Part 3 — (b) The Old Northern Consonants.
Reading edition
b.
O. N. b regularly remains b.
Is lost after m in gylmyr.
b > p initially pirrye.
d.
O. N. d regularly remains.
Is lost after n in hansell.
An epenthetic d appears after n in solande, ythand; after l in boldin and rangeld.
O. N. ld > ll in caller.
g.
O. N. g regularly remains g before guttural and palatal vowels alike.
g > ȝ before a palatal vowel in genȝeld, yhemsel.
O. N. g disappears after n in titlene.
g > ch in bawch, lawch.
On O. N. a + g, o + g, e + g, see the vowels.
p.
O. N. p regularly remains p.
p > ph finally in sumph.
t.
O. N. t regularly remains t.
t > tch in scratch.
Seems to have become d in cadie (O. N. kátr), but Dan. kådh may be the source.
An epenthetic t after n appears in eident.
k.
O. N. k regularly remains k.
k > ch finally in screch. Cp. also laiching.
O. N. ks (x) > ss in assletooth, wissle.
On O. N. sk, see s.
v.
O. N. v regularly becomes w: welter, witter, ware, werr, wicht, etc.
O. N. v is represented by v in vath, vittirly, vyndland, all in Bruce.
An epenthetic v appears after o (u) in crove, rove, unrufe.
ð, þ
O. N. ð, þ quite regularly > th: baith, bletherb, raith, buith, degraith, firth, garth, graith, ithand, lythe, mythe, hething, harth, grith, gyrth, waith, vath, sleuth, tath, skaith, wandreth, etc.
O. N. ð > d medially and finally in eident, ydlanlie, heid, red, duds, stud.
O. N. ð is lost in mauch.
O. N. þ initially remains in thrist, thra, thraif, tha, thir, thwaite, wan-threvin.
þ > t in tytt, tangle.
f.
O. N. f initially always remains.
Medially and finally f remains in cloff, nefe, lufe, laif.
Medially and finally f > v in: nieve, nevin, rive, lave, crave.
O. N. f > th in scarth (O. N. skarfr).
An epenthetic f appears in unrufe (v?).
s.
O. N. s regularly remains s.
s > ch in chyngill (?).
sk.
O. N. sk = sk initially medially and finally: skar, sker, skewit, skill, skugg, skrech, skant, scait, scool, scratch, scarth, skait, skail, scud, scudler, script, skyle, skeigh, busk, bask (dry), harsk, harskness, forjeskit, mensk(?).
O. N. sk > sh finally in dash (?).
sk > sh before a guttural vowel in shacklet (?), and schore (?).
O. N. sk before i (ī) > sh in shiel. Cp. skyle above.
sk > s finally in mense.
h.
O. N. h initially before vowels remains, except in aweband.
O. N. h initially before r, l, n, is lost: rad, rangale, ruse, lack, loup, nieve, etc.
O. N. ht, remains, is not assimilated to tt, e.g., sacht, unsaucht.
An inorganic h initially appears in hendir, hugsum.
hv.
O. N. hv regularly > qu, quh: quhelm, quey.
m, n, l, r.
O. N. m regularly remains.
m before t > n in skant, skantlin.
O. N. n always remains, nd is not assimilated to nn. Cp. Cu. winnle.
O. N. l initially remains.
Medially and finally generally remains.
O. N. l after o > w: bowdyne, bowne, bow.
l very frequently takes the place of w medially: golk, dolf.
An excrescent l appears in gylmyr.
O. N. r regularly remains.
Disappears before sk in bask, undergoes metathesis in gyrth.
Inflexional r remains in caller.