Grapheme-Phoneme Correlations

(Abdullah bin Mohammed Aloutban)

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Abstract

In this paper, the author provides a historical review of the situation of orthography during the Old English period. Throughout its course, English went through two stages in developing its spelling system. The first is the use of the rune letters, known as futharc which the Germanic tribes brought with them when they arrived to Britain in the middle of the fifth century. These runes were found carved on stones, war shields, and tree trunks. The runic letter inventory included twenty nine symbols representing consonants, vowels, and diphthongs. Sound variations could not be determined due to the lack of enough documented records of these letters. The other stage marks the introduction of Latin spelling into English around the end of the sixth century. As Old English developed its dialects, variations in spelling, during this stage, have been documented and reflected significant differences among that language varieties. In addition, several letters, that were part of the old system, disappeared as a result of the deletion of the sounds they represented or their merger with other segments.
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