Page:Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Tolkien and Gordon - 1925.djvu/162



The msot notable peculariarities of spelling in Sir Garain are:

1. The use of 3, which has its origin from two distinct letters ; it is (A) the development of the special shape of OE. g = g, and (B) a form of z. A is used for four distinct but related sounds:

(i) the sound of modern y in yox. Initially it is derived from OE. front spirantal g, as in jomge, jepe ; medially, it is a glide between vowels, as is shown by such spellings as fayryse 240, and the rhymes with Zyje 83, wyze 249.

(i1) The voiceless equivalent (as in German ick) of the preceding, chiefly in 3 from OE., ON. 44, gp : my3t, sle3t.

(iii) The sound of w derived from OE., ON. back-voiced spirant g: arse, sase, &c. The pronunciation @ is shewn by frequent spelling of the sound as w, as in bdawemen, lawe, &c.; by the use of for etymological w, in dr03e3 305 (cf. browe 2306) ; and by rhymes: innoze 514: blowe; lawe 1396 : knowe, &c.

(iv) A related voiceless sound, a back spirant with lip rounding, chiefly in 3 after a, o, #, from OE., ON. A%, gp: la3t, 03t, &c., less frequently from OE, -A4- or final -4 : jaj, lazande, &c.

B. 3=2 2 was used (both alone and in the combination 7z) in OFr. with the sound of #s: e. g. the pl. of éracket was drackets, spelled brache(t)z. This & in OFr. became simplified in pronunciation to ss and then voiceless s, and ultimately z (voiced). On this development is based the use in this text of £ as voiceless s in wa#3, ka3, got3, &c., and of 7 as voiceless s in for3, and probably Zedle;, &c. In the ending -e3, ? may have had the sound of s (voiced): bronde3, tornes, elle3, &c. ; also in jeferus §517.

2. Etymological 7 (y) in an unaccented syllable is often e; to distinguish this e it is marked with an acute accent in the edited text : meré, bodeé,

3. w is used to represent a diphthong, probably [/#]. The sources of the sound are OE. fow, i (never éaw), and OFr. #: Awe, remwe. More rarely, # is found: crue 2008, &c.

‘ 122

Go gle