--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "Meghan Roberts" <magnunnr@...>
wrote:

>
> Ok, I can't read off the stone for this one, I was unable to improve the
> contrast in the picture.
> From the typed runes, I read:
> ...:kislaR:sun:l?at:kiRa:bro thasa:fiRiR:sial:
> sina.k:...thataR:Rt..ium:atb.thia:bat
>
> I am going to set as my goal to identify as many words as possible
>
> -Unnr

I found this version of the photograph through Google Images [
http://web.telia.com/~u50102110/vg76.jpg ]. It's a bit better than
the one here [ http://web.telia.com/~u50102110/ram1.html ], but I
still had trouble with the letters at the bottom in the bright
sunlight and shadow and where the severer weathering starts. There's
a drawing here [
http://www.arild-hauge.com/arild-hauge/se-rune-backgaerd.jpg ]. For
the record, I read the runes off from the photo (badly, and before I
looked at the drawing) as:

gislar:sun:let:gira:broþ.i.sa.firir:sial:sina:?k
þatirb????
ium:b?þiabat

I would transliterate the runes transcribed at the website [
http://web.telia.com/~u50102110/ram1.html ] like this:

..:gislar:sun:let:gira:bro þæsa.firir:sial:sina .k:...
þatær:re.. ium:æ=t=b.þia:bat

Following their punctuation, except that I used = between letters to
show that they're joined as a bindrune. Looking back at the photo,
I'd probably alter that bindrune now to a=t=b, since the branch on the
right side of the stave (if there was such a branch) is covered by the
upper loop of the 'b', so there's no reason not to suppose that that
this is an 'a', and that's how they transcribe it; and the context
seems to favour 'at'. I was also guided by expectation of what the
word ought to be in choosing 'ær' rather than 'ar' (although with the
weathering to the right of the upright, it's hard to tell, at least
from the photograph).

Notice the lower case 'r'! Upper case 'R' is used by runologists to
represent a different rune from lower case 'r' [
http://www.arild-hauge.com/sruner.htm ]. In Younger Futhark
inscriptions, this R-rune typically looks like an upside down version
of "peace symbol" without the surrounding ring. Originally these
represented two phonemes (meaningfully distinct sounds in the
language), but by the time the sagas were written, the sounds had
merged as /r/ in Icelandic. The difference survived longest in
Swedish, but had apparently disappeared from the language of the
person who composed this inscription because the r-rune is used
throughout, even where an earlier writer would have used the R-rune.
The sound shown by the r-rune comes from Proto-Germanic */r/. The
sound shown by the R-rune comes from Proto-Germanic */z/. Sometimes,
especially in older inscriptions, 'z' is used to transcribe the
latter. The usual practice for Viking Age inscriptions is to use 'R',
although a 'z' would be equally unambiguous and maybe less confusing
to the casual reader... The R-rune began to be confused with the
r-rune after dental consonants, and there are a lot of inscriptions
from the time when they were starting to be confused where both runes
are used interchangeably in final position.

I used 'þ' to represent the thurs rune. If it isn't possible to type
this, some other symbol could be used; but it's good to use a single
letter to transcribe each rune (or at least some unambiguous
combination), since 'th' could be read as a 't' followed by a 'h'.
Runic inscriptions can be pretty confusing at the best of times, so
it's wise not to add any more potential confusion!

Look out for the dotted k-runes. The dot turns /k/ into /g/. Early
Viking Age inscriptions used 'k' for both /k/ and /g/, but later a dot
was added to distinguish /g/ from /k/, and /d/ from /t/. There are
some handy examples of futharks here [ http://www.arild-hauge.com/ ]
in first parts of the sections on the different countries:

http://www.arild-hauge.com/nruner.htm
http://www.arild-hauge.com/druner.htm
http://www.arild-hauge.com/sruner.htm
http://www.arild-hauge.com/islandruner.htm
http://www.arild-hauge.com/gronrune.htm

And a dot half way up what would otherwise be an i-rune is significant
too. Good luck with the translation!

LN