I hav lately begun to play with writing with runes. It’s not near as hard as I thought it would be. In sum ways, it is even eazier.
I’m noting the 33-staf Anglo-Saxon futhor boosted by two other runes from other, later runes. I'm also shifting the meaning … sumwhat … of a few of them. So let's take a look:
Latin
|
Rune
|
comment
|
byspel
|
byspel
|
|
a
|
ᚪ
|
ᛗᚪᚾ
|
man
|
||
æ
|
ᚫ
|
ash
|
ᚫᛏ, ᛈᚫᚦ
|
at, path
|
|
ai, ay, ā
|
ᚫᚷ
|
long a
|
ᛞᚫᚷ, ᛒᚫᚷᛏ
|
day, bait
|
OE dæg
|
b
|
ᛒ
|
ᛒᚢᛞ
|
bud
|
||
ch
|
ᚳ
|
ᚳᚢᚱᚳ
|
church
|
||
cw
|
ᛢ
|
qu, kw
|
ᛢᛁᛁᚾ, ᛢᛠᚾ
|
queen
|
|
d
|
ᛞ
|
ᛞᚩᚸ
|
dog
|
||
e
|
ᛖ
|
ᛋᛖᛏ
|
set
|
||
ea, ee
|
ᛠ
|
ᛠᚱ, ᛒᛠᚾ
|
ear, bean
|
||
f
|
ᚠ
|
ᚠᚣᚱ
|
fire
|
||
g (soft)/y
|
ᚷ
|
ᚷᛠᚱ
|
year
|
||
g (hard)
|
ᚸ
|
ᚸᛖᛏ
|
get
|
||
h
|
ᚻ
|
ᚻᛟᛗ
|
home
|
||
i, y
|
ᛁ
|
short i
|
ᛋᛁᛏ
|
sit
|
|
ī
|
ᚣ
|
long i
|
ᚻᚣ, ᚠᚣᚱ
|
hi, fire
|
OE fȳr
|
j
|
ᛄ
|
ᛄᚢᛗᛈ
|
jump
|
||
zh
|
ᛃ
|
borrow'd
|
ᛈᛚᛖᛃᚢᚱ
|
plesure
|
|
k, hard c
|
ᛣ
|
ᛣᚫᚾ
|
can
|
||
l
|
ᛚ
|
ᛚᛁᛗᛈ
|
limp
|
||
m
|
ᛗ
|
ᛗᚪᚾ
|
man
|
||
n
|
ᚾ
|
ᚾᛟ
|
no
|
||
ng
|
ᛝ
|
ᛋᛁᛝ
|
sing
|
||
o
|
ᚩ
|
ᛏᚩᚾ
|
ton
|
||
ō
|
ᛟ
|
ᛏᛟᚾ
|
tone
|
||
oo
|
ᚩᚩ
|
o͞o
|
ᛈᚩᚩᛚ
|
pool
|
|
p
|
ᛈ
|
ᛏᚩᛈ
|
top
|
||
r
|
ᚱ
|
ᚱᚫᛏ
|
rat
|
||
s
|
ᛋ
|
ᛋᛖᛏ, ᛋᛁᛏ
|
set, sit
|
||
st
|
ᛥ
|
maybe z? sh?
|
ᛥᛟᚾ
|
stone
|
ᛋᛏᛟᚾ
|
t
|
ᛏ
|
ᛏᚩᛈ
|
top
|
||
th
|
ᚦ
|
ᚦᛁᚾ
|
thin
|
||
u, ū (last staf)
|
ᚢ
|
ᛒᚢᛏ, ᛞᚢ
|
but, do
|
||
ew, yu
|
ᛇ
|
ᚠᛇ
|
few
|
||
uu
|
ᚢᚢ
|
o͝o
|
ᚹᚢᚢᛞ, ᚻᚢᚢᛞ
|
wood, hood
|
|
v
|
ᚡ
|
borrow'd
|
ᛚᚢᚡ
|
luv
|
|
w
|
ᚹ
|
ᚹᛁᚾ
|
win
|
||
x
|
ᛉ
|
ᛒᚩᛉ
|
box
|
||
z
|
ᛎ or ᛊ or ᛥ?
|
borrow'd
|
ᚱᚣᛎ, ᛈᛁᛊᛊᚪ
|
rize, pizza
|
One of the first things that you must understand is that the runes were for Old English. Since taking on the Latin stafs in OE, the sounds of the stafs hav shifted and new ones hav been ek't. In my eyes, the same would hav likely hav happt with runes. Thus, I'v put in a few runes from other runic writing ways.
The next thing is to keep things fonetic. A straight translit from today’s English spelling not only is unneeded but unwanted!
Also, I had to think about how the stafs were noted in OE. For byspel, the staf y in OE had the sound of German ü OR ī. In OE fire was spelt fȳr. The diacritic (the bar over the staf) was often left off. Well, I can't get the bar over a rune, so I'v chosen to hav ᚣ (y, ȳ) to show the ī. Thus, I write today’s my as ᛗᚣ. But that means that there cannot be a straight setting of the y into ᚣ and there is no need to do so. For the short i there is ᛁ. Thus, July is written ᛄᛇᛚᚣ while brotherly is written ᛒᚱᚩᚦᛖᚱᛚᛁ. While the temptation is great to write I as ᛁ that doesn’t match the ī sound. Thus I write ᚣ.
The other vowels a bit of a mess as well. Sumtimes one must think along the lines of how it might be written fonetically in today’s English. Do could be du or doo. I'v chosen to go with ᛞᚢ and set the wiss that, as is often now, an ending vowel is long as in hi, be. To make the long u anywher else, it should be twaind … ᚢᚢ ‘uu’, ᛗᚢᚢᛏ ‘moot’, ᛗᛇᛏ ‘mute’ (myoot).
The ā sound as in day is found in OE as dæg. I keep this by noting ᚫᚷ. Thus day, make are: ᛞᚫᚷ, ᛗᚫᛣ. No silent e's!
One of the tuff ones at first was the for-, fore- forefasts. However, in OE, I hav found the for- forefast written as fer-. Indeed, often in English the forefast is said as fer. The say-way guide for forgiv is |fərˈgiv|. That solvs the problem. For the for- forefast, I write ᚠᛖᚱ- (fer-); for the fore- forefast ᚠᚩᚱ (for-). BTW, the matches up mor nearly to the German ver- forefast to which the for-, fer- forefast is akin. Thus, forgo is ᚠᛖᚱᚸᛟ; forego (meaning to precede, go before) is ᚠᚩᚱᚸᛟ; and forgiv is ᚠᛖᚱᚸᛁᚡ.
In one chart, the was listed at st and on another, also as a z. We don’t truly need an st but an sh would be good. As I write this, I'v chozen ᛊ for z. However, I still write s for plurals and declensions … thus is, givs. With the vowels unmuddl'd, one doesn't need the staf-twaining like kiss to show a short vowel but I still do it mor as a wunt. However, it is still good to show the long s as in hiss, lapss (lapse), and so forth.
Sadly, I can't get the runish thorn to cross like this Latin thorn: ꝥ which was often written for the. I sumtimes put on the thorn itself for the.
A byspel:
- Psalm 23 (in Anglish)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green fields:
he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He aneweth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of rightwizeness for his name’s sake.
Yea, tho I walk thru the dell of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they beqweem me.
Thou reddyest a board before me in the shadow of my foes:
thou anelst my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Wisly goodness and liss shall follow me all the days of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
ᛋᚪᛚᛗ 23
ᚦᛁ ᛚᚩᚱᛞ ᛁᛋ ᛗᚣ ᛋᚻᛖᛈᚪᚱᛞ, ᚣ ᛋᚻᚫᛚᛚ ᚾᚩᛏ ᚹᚪᚾᛏ᛫
ᚻᛁ ᛗᚫᚷᛣᛖᚦ ᛗᛁ ᛏᚢ ᛚᚣ ᛞᚩᚹᚾ ᛁᚾ ᚸᚱᛠᚾ ᚠᛁᛚᛞᛋ᛬
ᚻᛁ ᛚᛠᛞᛖᚦ ᛗᛁ ᛒᛖᛋᚣᛞ ᚦᛁ ᛋᛏᛁᛚᛚ ᚹᚫᛏᛖᚱᛋ᛫
ᚻᛁ ᚪᚾᛇᛖᛏᚻ ᛗᚣ ᛋᛟᛚ᛬
ᚻᛁ ᛚᛠᛞᛖᚦ ᛗᛁ ᛁᚾ ᚦᛁ ᛈᚫᚦᛋ ᚩᚡ ᚱᚣᛏᚹᚣᛊᚾᛖᛋᛋ ᚠᚩᚱ ᚻᛁᛋ ᚾᚫᚷᛗ’ᛋ ᛋᚫᚷᛣ᛫
ᚷᛖ ᚦᛟ ᚣ ᚹᚪᛚᛣ ᛏᚻᚱᚢ ᚦᛁ ᛞᛖᛚᛚ ᛁᚾ ᚦᛁ ᛋᚻᚫᛞᛟ ᚩᚡ ᛞᛖᚦ,
ᚣ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᚠᛠᚱ ᚾᚩ ᛠᚡᛁᛚ᛬ ᚠᚩᚱ ᚦᚩᚣ ᚪᚱᛏ ᚹᛁᚦ ᛗᛁ᛫
ᚦᚩᚢ ᚱᛖᛞᛞᛁᛖᛋᛏ ᚪ ᛒᚩᚱᛞ ᛒᛁᚠᚩᚱ ᛗᛁ ᛁᚾ ᛋᚻᚪᛞᛟ ᚩᚡ ᛗᚣ ᚠᛟᛋ᛬
ᚦᚩᚢ ᚪᚾᛠᛚᛖᛋᛏ ᛗᚣ ᚻᛖᛞ ᚹᛁᚦ ᚩᛁᛚ; ᛗᚣ ᛣᚢᛈ ᚱᚢᚾᚾᛖᚦ ᚩᚡᛖᚱ᛫
ᚹᛁᛋᛚᛁ ᚸᚢᚢᛞᚾᛖᛋᛋ ᚫᚾᛞ ᛚᛁᛋᛋ ᛋᚻᚪᛚᛚ ᚠᚩᛚᛚᛟ ᛗᛁ ᚪᛚᛚ ᚦᛁ ᛞᚫᚷᛋ ᚩᚡ ᛗᚣ ᛚᚣᚠ᛬
ᚫᚾᛞ ᚣ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᛞᚹᛖᛚᛚ ᛁᚾ ᚦᛁ ᚻᚩᚢᛋᛋ ᚩᚡ ᚦᛁ ᛚᚩᚱᛞ ᚠᚩᚱ ᛖᚡᛖᚱ᛫
