Pronunciation: voiced or unvoiced?
This exercise will help you learn the material presented in Introduction to Old English §2.1.2, notes 3 and 4, on the correct pronunciation of f, s and þ/ð. For the definition of “voiced” and “unvoiced,” consult Appendix B, “Phonetic Symbols and Terms.”
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sæd sad īs ice (nom.) īse ice (dat.) esne young man
ġeselda hall-companion ċēosan choose ċēas chose wælspere deadly spear
blissian rejoice bysmeredon reviled wīsdōm wisdom besmītan defile
misbēodan mistreat misdǣd misdeed rǣsde rushed onslēpte fell asleep
æstel pointer bisgu trouble wīs wise hūsl eucharist
heofon heaven ǣfen evening wulf wolf wulfum wolves (dat.)
hlāf bread hlāford lord hlǣfdiġe lady for for
of of ōfer bank ofdūne down cāflīċe boldly
hrefne raven (dat.) drīfan drive drāf drove drīfe (I) drive
forġyldan pay for āflȳmde put to flight (past) ġelēafful faithful þēah nevertheless
ġenēþde risked ȳþde laid waste dēaþ death dēaþe death (dat.)
cȳððe homeland (acc.) eorðliċ earthly geþōht thought ǣġþer both
mǣġþ nation þeġn retainer ealað of ale þæt that
pæþ path hæfde had ōþer other, second oþþe or
ēþel homeland weorðlīċe worthily ēaðmōd humble ēð more easily
te01
For each word in this list, indicate whether the f, s or þ/ð should be pronounced voiced or unvoiced.
  • voiced
  • unvoiced
The s in the words misbēodan and misdǣd is here considered unvoiced even though it comes between voiced sounds. This is because the s falls just before a morpheme boundary. However, when morpheme boundaries (as those that followed suffixes or fell between the elements of compounds) stopped being perceived, such sounds could become voiced. For this reason it is not always certain how to pronounce sounds that are so situated. It is sufficient to be guided by Modern English usage.
te02
For each word in this list, indicate whether the f, s or þ/ð should be pronounced voiced or unvoiced.
  • voiced
  • unvoiced
te03
For each word in this list, indicate whether the f, s or þ/ð should be pronounced voiced or unvoiced.
  • voiced
  • unvoiced
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