r' ending was eventually dropped
in the continental Scandinavian languages;
but it was dropped in the spelling as well
as in the pronunciation.