Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

Hello,

> > Eth is the voiceless th. Like in Bath.
> > Thorn is the voiced th. like in Then.
> >
>
> Except that it's exactly the opposite!!!
>
> Thorn is the *voiceless* th, like in bath or think, while eth
> is the *voiced*
> th of then and that. That's why you often see it written
> 'edh' instead.
In addition, in the natlangs that use(d) it, these are usually
allophones of one another, so the graphic distinction is of little
correlation to the pronunciation. Basically, intervocalically it's [D],
elsewhere [T]. That's why you seldom see a capital eth, and there are so
many medial thorns which are actually [D]'s.

Pavel
--
Pavel Iosad               pavel_iosad@mail.ru

'I am a philologist, and thus a misunderstood man'
                 --JRR Tolkien, _The Notion Club Papers_

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