A Quick Note on Pronunciation
In written Old English, the same letter represents both the long and short pronunciations of a vowel. Vowel length refers to the duration of a vowel sound and it significantly changes how the vowel is pronounced.
To differentiate between short and long vowels in Old English, long vowels are often marked with a macron (¯) above the letter in modern editions of Old English texts. In the table below, and when identifying the vowel signature at the start of each topic, macrons will be included as a pronunciation guide. However, these macrons are never present in original Old English sources, so they will not be included in the grammar tables or example sentences.
| Class | Root Signature | Example | Change Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | i + consonant | Writan | ī - ā - i |
| II | eo/u + consonant | Beodan, Brucan | ēo/ū - ēa - u |
| III | vowel + l/r/h/n + consonant | Helpan, Weorpan, Feohtan, Findan | i - a - u, eo/e - ea - u |
| IV | e + l/r/m | Beran, Stelan | e - æ - ǣ |
| V | e + consonant (not l/r/m/n) | Sprecan | e - æ - ǣ |
| VI | a + consonant or e/ie + double consnant | Wascan, Hliehhan | a - o - ō |
| VII | a/o/ea/æ/e + consonant | Hatan, Rædan | a - e - ē, ea - eo - ēo |
To hear the difference between vowel sounds, you can select the relevant IPA symbol in the table below. To hear the vowel in a word, select one of the orange words on the right. Long vowels are marked with a macron.
| Old English Vowels | |||
| Letter | IPA Symbol | Explanation | Old English |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | like the 'a' in 'can' | ||
| ā | like the 'a' in 'father' | ||
| æ | like the 'a' in 'mat' | ||
| ǣ | like the 'a' in 'bra' | ||
| e | like the 'e' in 'bed' | ||
| ē | like the 'ay' in 'may' | ||
| i | like the 'i' in 'bit' | ||
| ī | like the 'ee' in 'seen' | ||
| o | like the 'o' in 'cough' | ||
| ō | like the 'o' in 'so' | ||
| u | like the 'u' in 'pull' | ||
| ū | like the 'oo' in 'cool' | ||
| y | like the 'ew' in 'few' | ||
| ȳ | like the 'u' in 'mule' | ||