Odinist Pronunciations

[hemrud]

I seem to remember a thread at the old board which mentioned new folk being criticised for mispronouncing words, of course the poster was ridiculing this act and I thought it would be a good addition to the newbies section to list some of the common words and the common pronunciations of them. I think it would be a great help to English only folk to be able to simply see how a word such as Blot or Mjollnir is pronounced, as many are hesitant to ask a question that makes them appear "stupid". I think it would be an encouraging and helpful addition.

[Norsk Blod]

i dont think any question is really stupid, even the most knowledgable of people had to learn it at some point. the only fault I see in this is the words can have verying pronounciations (and spellings) based on where the people are

[hemrud]

I agree of course there are almost no stupid questions but many people are in fact embarassed to ask what they percieve to be a simple or "stupid" question. I would think giving one or two common pronunciations would be fine. for example Ive heard Blot as blOt and as bloot/blUt. example
Blot- with the o pronounced as Oh! or as in oo like moon.
It doesnt have to be perfect just give the new guy a good rough idea on how to say it. Naturally this is intended for Non Northern Europeans.
I think it would help for those first learning and would give some confidence and comfort before going to meet other folk at their first group Blot. I would think the admin could whip out a quick list rather quickly. Lets face it most folk looking at "Mjollnir" for the first time (as English only language speakers) wouldnt have a clue how to pronounce it. Naturally the thread could evlove as people ask for more help.

[Norsk Blod]

i say blot with the oo in moon cause thats how I heard it for the first time

and mjolnir, i wasnt too challenged with cause I knew the J would be like a y because of where the word comes from

[StormWolf]

The same could be said about the pronounciation of Yggdrasil. Is it "yagg", "ygg", or "yagh"?

[Hengest]

Blot is pronounce in various ways but most commonly as Bloat in the US and as Blot (rhymes with spot) in the UK.

The former is more traditionally correct but all language changes in time and I am sure there are many other pronunciations. Some people get anal about it but most would just accept that you pronounce it differently.

I have held Blot with many "new" people and they have sometimes made errors of pronunciation but nobody really gives it a second thought.

[æinvargR]

Norsk Blod is close but the o should be more like the ou in how the Canadians say about - [o:] rather than [u:] (moon is with [u:]).

[hemrud]

oh well it was just a thought.

[Sigurd]

Well I'd pronounce Blot with the slight oo sound as well. The word definitely has a nordic sound, and in Scandinavia the long o often is an oo (like in Blod), which is why I'd pronounce it like that. But of course you can pronounce it differently. I'd also say it has to do with from where the person who uses the word comes from, there are accents everywhere, just use what you feel most comfortable with, I'd say.

[Ausswolf]

I've found alot of words confusing as an english speaker.
Simple ones like Asatru, Tyr, Mjollnir, Yggdrasil have all given me trouble. ahhsatrue, Tear, Myollnir and Yegdraysill ???

[Der Einzelgänger]

I recommend some German lessons. I took 5 years of german in high school and have no trouble with most of the Nordic pronunciations.

[hemrud]

I've found alot of words confusing as an english speaker.
Simple ones like Asatru, Tyr, Mjollnir, Yggdrasil have all given me trouble. ahhsatrue, Tear, Myollnir and Yegdraysill ???

This was my point, just a brief rundown on the most common ways to pronounce commonly used words. Its just to give folks just starting or looking a more comfortable feel. Knowing how to "say" the words makes them less foreign or intimidating and encourages the viewer to continue on. It doesnt have to be an end all dictionary just a start.

[Norsk Blod]

these are the way I say them, if their 'right' I dont know

asatru
a-saw-true (first 'a' like f 'a' ther)

tyr
tear

mjonlir
(cant think of any english equivilants) but like myollnir

yggrasil
Ig- draw-zill

[hemrud]

Yeah just like that.

[æinvargR]

I just thought of a song where you can hear how to pronounce blot. 3:55 into Bathory's Vinterblot, the last line of the song - "The vinterblot, a re-awakening, hail Nordland".

Tyr isn't pronounced as tear, the y is like ee in seen but with rounded lips, or like the very first sound in your.

[Norsk Blod]

that bathory song is where I have heard it

[Sigurd]

I've found alot of words confusing as an english speaker.
Simple ones like Asatru, Tyr, Mjollnir, Yggdrasil have all given me trouble. ahhsatrue, Tear, Myollnir and Yegdraysill ???

I also strongly recommend learning German or a Scandinavian language, I never have problems with pronounciations, being a native speaker of the German language... ;)

[Sigrdrifa Alfgifu]

I've found a lot of words confusing as an english speaker.
Simple ones like Asatru, Tyr, Mjollnir, Yggdrasil have all given me trouble. ahhsatrue, Tear, Myollnir and Yegdraysill ???

Glad to be of some qualified assistance on this subject.
For an English speaker, the pronounciation of those words are as follows:

Ásatrú: Ow-sa-true (the Á is accented, which means that it is pronounced as as a nasal English "ow" sound, not "ah".)

Mjollnir: Myook-nir (the pronounciation of "ll" in Old Norse and Old Icelandic is similar, though not identical to an english "k".)

Yggdrasill: Igg-drah-sik (The "y" is pronounced a bit like a cross between an English "i" and the "ou" sound in the French word "oui"....again the "ll" is like a "k" and the "a" is pronounced as in "cat".)

Some of the sounds in Old Norse do not have English or German equivalents, only close approximations.The Old Norse "ll" is much like the Welsh "ll", however.

[the_rayn]

I really like the idea of this! There are tons of names and words that stump me.. I'm reading The Sagas of Icelanders and you better believe I've sat there puzzling over names of people and places and then given up, never to try and say them out loud because I know I'd butcher them!

I'm 100% for this idea.

[Sigrdrifa Alfgifu]

O.K well here is a more thorough breakdown of Old Norse phonology for you:

a as in mann (G.)
á as in father (only rather more nasal)
e as in été (F.)
é as in reh (G.)
æ as in thraene (G.)
i as in fini (F.)
í as in rire (F.)
o as in repos (F.)
ó as in bote (G.)
u as in roux (F.)
ú as in droop
y as in tu (F.)
ý as in pur (F.)
ó as in broad
ø as in creux (F.) or sometimes peur (F.)
oe as in creuse (F.)
au as in house
ei as in they
ey as in raise
ð as in then (voiced)
þ as in thin (not voiced)

Please note, however, that this list is for someone who is familiar with French (F.) English and German (G.) phonology and that the comparisons are meant as approximations only, in my opinion they rarely exactly match the pronunciation of letters in another language.

[the_rayn]

Thank you SO much, I wrote that down so that I can take time and figure out how to pronounce the unfamiliar words I come across in my reading.. that's a HUGE help!

[Sigrdrifa Alfgifu]

You're most welcome!:)

[norse88]

I think somthing that would help like what helped me in learning the words was by showing the oonlots the 2 dots over the vowels,
I also know that as I had met other Odinist/wotanists in prison that different people pronounce them differently.
I hope that helped & that I did not add to any confusion.