Editing Old English (section)

== Orthography ==
{{Anchor|alphabet}}
{{Main|Anglo-Saxon runes|Old English Latin alphabet}}
[[File:Anglosaxonrunes.svg|upright=1.15|thumb|The [[runic alphabet]] used to write Old English before the introduction of the [[Latin alphabet]]]]

Old English was first written in [[runes]], using the [[futhorc]]{{snd}}a rune set derived from the Germanic 24-character [[elder futhark]], extended by five more runes used to represent Anglo-Saxon vowel sounds and sometimes by several more additional characters. From around the 8th century, the runic system came to be supplanted by a (minuscule) [[half-uncial]] script of the [[Latin alphabet]] introduced by [[Hiberno-Scottish mission|Irish Christian]] missionaries.<ref>{{cite book |last=Crystal |first=David |year=1987 |title=The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencycl000crys |url-access=registration |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-26438-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgeencycl000crys/page/203 203]}}</ref> This was replaced by [[Insular script]], a cursive and pointed version of the half-uncial script. This was used until the end of the 12th century when continental [[Carolingian minuscule]] (also known as ''Caroline'') replaced the insular.

The Latin alphabet of the time still lacked the letters {{vr|j}} and {{vr|w}}, and there was no {{vr|v}} as distinct from {{vr|u}}; moreover native Old English spellings did not use {{vr|k}}, {{vr|q}} or {{vr|z}}. The remaining 20 Latin letters were supplemented by 4 more: {{vr|[[æ]]}} ({{lang|ang|æsc}}, modern ''ash'') and {{vr|ð}} ({{lang|ang|ðæt}}, now called [[eth]] or edh), which were modified Latin letters, and [[thorn (letter)|thorn]] {{vr|þ}} and [[wynn]] {{vr|ƿ}}, which are borrowings from the futhorc. A few letter pairs were used as [[digraph (orthography)|digraphs]], representing a single sound. Also used was the [[Tironian note]] {{vr|⁊}} (a character similar to the digit {{vr|7}}) for the [[Grammatical conjunction|conjunction]] ''and''. A common [[scribal abbreviation]] was a [[thorn with stroke|thorn with a stroke]] {{vr|ꝥ}}, which was used for the pronoun {{lang|ang|þæt}} (''that''). [[Macron (diacritic)|Macrons]] over vowels were originally used not to mark long vowels (as in modern editions), but to indicate stress, or as abbreviations for a following {{vr|m}} or {{vr|n}}.<ref>C. M. Millward, Mary Hayes, ''A Biography of the English Language'', Cengage 2011, p.&nbsp;96.</ref><ref>Stephen Pollington, ''First Steps in Old English'', Anglo-Saxon Books 1997, p.&nbsp;138.</ref>

Modern editions of Old English manuscripts generally introduce some additional conventions. The modern forms of Latin letters are used, including {{vr|g}} instead of [[insular G|insular ''G'']], {{vr|s}} instead of [[insular S|insular ''S'']] and [[long S|long ''S'']], and others which may differ considerably from the insular script, notably {{vr|e}}, {{vr|f}} and {{vr|r}}. Macrons are used to indicate long vowels, where usually no distinction was made between long and short vowels in the originals. (In some older editions an [[acute accent]] mark was used for consistency with Old Norse conventions.) Additionally, modern editions often distinguish between [[Velar consonant|velar]] and [[palatal consonant|palatal]] {{vr|c}} and {{vr|g}} by placing dots above the palatals: {{vr|ċ}}, {{vr|ġ}}. The letter wynn {{vr|ƿ}} is usually replaced with {{vr|w}}, but {{vr|æ}}, {{vr|ð}} and {{vr|þ}} are normally retained{{snd}}except when {{vr|ð}} is replaced by {{vr|þ}}.

In contrast with modern [[English orthography]], Old English spelling was reasonably [[regular spelling|regular]], with a mostly predictable correspondence between letters and [[phoneme]]s. There were not usually any [[silent letter]]s{{snd}}in the word {{lang|ang|cniht}}, for example, both the {{vr|c}} and {{vr|h}} were pronounced ({{IPA|/knixt ~ kniçt/}}) unlike the {{vr|k}} and {{vr|gh}} in the modern ''knight'' ({{IPA|/naɪt/}}).

{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" | OE !! scope="col" | Variants in modern editions !! scope="col" | [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] transcription !! scope="col" | Notes
|-
! rowspan="2" | a
! scope="row" | a
| {{IPA|/ɑ/}}
| Spelling variations like {{vr|land}} ~ {{vr|lond}} ("land") suggest the short vowel had a rounded [[allophone]] {{IPA|[ɒ]}} before {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}} when it occurred in stressed syllables.
|-
! scope="row" | ā
| {{IPA|/ɑː/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ā}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/ɑː/}} from short {{IPA|/ɑ/}}.
|-
! rowspan="3" | æ
! scope="row" | æ
| {{IPA|/æ/}}
| rowspan="2" | Formerly the [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]] {{vr|ae}} was used; {{vr|æ}} became more common during the 8th century, and was standard after 800. Modern editions use {{vr|ǣ}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/æː/}} from short {{IPA|/æ/}}.
|-
! scope="row" | ǣ
| {{IPA|/æː/}}
|-
! scope="row" | ę
| {{IPA|/æ/}}, {{IPA|/æː/}}
| In 9th-century Kentish manuscripts, a form of {{vr|æ}} that was missing the upper hook of the {{vr|a}} part was used; it is not clear whether this represented {{IPA|/æ/}} or {{IPA|/e/}}. The symbol {{vr|ę}} is used as a modern editorial substitution for the modified Kentish form of {{vr|æ}}. Compare [[e caudata]], {{vr|[[ę]]}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" colspan="2" | b
| {{IPA|/b/}} ||
|-
| {{IPA|[v]}} (an allophone of {{IPA|/f/}})
| Used in this way in early texts (before 800). For example, the word ''sheaves'' is spelled {{lang|ang|scēabas}} in an early text, but later (and more commonly) as {{lang|ang|scēafas}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | c
! scope="row" | c
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| rowspan="2"| The {{IPA|/tʃ/}} pronunciation is sometimes written with a [[diacritic]] by modern editors: most commonly {{vr|ċ}}, sometimes {{vr|č}} or {{vr|ç}}. Before a consonant letter the pronunciation is always {{IPA|/k/}}; word-finally after {{vr|i}} it is always {{IPA|/tʃ/}}. Otherwise, a knowledge of the history of the word is needed to predict the pronunciation with certainty, although it is most commonly {{IPA|/tʃ/}} before [[front vowel]]s (other than {{IPA|[y]}}) and {{IPA|/k/}} elsewhere.
|-
! scope="row" | ċ
| {{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | cg
! scope="row" | cg
| {{IPA|[ɡɡ]}} (between vowels; rare), <br />{{IPA|[ɡ]}} (after {{IPA|/n/}})
| rowspan="2" | Proto-Germanic *g was palatalized when it underwent [[West Germanic gemination]], resulting in the voiced palatal geminate {{IPA|[ddʒ]}} (which can be phonemically analyzed as {{IPA|/jj/}}). Consequently, the voiced velar geminate {{IPA|[ɡɡ]}} (which can be phonemically analyzed as {{IPA|/ɣɣ/}}) was rare in Old English, and its etymological origin in the words in which it occurs (such as {{lang|ang|frocga}} 'frog') is unclear.<ref>Minkova (2014), p.&nbsp;79.</ref> Alternative spellings of either geminate included {{vr|gg}}, {{vr|gc}}, {{vr|cgg}}, {{vr|ccg}} and {{vr|gcg}}.<ref>Wełna (1986), p.&nbsp;755.</ref><ref>Shaw (2012), p.&nbsp;51</ref> The two geminates were not distinguished in Old English orthography; in modern editions, the palatal geminate is sometimes written {{vr|ċġ}} to distinguish it from velar {{vr|cg}}.<ref>Hogg (1992), p.&nbsp; 91.</ref>

After {{IPA|/n/}}, {{IPA|/j/}} was realized as {{IPA|[dʒ]}} and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} was realized as {{IPA|[ɡ]}}. The spellings {{vr|ncg}}, {{vr|ngc}} and even {{vr|ncgg}} were occasionally used instead of the usual {{vr|ng}}.<ref>Wełna (1986), pp.&nbsp;754–755.</ref> The addition of {{vr|c}} to {{vr|g}} in spellings such as {{vr|cynincg}} and {{vr|cyningc}} for {{vr|cyning}} may have been a means of showing that the word was pronounced with a stop rather than a fricative; spellings with just {{vr|nc}} such as {{vr|cyninc}} are also found.<ref>Fulk (2014), pp.&nbsp;68–69</ref> To disambiguate, the cluster ending in the palatal affricate is sometimes written {{vr|nċġ}} (or {{vr|nġċ}}) by modern editors.<ref>Fulk (2014), p.&nbsp;69</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ċġ
| {{IPA|[ddʒ]}} (between vowels), <br />{{IPA|[dʒ]}} (after {{IPA|/n/}})
|-
! colspan="2" | d
| {{IPA|/d/}}
| In the earliest texts it also represented {{IPA|/θ/}}. See {{vr|þ}}.
|-
! scope="row" | ð
! scope="row" | ð, þ
| {{IPA|/θ/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[ð]}}
| Called {{lang|ang|ðæt}} in Old English; now called ''[[eth]]'' or ''edh''. Derived from the [[insular script|insular]] form of {{vr|d}} with the addition of a cross-bar. Both {{vr|þ}} and {{vr|ð}} could represent either allophone of {{IPA|/θ/}}, voiceless {{IPA|[θ]}} or voiced {{IPA|[ð]}}, but some texts show a tendency to use {{vr|þ}} at the start of words and {{vr|ð}} in the middle or at the end of a word.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Flom |first=George T. |date=1915 |title=On the Earliest History of the Latin Script in Eastern Norway |journal=Publications of the Society for the Advancement of Scandinavian Study |volume=2 |issue=2 |page=94 |editor-last=Flom |editor-first=George T. |jstor=40914943 |jstor-access=free}}</ref> Some modern editors replace {{vr|ð}} with {{vr|þ}} as a form of normalization and means of imposing consistency. See {{vr|þ}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | e
! scope="row" | e
| {{IPA|/e/}}||
|-
! scope="row" | ē
| {{IPA|/eː/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ē}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/eː/}} from short {{IPA|/e/}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | ea
! scope="row" | ea
| {{IPA|/æɑ̯/}}
| Sometimes stands for {{IPA|/ɑ/}} after {{vr|ċ}} or {{vr|ġ}}
|-
! scope="row" | ēa
| {{IPA|/æːɑ̯/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ēa}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/æːɑ̯/}} from short {{IPA|/æɑ̯/}}. Sometimes stands for {{IPA|/ɑː/}} after {{vr|ċ}} or {{vr|ġ}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | eo
! eo
| {{IPA|/eo̯/}}
| Sometimes stands for {{IPA|/o/}} after {{vr|ċ}} or {{vr|ġ}}
|-
! scope="row" | ēo
| {{IPA|/eːo̯/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ēo}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/eːo̯/}} from short {{IPA|/eo̯/}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | f
| {{IPA|/f/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[v]}}
| See also {{vr|b}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | g
! scope="row" | g
| {{IPA|/ɣ/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[ɡ]}}
| rowspan="2" | In Old English manuscripts, this letter usually took its [[insular G|insular form]] {{vr|ᵹ}}. The {{IPA|[j]}} and {{IPA|[dʒ]}} pronunciations are sometimes written {{vr|ġ}} in modern editions. Word-initially before another consonant letter, the pronunciation is always the velar fricative {{IPA|[ɣ]}}. Word-finally after {{angle bracket|i}}, it is always palatal {{IPA|[j]}}. Otherwise, a knowledge of the history of the word in question is needed to predict the pronunciation with certainty, although it is most commonly {{IPA|/j/}} before and after [[front vowel]]s (other than {{IPA|[y]}}) and {{IPA|/ɣ/}} elsewhere.
|-
! scope="row" | ġ
| {{IPA|/j/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[dʒ]}}, which occurs after {{vr|n}}
|-
! colspan="2" | h
| {{IPA|/x/}}, including its allophones {{IPA|[h, ç]}}
| The combinations {{vr|hl}}, {{vr|hr}}, {{vr|hn}}, {{vr|hw}} may have been realized as devoiced versions of the second consonants instead of as sequences starting with {{IPA|[h]}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | i
! scope="row" | i
| {{IPA|/i/}}, rarely {{IPA|[j]}} || Although the spelling {{vr|g}} is used for the palatal consonant {{IPA|/j/}} from the earliest Old English texts, the letter {{vr|i}} is also found as a minority spelling of {{IPA|/j/}}. West Saxon scribes came to prefer to use {{vr|ri}} rather than {{vr|rg}} to spell the {{IPA|/rj/}} sequence found in verbs like ''herian'' and ''swerian'', whereas Mercian and Northumbrian texts generally used {{vr|rg}} in the spelling of these words.<ref>{{cite book |page=45 |doi=10.1515/9783110820263-004 |chapter=On the Consonantal Phonemes of Old English |title=Philological Essays |year=1970 |last1=Kuhn |first1=Sherman M. |isbn=978-3-11-082026-3 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynmVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA45}}</ref>
|-
! scope="row" | ī
| {{IPA|/iː/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ī}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/iː/}} from short {{IPA|/i/}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | ie
! scope="row" | ie
| {{IPA|/iy̯/}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | īe
| {{IPA|/iːy̯/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|īe}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/iːy̯/}} from short {{IPA|/iy̯/}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | io
! scope="row" | io
| {{IPA|/io̯/}}
| By the time of the first written prose, {{IPA|/i(ː)o̯/}} had merged with {{IPA|/e(ː)o̯/}} in every dialect but Northumbrian, where it was preserved until Middle English. In Early West Saxon {{IPA|/e(ː)o̯/}} was often written {{vr|io}} instead of {{vr|eo}}, but by Late West Saxon only the {{vr|eo}} spelling remained common.
|-
! scope="row" | īo
| {{IPA|/iːo̯/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|īo}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/iːo̯/}} from short {{IPA|/io̯/}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | k
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| Rarely used; this sound is normally represented by {{vr|c}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | l
| {{IPA|/l/}}
| Probably [[dark l|velarised]] {{IPA|[ɫ]}} (as in Modern English) when in [[Syllable coda|coda]] position.
|-
! colspan="2" | m
| {{IPA|/m/}} ||
|-
! colspan="2" | n
| {{IPA|/n/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[ŋ]}}
| The allophone {{IPA|[ŋ]}} occurred before a velar plosive ({{IPA|[k]}} or {{IPA|[ɡ]}}).
|-
! rowspan="2" | o
! scope="row" | o
| {{IPA|/o/}}
| See also {{vr|a}}.
|-
! scope="row" | ō
| {{IPA|/oː/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ō}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/oː/}} from short {{IPA|/o/}}.
|-
! rowspan="2" | oe
! scope="row" | oe, œ
| {{IPA|/ø/}}
| rowspan="2"| Only occurs in some dialects. Written as {{vr|oe}} in Old English manuscripts, but some modern editions use the ligature {{vr|œ}} to indicate that it is a single vowel sound. Modern editions use {{vr|ōe}} or {{vr|œ̄}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/øː/}} from short {{IPA|/ø/}}.
|-
! scope="row" | ōe, œ̄
| {{IPA|/øː/}}
|-
! colspan="2" | p
| {{IPA|/p/}} ||
|-
! colspan="2" | qu
| {{IPA|/kw/}}
| A rare spelling of {{IPA|/kw/}}, which was usually written as {{vr|cƿ}} ({{vr|cw}} in modern editions).
|-
! colspan="2" | r
| {{IPA|/r/}}
| The exact nature of Old English {{IPA|/r/}} is not known; it may have been an [[alveolar approximant]] {{IPA|[ɹ]}} as in most modern English, an [[alveolar flap]] {{IPA|[ɾ]}}, or an [[alveolar trill]] {{IPA|[r]}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | s
| {{IPA|/s/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[z]}} ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | sc
! scope="row" | sc
| {{IPA|/sk/}} (rare)<ref name="RingeTaylor2014" />
| rowspan="2" | At the start of a word, the usual pronunciation is palatalized {{lang|ang|sċ}} {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.

Between vowels in the middle of a word, the pronunciation can be either a palatalized geminate {{IPA|/ʃː/}}, as in {{lang|ang|fisċere}} {{IPA|/ˈfiʃ.ʃe.re/}} ('fisherman') and {{lang|ang|wȳsċan}}, {{IPA|/ˈwyːʃ.ʃɑn}} ('to wish'), or an unpalatalized consonant sequence {{IPA|/sk/}}, as in {{lang|ang|āscian}} {{IPA|/ˈɑːs.ki.ɑn/}} ('to ask'). The pronunciation {{IPA|/sk/}} occurs when {{vr|sc}} had been followed by a back vowel ({{IPA|/ɑ/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/u/}}) at the time of palatalization,<ref>Hogg (1992), p.&nbsp;257</ref> as illustrated by the contrast between {{lang|ang|fisċ}} {{IPA|/fiʃ/}} ('fish') and its plural {{lang|ang|fiscas}} {{IPA|/ˈfis.kɑs/}}. But due to changes over time, a knowledge of the history of the word in question is needed to predict the pronunciation with certainty.

In word-final position, the pronunciation of {{lang|ang|sċ}} was either {{IPA|/ʃ/}} or possibly {{IPA|/ʃː/}} when the preceding vowel was short.<ref name="RingeTaylor2014" />
|-
! scope="row" | sċ
| {{IPA|/ʃː/}} (between vowels),<br />{{IPA|/ʃ/}} (elsewhere)
|-
! colspan="2" | t
| {{IPA|/t/}} ||
|-
! colspan="2" | th
| {{IPA|/θ/}}
| Represented {{IPA|/θ/}} in the earliest texts (see {{vr|þ}})
|-
! colspan="2" | þ
| {{IPA|/θ/}}, including its allophone {{IPA|[ð]}}
| Called ''[[thorn (letter)|thorn]]'' and derived from [[Thurisaz|a rune of the same name]]. In the earliest texts {{vr|d}} or {{vr|th}} was used for this phoneme, but these were later replaced in this function by eth {{vr|ð}} and thorn {{vr|þ}}. Eth was first attested (in definitely dated materials) in the 7th century, and thorn in the 8th. Eth was more common than thorn before the time of Alfred. From then onward, thorn was used increasingly often at the start of words, while eth was normal in the middle and at the end of words, although usage varied in both cases. Some modern editions use only thorn.
|-
! rowspan="2" | u
! scope="row" | u
| {{IPA|/u/}}, also sometimes {{IPA|/w/}}. See {{vr|ƿ}}. ||
|-
! scope="row" | ū
| {{IPA|/uː/}} ||Modern editions use {{vr|ū}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/uː/}} from short {{IPA|/u/}}.
|-
! scope="row" | uu
! rowspan="2" | w
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/w/}}
| rowspan="2" | Old English manuscripts typically represented the sound {{IPA|/w/}} with the letter {{vr|ƿ}}, called ''[[wynn]]'' and derived from the rune of the same name. In earlier texts by continental scribes, and also later in the north, {{IPA|/w/}} was represented by {{vr|u}} or {{vr|uu}}. In modern editions, wynn is replaced by {{vr|w}}, to prevent confusion with {{vr|p}}.
|-
! scope="row" | ƿ
|-
! colspan="2" | x
| {{IPA|/ks/}} ||
|-
! rowspan="2" | y
! scope="row" | y
| {{IPA|/y/}} ||
|-
! scope="row" | ȳ
| {{IPA|/yː/}}
| Modern editions use {{vr|ȳ}} to distinguish long {{IPA|/yː/}} from short {{IPA|/y/}}.
|-
! colspan="2" | z
| {{IPA|/ts/}}
| A rare spelling for {{IPA|/ts/}}; e.g. {{lang|ang|betst}} ('best') is occasionally spelt {{lang|ang|bezt}}.
|}

Doubled consonants are [[geminated]]; the geminate fricatives {{vr|ff}}, {{vr|ss}} and {{vr|ðð}}/{{vr|þþ}}/{{vr|ðþ}}/{{vr|þð}} are always voiceless {{IPA|[ff]}}, {{IPA|[ss]}}, {{IPA|[θθ]}}.