Page:A Danish and Dano-Norwegian grammar.djvu/47

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NORWEGIAN SOUNDS.
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or lowered mid; the rounding is the same as corresponds to the mid sound (o) in the European languages generally. It may be long or short, the short sound being somewhat wider than the long one.

Note 1. Orthographic sign of the long sound is as a rule aa (å); Ex: Aal eel, graa grey, Vaar spring.

Exceptions: before g and v the sound of å is usually written o: over over, doven lazy, love to promise,Skov forest, og and, Sprog language; but if g represents the sound of k (see § 122), then the sound of å is written aa (å): Maage mew, pron. måke (or måge), Taage(k) fog, vaage(k) to wake, vaagen awake; also in Vaag (g) bay, Aag (g) yoke. Observe also Fole (å) colt, Torsdag (a) Thursday, vor (å) our, fore a prefix (forebygge to prevent, Foremers foretop).

note 2. The orthographic sign of the short sound as a rule is o; Ex.: Lod half an ounze, holde to hold, Konge king. Exceptions: aa is as a rule written before nd, representing the sound nn: Baan(d) ribbon, Han(d) hand; in the words Aadsel carcass, fraadse gourmandize, and others; furthermore in forms or words derived from corresponding words with a long aa; Ex.: graat neut. of graa grey, haar(d)t neut. of haar(d) hard, etc.

89. o has no exact equivalent outside of the Scandinavian languages, although it comes very near to the sound of English oo in “poor.” Its place of articulation is midway between “high” and “mid,” and the rounding corresponds to high (oo). It may be short or long. Orthographic sign for the long sound is o, for the short o or u; Ex. long: (jeg) lo (I) laughed, Horn horn, Hob multitude; Ex. short: Bonde peasant, op up (in Christiania pronounced åp), Buk (o) he-goat, tung (o) heavy. u serves to represent this sound before ng, nk and as a rule before m ending a syllable or followed by another consonant,f, k and gt. Furthermore in the following words: Kunst art, Spuns bung. Kul, coal, is sometimes pronounced kol.

90. Also the Scandinavian u is a peculiar sound without