Alphabet
The letters b, d, g, l, m, n, p, q, s, t, v, w, and z behave like Modern English.
- c is always pronounced hard, like cat, never soft like cell.
- ċ is pronounced like ch in cheese.
- h at the beginning of a word, hard as is hat. Before t and at the end of a syllable, pronounced like ch in loch or the German ich, e.g. niht (translates as night)
- ġġ and cg are pronounced as dge as in wedge.
- ᵹ before a, o, and u, it has a guttural sound, like the French r, before i, e, and y it sounds like the Modern English y.
- r always rolled in Scottish style (rrr)
- sċ and sc both give the 'sh' as in shoe,
- f pronounced v as in very (as in found in Modern Welsh).
- æ the a as in man
- ā as in aah
- a shortened as in barn
- ē like the ay in bay
- e like the e in bed
- ī like the ee in creek
- i as in bin
- ō as in the o in the Scottish och
- o as in cot
- ū like oo in moo
- u like the ou in Doug
- ȳ like the u in the French tu
- y shortened version of the above.
Mercian also uses the eth (Ð and ð) and thorn (Þ and þ) both give the English 'th' sound as in 'thin'
Read more about this topic: Mercian Dialect
Famous quotes containing the word alphabet:
“Roger Thornhill: You’re police, aren’t you. Or is it FBI?
Professor: FBI, CIA, O–I—we’re all in the same alphabet soup.”
—Ernest Lehman (b.1920)
“I believe the alphabet is no longer considered an essential piece of equipment for traveling through life. In my day it was the keystone to knowledge. You learned the alphabet as you learned to count to ten, as you learned “Now I lay me” and the Lord’s Prayer and your father’s and mother’s name and address and telephone number, all in case you were lost.”
—Eudora Welty (b. 1909)