6. Ö FROM U-MUTATION OF A. Draw a basic Ár-rune. Now place a dot to
the LEFT of the vertical line and BELOW the short line crossing the
vertical line, which inclines slightly downwards and to the left.
This character = Ö by U-mutation of A. Icelandic writers represented
this Ö by the Latin letter O with a small hook underneath it. This
sound is distinct from both Danish Ö # 2 (circle with hook under),
which we have already discussed, and Danish Ö # 1 (a mutation of O),
which we have yet to discuss. The international phonetic alphabet
represents Ö by U-mutation of A as the short version of the sound
heard in long nasal Á (see Modern Norwegian Å). In fact, long nasal
Á is actually written as the long of Ö by U-mutation of A in more
technical writing about Old Norse - the O with a small hook below is
simply accented to form the Åss-rune. The question naturally arises,
should we not then represent Ö by U-mutation of A by means of the
Åss-rune rather than the Ár-rune? The answer is no. Ö by U-mutation
of A had different and later historical origins that the long sound
represented by the Åss-rune. In certain East Norse dialects, Ö by U-
mutation of A either did not occur or was levelled by analogy back
into A. Here are contrasting examples from Old Gutnis and Icelandic:
Gutn. Nom. Acc. Sg. land, Dat. landi, Gen. lands, Nom. Acc. Pl. LAND
(where final U is lost), Dat. LANDUM, Gen. landa; Ice. Nom. Acc. Sg.
land, Dat. landi, gen. lands, Nom. Acc. Pl. LÖND (where final U is
also lost), Dat. LÖNDUM, Gen. landa. Our use of the Ár-rune for this
sound matches the practice found on the most conservative runestones
of the viking Age. It is also elegant in that it enables us to write
the same rune throughout any paradigm where Ö by U-mutation of A
occurs in some cases but not others. This practice is also confirms
the tendency by certain poets of the later Viking Age to allow Ö by
U-mutation of A to assonate with natural A in poetry. Finally, this
representation of Ö by U-mutation of A by the Ár-rune is in no way
inconsistent with the fact that its long equivalent is represeted by
a different rune (Åss). The Ár-rune and the Åss-rune are a natural
pair and will always be taught together. Together, these two runes
represent all those vowal-sounds which are derived from natural long
or short Proto-Norse A. This is the key to understanding why these
two runes are a pair. In Modern Icelandic, as in many editions of
old texts, the mutational pair long A (Á) and Æ (long) are in no way
distinguished from their nasal counterparts (Å and long nasal Æ),
which we will be representing by the Åss-rune in traditional style.
Remember to think of the Ár-rune and the Åss-rune as a pair. About
the Åss-rune, see my next post. One can think of it this way: the 6
characters represented by the Ár-rune + the 2 characters represented
by the Åss-rune = 8 characters total from natural Proto-Norse short
and long A. 6 + 2 = 8.