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Niw Englisch/Grammar/Alphabet and Pronunciation

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The Niw Englisc alphabet consists of 32 letters:

  • Capital: A, Æ, B, C, D, Ð, E, F, G, Ȝ, H, Ƕ, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, Œ, P, Q, R, S, T, Þ, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
  • Lowercase: a, æ, b, c, d, ð, e, f, g, ȝ, h, ƕ, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, œ, p, q, r, s, t, þ, u, v, w, x, y, z
  • Pronunciation: ah, aesh, beh, cheh, deh, eth, eh, eff, geh, yogh, hah, hwair, ee, yot, kah, ell, em, en, oh, oethel, peh, kuu, er, ess, teh, thorn, oo, veh, twifald veh, iks, yppsilon, tsett

Note: if you do not have æ or œ on your keyboard, you can use ae/oe or ä/ö insted; th for þ, dh for ð; hw for ƕ; j for ȝ

Vowels

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Vowel short long
Aa [a] as in German Wasser, ab [aː] as in English father
Ææ [æ],[ɛ] as in English hat, German Männer [ɛː],[eː] as in English air, German gäbe
Ee [ɛ] as in English west, German Bett [eː] as in German reh, See
Ii [ɪ] as in English bit [iː] as in German ihn
Oo [ɔ] as in German Gott [oː] as in German Bote
Œœ [œ] as in German Götter [øː] as in German schön
Uu [ʊ] as in German Mutter [uː] as in German gut, food
Ẏẏ [ʏ] as in German Müller [yː] as in German grün

Consonants

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Consonant initial middle, final
B [b] [b], [p] next to voiceless consonants
C [tʃ] [tʃ]
D [d] [d], [t] if not doubled in some dialects at ends of syllables
Ð - this letter never occurs initially [ð] only between vowels, alternates with þ
F [f] [v] between vowels, [f] final position
G [g] [g], [x] when alternating with ȝ after back vowels
[ç]/[x] when alternating with ȝ after front vowels
Ȝ [j] [j] between vowels, or finally
alternates with [g] with inflections added
H [h] [j] between vowels, or finally
Ƕ [hw] never final
J [j] [j] between vowels, or finally
L [l] in all positions
M [m] in all positions
N [n] in all positions
P [p] in all positions
Q [kw], only in foreign words
native words use kw
R r, trilled as in Scottish English [r], regular American English r, always pronounced
S [s] [z] between vowels, [s] finally
T [s] [z] between vowels, [s] finally
Þ [θ] initially [θ] finally
alternates with ð between vowels to indicate voiced sound
V [v] [v]
W [w] [w]
X [z] only in foreign words [ks]
Z [ts] [ts], between vowels or in stressed syllables, [dz]

Diphthongs

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Diphthong pronunciation
ai, aȝ [aɪ] as in English mine
æȝ [eɪ] as in English main
au [aʊ] as in English house
ea [ɛː] as in English main, German gäbe
some speakers add a slight schwa sound too
ei, eȝ [ɛ] as in English fine, German mein
eo [eo] as in Old English deorc,
[eːo] as in Old English fréo
ie, iȝ [iː] as in English mean
io [i̯o] as in German Aktion, not English action


Runes

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Niw Englisc can be written in Runes, an older Germanic alphabet. In this system the words can be written left-to-right, right-to-left (where the runs face towards the left), and boustrephedonically (alternating left-to-right, then right-to-left on the second line, then back to left-to-right).

Runes
Rune Letter
ᚪ A
ᚫ Æ
ᛒ B
ᚳ C
ᛞ D
ᚧ Ð
ᛖ E
ᚠ F
ᚸ G
ᚷ Ȝ
ᚻ H
ᚼ Ƕ
ᛁ I
ᛄ J
ᛣ K
ᛚ L
ᛗ M
ᚾ N
ᚩ O
ᛟ Œ
ᛈ P
ᛢ Q
ᚱ R
ᛋ S
ᛏ T
ᚢ U
ᚡ V
ᚹ W
ᛉ X
ᚣ Y
ᛊ Z
ᛝ NG
ᛠ EA
ᛇ EO
ᛡ IA/IO
ᛣ KK, CK (in foreign words)
ᛥ ST (only within a syllable, not when combining words)
Punctuation
Rune Punctuation Mark
᛬ (space)
᛫ period
᛭ end of text/paragraph
ᛑ question mark
ᚽ exclamation mark
ᚮ ᚭ parentheses
ᛧ comma
ᛌ single quotation mark, apostrophe
ᛃ double quotation mark

Example:

  • ᛣᚩᛗᛗ᛬ᚻᛁᛖᚱᚽ komm hier! Come here!
  • ᛋᚳᛁᛖ᛬ᛋᚫᚷᛞᛖᛧᛃᚻᚪᛚᛚᚩ᛫ᛃ Scie sæȝde, "Hallo." She said, "hello."
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