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Ine, also rendered Ini or Ina, (Latin: Inus; c. AD 670 – after 726) was King of Wessex from 689 to 726 (Wikipedia). This is a name still used today, apparently, but I do not find it in the Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Three pronunciations at least can be found on the web: /'aɪn i/, /'ɪn.ə/, and /'ɪn/.

Is the pronunciation of the king's name known , and if so, which is it? The modern English pronunciation is what is needed, but the Anglo-Saxon pronunciation and related historical facts are welcome.

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    Disyllabic, not /'aɪn i/ but like /'ɪn ə/
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 23:18
  • Are you looking for the Anglo Saxon pronunciation or the modern? Baby name websites would give the latter.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Sep 12, 2023 at 23:27
  • Yes, I understood "as the name of the Anglo-Saxon king" to be asking for the historical pronunciation. I have no clue how people who name their babies Ine nowadays say it.
    – TimR
    Commented Sep 13, 2023 at 11:59

2 Answers 2

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It's most likely /'in ə/.

The last [e] being pronounced is common in Old and Middle English before about 1400. Generally you're safe going with a schwa /ə/ sound for that final [e].

The [i] will either be a short vowel /ɪ/ or a long vowel /i/. In this case, [ine] looks like a conventional long vowel [i] followed by a single consonant and [e]. Think of modern English words that fit that pattern: pine, line, spine. In Old English, that vowel would be /i/, like the [ee] in teeth. (Nowadays, we diphthongize that vowel: /ai/ like the [i] in pine.)

Finally, if you want more footing, The Pronunciation of Old English by Daniel Paul O'Donnell gives a brief rundown of pronunciation rules.

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There are several guides to Old English pronunciation. Here is one of them: https://oldenglish.info/advpronunciationguide.html

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