| Type | IPA | Example Sound | Old English Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | /p/ | 'p' in "pin" | "pinn" (pin) | voiceless bilabial stop |
| Plosive | /b/ | 'b' in "bin" | "bæc" (back) - rare initially | voiced bilabial stop |
| Plosive | /t/ | 't' in "tin" | "tōþ" (tooth) | voiceless alveolar stop |
| Plosive | /d/ | 'd' in "day" | "dæg" (day) | voiced alveolar stop |
| Plosive | /k/ | 'c' in "cat" | "cyning" (king) | voiceless velar stop |
| Plosive | /g/ | 'g' in "good" | "gōd" (good) | voiced velar stop, hard g |
| Fricative | /f/ | 'f' in "fish" | "fisc" (fish) | [v] between vowels, as in "ofer" (over) |
| Fricative | /θ/ | 'th' in "thing" | "þing" (thing) | voiceless dental fricative |
| Fricative | /ð/ | 'th' in "that" | "oþer" (other) | voiced dental fricative |
| Fricative | /s/ | 's' in "sun" | "sunne" (sun) | voiceless alveolar fricative |
| Fricative | /ʃ/ | 'sh' in "ship" | "scip" (ship) | voiceless postalveolar fricative |
| Fricative | /h/ | 'h' in "house" | "hlāf" (loaf), "hūs" (house) | [x] before back vowels, [ç] before front vowels |
| Approximant | /l/ | 'l' in "love" | "lufu" (love) | lateral approximant |
| Approximant | /r/ | 'r' in "red" (rolled) | "rēad" (red) | likely trilled or tapped, always pronounced |
| Approximant | /j/ | 'y' in "yes" | "geard" (yard), "giefan" (give) | palatal approximant |
| Approximant | /w/ | 'w' in "work" | "weorc" (work) | labio-velar approximant |
| Nasal | /m/ | 'm' in "man" | "mann" (man) | bilabial nasal |
| Nasal | /n/ | 'n' in "name" | "nama" (name) | alveolar nasal |
| Nasal | /ŋ/ | 'ng' in "long" | "lang" (long) | velar nasal |
| Length | IPA | Example Sound | Old English Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Short | /i/ | 'i' in "bit" | "wit" (knowledge) | close front unrounded |
| /e/ | 'e' in "bet" | "wel" (well) | mid front unrounded | |
| /æ/ | 'a' in "cat" | "æppel" (apple) | near-open front unrounded | |
| Short (back) | /ɑ/ | 'a' in "father" | "land" (land) | open back unrounded |
| /o/ | 'o' in "cot" | "god" (god) | mid back rounded | |
| /u/ | 'u' in "put" | "ful" (full) | close back rounded | |
| Long | /iː/ | 'ee' in "feet" | "fīf" (five) | long close front unrounded |
| /eː/ | 'a' in "fate" | "hēr" (here) | long mid front unrounded | |
| /æː/ | lengthened 'a' in "cat" | "dǣd" (deed) | long near-open front unrounded | |
| Long (back) | /ɑː/ | 'a' in "father" (long) | "hām" (home) | long open back unrounded |
| /oː/ | 'o' in "more" | "fōt" (foot) | long mid back rounded | |
| /uː/ | 'oo' in "moon" | "hūs" (house) | long close back rounded |
| IPA | Example Sound | Old English Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| /y/ | German 'ü' in "müssen" | "lytel" (little) | short close front rounded |
| /yː/ | German 'ü' in "über" (long) | "brȳd" (bride) | long close front rounded |
| Diphthong | Example Sound | Old English Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| /eo/ | 'e' + 'o' glide | "eorl" (earl) | short diphthong |
| /eːo/ | long 'e' + 'o' glide | "dēop" (deep) | long diphthong |
| /io/ | 'i' + 'o' glide | "hiora" (their) | short diphthong, dialectal |
| /iːo/ | long 'i' + 'o' glide | "līon" (lend) | long diphthong, dialectal |
| /æɑ/ | 'a' in "cat" + 'a' in "father" | "ealdor" (prince) | short diphthong |
| /æːɑ/ | long 'a' + 'a' glide | "gēar" (year) | long diphthong |
| Sound | Modern Example | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| /ʌ/ | 'u' in "cup" | Modern English vowel only |
| /ə/ | 'a' in "about" | Schwa not present in OE |
| /dʒ/ | 'j' in "judge" | Not in OE, developed later |
| /ʒ/ | 's' in "measure" | Not in OE, from French influence |
| /z/ | 'z' in "zebra" | Replaced with /s/ in OE |
| /tʃ/ | 'ch' in "church" | Not native, approximated by /ʃ/ or /k/ |
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Note: This table is a simplified representation of Old English phonetics. Actual pronunciation may vary based on dialect and period.
For more detailed information, refer to historical linguistics resources.