Re: Icelandic pronunciation and the mainland

Sæll Eysteinn!---

In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Eysteinn Bjornsson" <eysteinn@...>
wrote:

>
> --- "akoddsson" wrote:
>
> > but not yet in Icelandic (headed that way though): born korn
> > (Icelandic börn korn) are pronounced bodn kodn. Icelandic
> > pronunciation of börn is something like bördn (but bödn is
> > occuring).
>
> I've been saying "böddn" since I was a child, and so have most

people around me. However, I'm pretty sure I would say "bördn" if
I were, for example, reading aloud, or talking to a foreigner. It
can vary.

Yes, indeed.

> > comparing it to Ice. au (=ey)
>
> I've never heard an Icelander pronounce au as ey. It is more
> like "öy". And at least some Norwegians would spell my name
> Öystein ...

Sorry, I should have clarified better. The sound I meant by ey is
the one you mention (öy). It's just that ey is pronounced the same
as ei today, whereas Icelandic au is pronounced öy, which is how I
think ey was pronounced in ON. Anyway, I just thought I'd clarify
that, as I was writing fast.

Kær kveðja,
-K

> Regards,
> Eysteinn
>