HINTS ON PRONUNCIATION xvii 



Consonants 



are mostly pronounced as in English, and ours is the 

 only other European language which preserves the true 

 th sounds. The exceptions are : — 



C^is always hard, like k ; never = .9 as in English. 



£). or 3 (called eS). Like the th in 'bathe,' with a subdued 

 f/-sound in it. To write airily in English 'brodir' 

 for 'broSir' (brother) is therefore simply preposterous. 



F. Usually as in English ; but before /, ?i, 5, or tj it takes 



the sound of &, thus 'hrafn' (raven) is pronounced 

 ' hrabn ' ; a terminal / is also apt to melt into v. 



G. Like the English hard g (that before a, 0, or u). When 



preceded by a vowel and followed by another soft 

 vowel or/, g is sounded like y. 'Nefboginn' ('bow- 

 shaped bill '), a name Professor Newton gives for the 

 Curlew, would be pronounced 'Nevboyinn.' 



H is always aspirated. 



J. Like the Continental _;', or our y. 



K. As in English before a consonant, the vowels a, 0, u, 

 or at the end of a word. Before e, i, y, ae, ij, ey, or 

 ei, a slight J-sound is introduced, as in the English 

 'cure.' 



L. As in English; but when doubled='dtl.' 'Havella' 

 (Long-tailed Duck) = 'Howedtla.' 



M. As in English. 



N. As in English, but often dropped. ' Vatnsond ' (Mer- 

 ganser) = ' Vatsund.' 



P. As in English, except before t when it becomes an /. 

 'Alpt (swan) = 'dlft.' No word beginning with 2^ is 

 of genuine Norse origin. 

 b 



