So, the pronounciation changed a couple times? How do we know what the
pronounciation was in the 12th century?

Jamie

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Haukur Thorgeirsson [mailto:haukurth@...]
> Sent: Wednesday, May 29, 2002 12:38 PM
> To: norse_course@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: Re: [norse_course] Pronounciation
>
> > I've heard it pronounced on a couple tapes I got of lectures given
> by
> > British Ring of Troth members as "Ah-sah-true" (i.e., two long a's,
> > pronounced sort of like in "father" and the u pronouned as in the
> word
> > "true").
>
> That would be, more or less, correct 13th century pronunciation
> (of a word that was not used back then).
>
> In the 12th century and earlier the first vowel would have
> been much different, however. It would have been something
> like a nasal version of the vowel in English 'awe'. Maybe
> close to the vowel in French 'dans'.
>
> In modern times the first vowel is a dipthong similar, indeed,
> to the one in English 'house'.
>
> The pronunciation of the rest of the word is the same for
> any century.
>
>
>
> > The surprise, to me, after mispronouncing it for years, was
> > that they placed the accent on the first syllable.
>
> The accent is always on the first syllable in Norse / Icelandic.
>
> Kveðja,
> Haukur
>
> Sumir hafa kvæði...
> ...aðrir spakmæli.
>
> - Keth
>
> Homepage: http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/
> <http://www.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/>
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