Hi Rob,

The name is very common in runic inscriptions, but I'm not sure what
the oldest is. I couldn't find any forms with 'n' in the Rundata
database, but runic spelling has a convention of missing out 'n'
before a dental consonant, so even if it was still there is might
not show up. I wonder if it's attested in continental sources from
the Viking period.

Pronunciation changed over time. To avoid (and increase!) confusion
I'll use the X-Sampa system to show the sounds [
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xsampa ]. This might seem complicated,
but there are non-English sounds involved here, and English spelling
is very irregular, and people have different accents. The simple
answer is Old Norse <leif> would be most like English <lave>.

Brackets and other symbols:

// = phonemic spelling. Just represents the differences that are
significant to native speakers, without specifying exactly how
sounds are realised in a particular environment. E.g.
English /spit/ and /pit/ have the same phoneme /p/, but on the
latter word it sounds a little different with a puff of airt after
it [p_hit], as against [spit].

[] phonetic transcription. The exact sound.

<> how something is spelt in native orthography.

* in etymology, used before a hypothetical form that has been
reconstructed my modern scholars, but isn't actually recorded in
this form in the historical language.

" main stress

% secondary stress. E.g. the English word <gas-leak>, ["gas%li:k].

: previous symbol to be pronounced long

_~ previous vowel nasalised, as in French <on>

Back in the 4th century or so, this name would have had the form:
*Anulaibaz (as it might have been spelt by a clever runemaster on a
good day). Main stress on the first syllable, secondary stress
on /laib/, with /ai/ probably like the vowel in English 'eye',
the /b/ probably pronunced [B] as in Spanish (with the lips not
quite touching). The /z/ was probably somewhere between a rolled
[r] and the <s> in English 'measure'. Some people in Scotland make
this sound when saying the combination <rs> at the end of a word.
Some people in southern England make a similar noise when they say
the <r> in <drink>. Unfortunatley I'm not so familar with accents
in different parts of America. Here's a possible X-sampa
transcription of what I mean ["anu%laiBaZ_r].

As far as I know, the name isn't recorded anywhere this early, but
we can tell it had this form, or something very similar, by later
sound changes. Of course, no one can be exactly sure of the
pronuciation at any given time. The situation is complicated by the
fact that two different versions of the name appeared. The one I'll
describe first became the normal form in Icelandic prose in the
middle ages, while the other survived is recorded in poetry. Or at
least that's where I've met it.

(1) Spelt Óláfr in standardised Old Norse. The first vowel of
*Anulaibaz was raised and rounded by the /u/ in the next syllable,
then nasalised by the /n/ (like in French <on> but in this case with
the tongue slightly higher). /u/ and /n/ and the final /a/ were
dropped causing the initial vowel to be lengthened to a nasal
[o:_~]. [ai] under secondary stress was reduced to [a:]. The final
consonant became a rolled [r], at different times in different parts
of Scandinavia, but I think the change was complete by the time
manuscripts were being written after Christianity was
introduced/imposed. Nasalisation had probably disappeared in
Iceland by 1200. Around this time, [a:] was raised and rounded to
[O:_~], as in (British) English <saw>. A possible Viking Age
pronunciation ["o:_%~la:BZ_r]. 13th c. Iceland (when a lot of the
famous sagas were written) Óláfr ["o:%lO:vr]. Modern Icelandic has
a slightly different form again, from a version with even more
reduced stress on the second element: Ólafur ["ou:la.vYr_0], the
second vowel being half-long, the final <r> voiceless, the first
vowel quite like <o> in English <Olaf>. The spelling Olav comes
from the modern languages of mainland Scandinavia and matches the
Modern Icelandic form.

(2) Spelt Áleifr in medieval Iceland. As above, except that the
second element of the compound was originally given a stronger
stress, which allowed the diphthong /ei/ to survive as it would
normally in a stressed syllable. This also caused the /u/ to be
lost earlier, before it had a chance to mutate the initial [a:] to
[o:]. A possible Viking Age pronunciation ["a:_~%lEiBZ_r], with the
first vowel like <a> in English <car>, but nasalised like a long
version of French <en>, and the second vowel like <a> in English
<lave>. 12th c. Icelandic ["a:_~%lEiBr]. 13th c. Icelandic ["O:%
lEivr].

At some point in 12th or 13th century Iceland (I'd be interested to
know when), [B] is supposed to have become [v], as in English <hive>.

> My understanding is that it is from "Áleifr",
> derived from Old Norse "anu + leifr" = "ancestor descendant".

Maybe with a suggestion of "inheritor" in the second element. Think
of the English verb "leave", in the sense of leaving something to
someone in a will. I don't know any English cognate for the first
part, but German has Ahn "ancestor".

Lama Nom






--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Rob Livingston"
<rlivingston1488@...> wrote:

>
> Hello,
> I have some question about the name Olaf - its historical use and
> pronunciation. My curiosity arises because my family's old

surname

> in Scotland was "MacOnlea" (pronounced "mak-ohn-lay", possibly
> derived from "son of Onlaf".
>
> First, does anybody know the earliest documented Scandinavian
> reference to the name? My understanding is that it is

from "Áleifr",

> derived from Old Norse "anu + leifr" = "ancestor descendant". The
> earliest reference I can find is from the Irish Annals of Ulster,
> when in 853 AD, "Amlaíb, the son of the king of Laithlinn" came to
> Ireland to demand tribute. "Amlaíb" is the Irish equivalent of
> Olaf. Are there any earlier Scandinavian citations for this name?
>
> Later references to the name are found in the Anglo-Saxon

Chronicles

> beginning in 911 AD with "Anlaf the Swarthy". There was a stone
> cross erected in memory of "Cuni Onlaf" (King Olaf) at the

Cathedral

> of Leeds, England sometime about 937. Then there are coins from

the

> early to late 10th century bearing the names "Onlaf Rex Nor"
> and "Anlaf Rex Tod", the first presumed to have been minted in
> Norway. Again, what is the earliest documented citation for the

name

> Olaf in Scandinavia? Is it referenced in any of the Norse Sagas?
>
> My second question has to do with the pronunciation of "Áleifr",
> which I presume is the proper way of spelling it, even in Modern
> Norse? Or is it now spelled Olav or Olaf? If it did change, when

did

> it change? Is the "leifr" part of it "layfr" or "leefr"? And is
> the "f" pronounced like the "f" in "leaf", or the "v" in "leave"?
>
> I very much appreciate anybody's input.
>
> Rob Livingston
> Placerville, California
>