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How do I correctly pronounce the Anglo Saxon word sóncræft (music)?

I feel it should be "sonn crayfte" or "sonn creft".

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    Since ay wasn't a vowel in Old English, your feeling is probably wrong.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 20:09
  • 4
    Pronounce it as its spelling suggests, [so:nkræft] in IPA. Old English (Anglo-Saxon) spelling usually represents the pronunciation pretty well; English spelling didn't get funky until much later on.
    – John Lawler
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 20:20

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Old English pronunciation is something of a mystery; what we do know is largely informed guess-work. I will, however, describe what I can.

The accent signifies a long vowel; in this case, pronounce it by elongating the o sound.

Pronounce the r by flicking your tongue once off the roof of your mouth. Your tongue will lightly tap the place where you press your tongue to pronounce l sounds. This is done similarly in Italian, Spanish, and Classical Latin pronunciation.

Pronounce the æ how you pronounce the a in cat, but never how you pronounce the a in father. It is somewhere between the a in father and the e in bet, which is why the Anglo-Saxons used the æ (a + e) to represent it.

The rest of the word is pronounced as in Modern English.

If anything is unclear, leave a comment and I will elaborate.

EDIT:

I forgot to say that the stress almost always goes on the first syllable of any word.

I decided that it would be easiest for me to record the word and upload it. Note that I am sick at the moment and my pronunciation will not be flawless, but it will give you the general idea.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/73358677/soncraeft.wav

As Peter Shor pointed out, we do not truly know how the Anglo-Saxon r sounded. I find that the trilled r fits better with the rest of the pronunciation, but, if you find it difficult, then go with whatever you think best.

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  • I don't think anybody really knows how the consonant r sounded in Old English, so if that pronunciation is hard for you, pronounce the r however you like.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 20:28
  • Ok, so we're thinking "sohn krafft" with the r said in any way I like?
    – John Bonney
    Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 20:33

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