Pronunciation of Old Norse Gods' Names
SIMPLIFIED INSTRUCTIONS (presuming an American English background)
Stress/accent is always on the first syllable: SKARPheðinn, KÁRi, GUNNarr.
a, e, i, o, u | Pronounce as in Spanish, i.e. the vowels in rot, set, seat, wrote, root.
é, í, ó, ú | Slightly longer versions of the above, i.e. the vowels in said, seed, road, rude. See also á, below.
ǫ | Like the o in a New Jersey pronunciation of coffee, i.e. like saying “aaah” with your lips rounded to a circle.
y and ý | Like u, but further forward in the mouth – think of a “surfer” pronunciation of dude (or German ü). As usual, ý is held just a little longer than y.
á | Despite its appearance, this is not a long version of a, but a long version of ǫ. Try saying the aw of awful with a New Jersey accent.
æ | Pronounced like the a in bad.
ø | Sounds like the u in a London pronunciation of hurt (i.e. without the r following).
ǿ or œ | Slightly longer version of the above, i.e. like the i in a London pronunciation of bird.
au | Like the ou in house.
ei | Like the ai in rain.
ey | Something like the oy in boy, more accurately like Norwegian øy or German äu.
b, d, h, k, l, m, n, t | These are pronounced exactly how you would expect them to be from English.
f | usually pronounced like the v in very, except when it is the first letter in a word (then it is pronounced f like in father)
g | pronounced “hard” like in go, never like in gin
j | pronounced like the y in yes
p | Normally pronounced like English p in park, but probably more like an f (actually a bilabial fricative, [φ]) before a t (like in aptr).
r | This was probably a rolled or trilled r, like in Spanish or Scots.
s | Pronounced like the s in so, not with the z-sound of the s in rose.
v | Pronounced like the v in very, although probably pronounced like a w when it follows another consonant (so think hvat = hwat, svá = swá). This is a pattern also seen in Afrikaans, and suggested by some Scandinavian dialects (like in North Jutland).
z | Pronounced like the ts in rats, not like an English z.
Þ þ | Pronounced like the th in thunder or thorn (the letter’s name is Thorn). Note that Þ is the capital letter, þ is the small letter.
Ð ð | Pronounced like the th in either or weather (the letter’s name is Eth). Note that Ð is the capital letter, ð is the small letter.
Blog: https://tattuinardoelasaga.wordpress.com/2014/08/09/pronunciation-of-old-norse/
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