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AN OUTLINE OF ANGLO-SAXON GRAMMAR.
VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS.
3. An approximate pronunciation of the vowels is indicated in the following table:
a | As in German Mann | |
ā | the preceding sound lengthened. | |
æ | like a in at, man. | |
ǣ | the preceding sound lengthened. | |
e | as in let, men | |
ę | ||
ē | the preceding sound lengthened, as in they. | |
i | as in hit, sit, in. | |
ī | the preceding sound lengthened, as in machine. | |
o | as in German Gott. | |
ō | the preceding sound lengthened, as in German so. | |
ǫ | as in not. | |
u | as in full, put. | |
ū | the preceding sound lengthened, as in rule. | |
y | like ü in German: hübsch, Brücke. | |
ȳ | the preceding sound lengthened, as in German grün. | |
œ̄ | like ö in German schön. | |
ie | These diphthongs (long and short) receive the stress upon the first element; the second elements, being unaccented, is very much obscured in pronunciation. The sound of ea, ēa is approximately that of æ+a, ǣ+a (perhaps more nearly æ+uh); otherwise the component parts of these diphthongs are to be pronounced as indicated above. | |
īe | ||
ea | ||
ēa | ||
eo | ||
ēo | ||
io | ||
īo |
Note.—The diphthongs ie, īe are peculiar to EWS, where they, however, begin to change into i, ī; in LWS the most usual representation is y, ȳ. (S. §§ 22, 31, 41, 97.)