Page:A Danish and Dano-Norwegian grammar.djvu/21

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
DANISH SOUNDS.
7

Ærinde and Ærende errand (these two words may also be pronounced with i).

16. ə has a sound approaching that of French e in que, English i in bird. This sound only occurs in unaccented syllables, and its orthographic sign is e. Ex.: Gave gift, Gade street.

Some words may be pronounced and spelt with or without ə (e); Ex.: tusind and tusinde thousand, hundred and hundrede hundred, Ærind or Ærinde errand, Billed(e) picture, Embed(e) office, Arbeid(e) work, Legem(e) body, Madam(e), Himmerig(e) kingdom of heaven, Tind(e) peak; in the words Herre Master, Frue Mistress, Madame, Konge king, Fyrste prince, Greve count the final e is omitted before a name or another title; Herre is then spelt Hr.: Hr. Petersen Mr. P.

17. Immediately after another stressed vowel ə is often slurred in the pronunciation, so as almost to disappear: troəde believed. In some cases it is written but not pronounced at all; it can never be pronounced immediately after a single vowel with glottal catch (see § 76) nor after a short stressed vowel. In some cases there may be a choice between a long stressed vowel with pronounced ə and a short vowel without ə. The former is then used in more select language, and especially is the retaining of ə common in the passive form; Ex.: slaaes to be beaten, but slaas to fight, slaaet and slaa’t beaten, gaaet and gac’t gone. After i and u e is commonly retained (but befri liberate, forny renew, without e because of glottal catch).

An e is sometimes written without being pronounced, either to indicate length of the preceding vowel or to distinguish between different words of the same sound or words that although differing in sound would according to common rules have to be written in the same way. This e is called mute; Ex.: saa(e) saw, to distinguish it from saa so; fo(e)r (long o) went to distinguish from for, prp. for (short open å).

18. i has, when long (i·), about the same sound as English ee in see; Ex.: Mine mien, Pibe pipe, smile to smile.

When short it has the same sound as English i in fill; this sound occurs a) when the same word in another form or