We have now introduced 8 characters derived from Proto-Norse short
and long A. These are represented by 2 runes. Ár represents short
and long A, their mutations, and the short nasal mutation of short A
heard in Dat. Pl. "löndum". Åss represents long nasal A from the
loss of N in the Proto-Norse short A + N and its I-muation to long
nasal Æ. We have learned that Ár and Åss are a pair, representing
all Norse vowels from natural Proto-Norse short and long A. We have
learned that Proto-Norse is our point of reference in representing
Norse vowels and diphthongs. The basic diphthongs based on A + U
have also been introduced. As you will now learn, we must introduce
O before we can proceed to the characters based on ÚrR and Íss.
Proto-Norse had only 5 basic vowel: A, E, I, O, U. The long forms of
these vowels were: Á, É, Í, Ó, Ú. Germanic had 6 basic vowels, one
of which was absorbed by A in Proto-Norse, as can be seen in written
Proto-Norse inscriptions. In an ideal linguistic world, all of our
simple Old Norse vowels would also be represented by the same basic
5 runes for A, E, I, O, U. However, our classical Danish fúþårk has
only 4 vowel symbols. The issue grows even more complicated when we
consider that we have already used 2 of these to represent the sum
of Old Norse vowel sounds derived from Proto-Norse short and long A.
We are now left with only I and U to represent all of the remaining
simple vowels in Old Norse. How can we achieve this and still spell
like a real 9th century engraver? The simple solution can be seen on
the old runestones themselves. In my next post, we will discuss the
issue of how to represent the 10+ O-sounds heard in Old Norse.
Before we proceed, let me conclude by making mention of something
which we forgot to discuss in dealing with th Ár-rune. The character
for short E by I-mutation of short A is also used for short E from
short A by other mutations as well. Thus, the Old Norse word 'gler',
which means "glass", will also be represented by the Ár-rune. Here
is the reason: the E in ´gler´ is the result of an R-mutation of an
original A, as can be seen in the spelling 'glaR'. Any instance in
which E is derived from A by mutation will be represented by the Ár-
rune. Correspondingly, any instance in which Æ (long) results from
mutation of long A will also be represented by the Ár-rune. Thus, it
is not the type of mutation, but the character of the basic vowel
and its corresponding mutation which determines what rune is used.
The characters for natural short and long E will be introduced with
the Íss-rune. Finally, as we have indroduced the word 'gler', please
note that the rune ýR/íuR (written 'R' in 'glaR') will be used in
all historical positions in which it occurs in the early Viking Age
language, including the word 'glaR'. However, while standard Rúniska
will be written and spelled according to the most conservative
tradition of the early Viking Age, its actual pronounciation will
not always be the written one. The actual written pronounciation
will be taught and recorded by trained specialists, but the standard
Modern Icelandic one will be adopted for daily use and discussion,
enabling us to adopt and use Rúniska in a modern setting where new
words are required. Finally, adoptions of Rúniska for daily use by
speakers of other Scandinavian dialects would employ pronounciation
native to its speakers. Native speakers will decide for themselves.
Recordings and a pronounciation guide will do the trick for any and
all systems of pronounciation, including the classical one.