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Re: USAGE: Thorn vs Eth

From:Pavel Iosad <pavel_iosad@...>
Date:Tuesday, July 9, 2002, 11:36
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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Ray Brown <ray.brown@...>