The pronunciation of hj- in Modern Faroese

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Faroese dispalys two different pronunciations of hj- in anlaut: [j] before the voiceless approximates [l̥] and [r̥] as in hjálpa ‘to help’, hjarta ‘heart’; [tʃ] elsewhere as in hjá ‘by, with’. This development from Old Norse [hj] comes via the intermediate stage [j̥], which later undergoes dissimilation of voice to [j] before voiceless approximates. A parallel development occurs in the Norn language of Orkney and Shetland, providing further evidence for a Faroese-Norn subgrouping of Insular Norse.
Original languageEnglish
JournalArkiv foer Nordisk Filologi
Volume129
Pages (from-to)233-244
Number of pages12
ISSN0066-7668
Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Humanities - Faroese, Norn, Insular Norse, language history, initial clusters, voiceless resonants, language subgrouping

ID: 126334046