View source for Old Norse

{{Short description|North Germanic language}}
{{Distinguish|Old North (disambiguation){{!}}Old North|Old Norwegian}}
{{Other uses|Norse (disambiguation){{!}}Norse}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox language
| altname          = Old Nordic, Old Scandinavian
| nativename       = {{lang|non|dǫnsk tunga}} {{gloss|Danish tongue}}<br>{{lang|non|norrǿnt mál}} {{gloss|Northern speech}}
| ethnicity        = [[Norsemen]] and their descendants
| region           = [[Nordic countries]], [[Great Britain]], [[Ireland]], [[Isle of Man]], [[Normandy]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]], the [[Volga River|Volga]] and places in-between
| states           = [[Scandinavia]], [[Iceland]], [[Faroe Islands]], [[Greenland]] and other Norse settlements
| era              = Evolved from [[Proto-Norse]] in the 8th century, developed into the various [[North Germanic languages]] by the 15th century
| protoname        = [[Proto-Norse]] (attested)
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Germanic languages|Germanic]]
| fam3             = [[North Germanic languages|North Germanic]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Norse]] (attested)
| script           = [[Runic]], later [[Latin script|Latin]] ([[Old Norse alphabet]])
| iso2             = non
| iso3             = non
| glotto           = oldn1244
| glottorefname    = Old Norse
| notice           = IPA
| name             = Old Norse
}}
{{Old Norse topics}}
{{Norse people}}

'''Old Norse''' was a North Germanic language spoken in Scandinavia and in Norse settlements during the Viking Age and the early Middle Ages (approximately the 8th–14th centuries).<ref>{{cite web |title=Old Norse language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Norse-language |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> It is the conventional term for the medieval West and East Scandinavian dialects (often labelled Old West Norse and Old East Norse) that developed from Proto-Norse and later evolved into the modern North Germanic languages, including [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], [[Danish language|Danish]], and [[Swedish language|Swedish]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Old Norse |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100227567 |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Oxford Reference}}</ref>

Old Norse is attested in [[runic inscriptions]] (written in the [[Younger Futhark]]) and in numerous medieval manuscripts written with the [[Latin alphabet]]; its literary corpus includes the [[Poetic Edda]], the [[Prose Edda]], the [[Sagas of Icelanders|Icelandic sagas]], [[Skaldic poetry|skaldic verse]], law codes, and religious texts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Younger Futhark |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Younger-Futhark |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Icelandic language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Icelandic-language |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref> Contact between Old Norse speakers and other languages — particularly [[Old English]] and the [[Celtic languages]] — left a substantial legacy of loanwords and toponyms; many common English words such as ''egg'', ''knife'', ''sky'', and ''window'' derive from Old Norse.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of English words of Old Norse origin |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_words_of_Old_Norse_origin |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Wikipedia}}</ref>

Scholarly usage of the term ''Old Norse'' typically covers texts from the 11th to the 14th centuries, though periodization varies by region and by type of source (epigraphic, literary, or administrative).<ref>{{cite web |title=Old Norse language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Norse-language |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Encyclopaedia Britannica}}</ref>

== Geographical distribution ==
{{Old Norse language map}}
[[Old Icelandic]] was close to [[Old Norwegian]], and together they formed [[Old West Norse]], which was also spoken in [[Norsemen|Norse]] [[Norse settlements in Greenland|settlement]]s in [[Greenland]], the [[Faroes]], [[Ireland]], [[Scotland]], the [[Isle of Man]], northwest England (particularly Cumbria), and in [[Normandy]].<ref name="JohnsonEcyc">{{harvnb|Adams|1899|loc= "Scandinavian Languages", pp. 336–338}}</ref> [[Old East Norse]] was spoken in Denmark, Sweden, [[Kievan Rus']],<ref name="Nationalencyklopedin">{{citation| title = Nordiska språk| at = § ''Historia'', §§ ''Omkring 800–1100''| work = [[Nationalencyklopedin]]| language = sv | year = 1994}}</ref> eastern England, and [[Denmark|Danish]] [[Human settlement|settlement]]s in Normandy. The Old Gutnish dialect was spoken in [[Gotland]] and in various settlements in the East.

In the 11th century, Old Norse was the most widely spoken [[European language]], ranging from [[Vinland]] in the West to the [[Volga River]] in the East. In [[Kievan Rus']], it survived the longest in [[Veliky Novgorod]], probably lasting into the 13th century there.<ref name="Nationalencyklopedin" /> The age of the [[Swedish-speaking population of Finland]] is strongly contested, but [[Sweden|Swedish]] settlement had spread the [[language]] into the region by the time of the [[Second Swedish Crusade]] in the 13th century at the latest.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Finland – The Swedish Period |url=https://finland.fi/life-society/history-of-finland-the-swedish-period/ |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Finland.fi |publisher=Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland |quote=The Swedish conquest of Finland began in the 12th century. During the Second Swedish Crusade in the 13th century, Sweden consolidated its rule, and Swedish settlers brought their language and culture to the coastal areas of Finland.}}</ref>

== Modern descendants ==
{{Main|North Germanic languages}}

The modern descendants of the Old West Norse dialect are the West Scandinavian languages of [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]], [[Faroese language|Faroese]], [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]], and the extinct [[Norn language]] of [[Orkney]] and [[Shetland]], although Norwegian was heavily influenced by the East dialect, and is today more similar to East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) than to Icelandic and Faroese. The descendants of the Old East Norse dialect are the East Scandinavian languages of [[Danish language|Danish]], [[Swedish language|Swedish]] and [[Övdalian]], although Övdalian was heavily influenced by the West Dialect, and is sometimes considered to form its own group.

Among these, the grammar of Icelandic, Faroese and Övdalian have changed the least from Old Norse in the last thousand years, though the pronunciations of Icelandic and Faroese both have changed considerably from Old Norse. With Danish rule of the Faroe Islands, Faroese has also been influenced by Danish.

Both [[Middle English]] (especially [[Northumbrian Old English|northern English dialects]] within the area of the [[Danelaw]]) and [[Early Scots]] (including [[Lallans|Lowland Scots]]) were strongly [[List of English words of Old Norse origin|influenced by Norse]] and contained many Old Norse [[loanword]]s. Consequently, Modern English (including [[Scottish English]]), inherited a significant proportion of its vocabulary directly from Norse.

The development of [[Norman language|Norman French]] was also influenced by Norse. Through Norman, to a smaller extent, so was modern French.

Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse [[phoneme|phonemic]] writing system. Contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order. However, pronunciation, particularly of the vowel phonemes, has changed at least as much in Icelandic as in the other North Germanic languages.

Faroese retains many similarities but is influenced by Danish, Norwegian, and [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] ([[Scottish Gaelic|Scottish]] and/or [[Irish language|Irish]]).{{sfn|van der Auwera|König|1994|loc = "Faroese" (Barnes & Weyhe), p. 217}} Although Swedish, Danish and Norwegian have diverged the most, they still retain [[North Germanic languages#Mutual intelligibility|considerable mutual intelligibility]].{{sfn|Moberg|Gooskens|Nerbonne|Vaillette|2007}} Speakers of modern Swedish, Norwegian and Danish can mostly understand each other without studying their neighboring languages, particularly if speaking slowly. The languages are also sufficiently similar in writing that they can mostly be understood across borders. This could be because these languages have been mutually affected by each other, as well as having a similar development influenced by [[Middle Low German]].<ref>''See, e.g.'', {{harvnb|Harbert|2007|pp=7–10}}</ref>

=== Other influenced languages ===
Various languages unrelated to Old Norse and others not closely related have been heavily influenced by Norse, particularly the [[Norman language]]; to a lesser extent, [[Finnish language|Finnish]] and [[Estonian language|Estonian]]. Russian, [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and [[Latvian language|Latvian]] also have a few Norse loanwords. The words ''[[Rus (name)|Rus]]'' and ''Russia'', according to one theory, may be named after the [[Rus' people]], a Norse tribe, probably from present-day east-central Sweden. The current Finnish and Estonian words for Sweden are {{lang|fi|Ruotsi}} and {{lang|et|Rootsi}}, respectively.

A number of loanwords have been introduced into [[Irish language|Irish]], many associated with fishing and sailing.<ref>{{citation | title = Old Norse loanwords in modern Irish | first = Robert | last = Farren | type = thesis | year = 2014 | publisher = Lund University | url = http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=4861711&fileOId=4861798 | access-date = 5 September 2018 | archive-date = 16 August 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170816011551/http://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=4861711&fileOId=4861798 | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{citation| title = Norse loanwords in Old and Middle Irish | type= thesis | first = Aukje | last = Borkent | publisher = Utrecht University | year = 2014 | hdl= 1874/296646 }}</ref><ref>{{citation | url = http://irisharchaeology.ie/2013/11/some-irish-words-with-norse-origins/ | title = Some Irish words with Norse Origins | date = 21 November 2013 | work = irisharchaeology.ie | access-date = 5 September 2018 | archive-date = 5 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180905181116/http://irisharchaeology.ie/2013/11/some-irish-words-with-norse-origins/ | url-status = live }}</ref><ref>{{citation| title = The influence of Scandinavian on Irish | editor-first =Bo | editor-last= Almqvist | editor-link= Bo Almqvist | editor-first2= David | editor-last2= Greene | work = Proceedings of the Seventh Viking Congress | publisher = Dundalgan Press, Dundalk | pages =75–82 | last = Greene | first = D. | year = 1973 }}</ref> A similar influence is found in [[Scottish Gaelic]], with over one hundred loanwords estimated to be in the language, many of which are related to fishing and sailing.<ref>{{citation| title = Lexical imposition: Old Norse vocabulary in Scottish Gaelic | first = Thomas W. (Jr.)|last = Stewart | journal = Diachronica | volume = 21 | issue = 2 | year = 2004 | pages = 393–420 | doi=10.1075/dia.21.2.06ste}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Medievalists.net|date=13 April 2014|title=Old Norse Influence in Modern English: The Effect of the Viking Invasion|url=https://www.medievalists.net/2014/04/old-norse-influence-modern-english-effect-viking-invasion/|access-date=5 August 2020|website=Medievalists.net|language=en-US|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129013702/https://www.medievalists.net/2014/04/old-norse-influence-modern-english-effect-viking-invasion/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation| url =https://archive.org/details/norseinfluenceon00hend| title = The Norse influence on Celtic Scotland | last = Henderson | first = George | author-link = George Henderson (scholar)| year= 1910 | pages = 108–204 | publisher = Glasgow : J. Maclehose and Sons }}</ref>

== Phonology ==

=== Vowels ===
Old Norse vowel phonemes mostly come in pairs of long and short. The [[Old Norse orthography#Normalized spelling|standardized orthography]] marks the long vowels with an acute accent. In medieval manuscripts, it is often unmarked but sometimes marked with an accent or through [[gemination]].
[[File:Jackson speaking Old Norse.webm|thumb|[[Jackson Crawford]] speaking Old Norse]]
Old Norse had nasalized versions of all ten vowel qualities.<ref name="CleasbyA" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon|1874|loc= p.1, "A"}}</ref>{{obsolete source|date=June 2020}} These occurred as allophones of the vowels before nasal consonants and in places where a nasal had followed it in an older form of the word, before it was absorbed into a neighboring sound. If the nasal was absorbed by a stressed vowel, it would also lengthen the vowel. This nasalization also occurred in the other Germanic languages, but were not retained long. They were noted in the [[First Grammatical Treatise]], and otherwise might have remained unknown. The First Grammarian marked these with a dot above the letter.<ref name="CleasbyA" group="cv" /> This notation did not catch on, and would soon be obsolete. Nasal and oral vowels probably merged around the 11th century in most of Old East Norse.{{sfn|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch. XVII §202 "The typological development of the Nordic languages I: Phonology" (H. Sandøy) : ''Old East Nordic'', pp. 1856, 1859}} However, the distinction still holds in [[Dalecarlian dialects]].{{sfn|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch. XVII §202 "The typological development of the Nordic languages I: Phonology" (H. Sandøy) : ''Old West Nordic'', p. 1859}} The dots in the following vowel table separate the oral from [[Nasal vowel|nasal]] phonemes.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Generic vowel system {{Circa|9th}}–12th centuries
|-
!  rowspan=2 |
!! colspan=4 scope="col" | [[Front vowel]]s
!! colspan=4 scope="col" | [[Back vowel]]s
|-
!  colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Unrounded]]
!! colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Roundedness|Rounded]]
!  colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Unrounded]]
!! colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Roundedness|Rounded]]
|-
! scope="row" | [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} • {{IPA link|ĩ}} || {{IPA link|iː}} • {{IPA link|ĩː}} || {{IPA link|y}} • {{IPA link|ỹ}} || {{IPA link|yː}} • {{IPA link|ỹː}} || || || {{IPA link|u}} • {{IPA link|ũ}} || {{IPA link|uː}} • {{IPA link|ũː}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} • {{IPA link|ẽ}} || {{IPA link|eː}} • {{IPA link|ẽː}} || {{IPA link|ø}} • {{IPA link|ø̃}} || {{IPA link|øː}} • {{IPA link|ø̃ː}} || || || {{IPA link|o}} • {{IPA link|õ}} || {{IPA link|oː}} • {{IPA link|õː}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Open vowel|Open]]/[[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} • {{IPA link|ɛ̃}} || {{IPA link|ɛː}} • {{IPA link|ɛ̃ː}} || {{IPA link|œ}} • {{IPA link|œ̃}} || || {{IPA link|a}} • {{IPA link|ã}} || {{IPA link|aː}} • {{IPA link|ãː}} || {{IPA link|ɔ}} • {{IPA link|ɔ̃}} || {{IPA link|ɔː}} • {{IPA link|ɔ̃ː}}
|}

Note: The open or open-mid vowels may be transcribed differently:
* {{IPA|/æ/}} = {{IPA|/ɛ/}}
* {{IPA|/ɒ/}} = {{IPA|/ɔ/}}
* {{IPA|/ɑ/}} = {{IPA|/a/}}

Sometime around the 13th century, {{IPA|/ɔ/}} (spelled {{angbr|ǫ}}) merged with {{IPA|/ø/}} or {{IPA|/o/}} in most dialects except [[#Old Danish|Old Danish]], and Icelandic where {{IPA|/ɔ/}} ({{lang|non|ǫ}}) merged with {{IPA|/ø/}}. This can be determined by their distinction within the 12th-century [[First Grammatical Treatise]] but not within the early 13th-century [[Prose Edda]]. The nasal vowels, also noted in the First Grammatical Treatise, are assumed to have been lost in most dialects by this time (but notably they are retained in [[Elfdalian]] and other dialects of [[Ovansiljan]]). See [[#Old Icelandic|Old Icelandic]] for the mergers of {{IPA|/øː/}} (spelled {{angbr|œ}}) with {{IPA|/ɛː/}} (spelled {{angbr|æ}}) and {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (spelled {{angbr|ę}}) with {{IPA|/e/}} (spelled {{angbr|e}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Generic vowel system {{Circa|13th}}–14th centuries
|-
!  rowspan=2 |
!! colspan=4 scope="col" | [[Front vowel]]s
!! colspan=4 scope="col" | [[Back vowel]]s
|-
!  colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Roundedness|Unrounded]]
!! colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Roundedness|Rounded]]
!  colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Unrounded]]
!! colspan=2 scope="col" | [[Roundedness|Rounded]]
|-
! scope="row" | [[High vowel|High]]
| {{IPA link|i}} || {{IPA link|iː}} || {{IPA link|y}} || {{IPA link|yː}} || || || {{IPA link|u}} || {{IPA link|uː}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} || {{IPA link|eː}} || {{IPA link|ø}} || {{IPA link|øː}} || || || {{IPA link|o}} || {{IPA link|oː}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Low vowel|Low]]/[[Low-mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}} || {{IPA link|ɛː}} || || || {{IPA link|a}} || {{IPA link|aː}} || || &nbsp;
|}

Old Norse had three [[diphthong]] phonemes: {{IPA|/ɛi/}}, {{IPA|/ɔu/}}, {{IPA|/øy ~ ɛy/}} (spelled {{angbr|ei}}, {{angbr|au}}, {{angbr|ey}} respectively). In East Norse these would [[monophthongization|monophthongize]] and merge with {{IPA|/eː/}} and {{IPA|/øː/}}, whereas in West Norse and its descendants the diphthongs remained.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ History of Old Norse and Old Icelandic vowels
!  scope="col" | Proto-Germanic
!! scope="col" | Northwest Germanic
!! scope="col" width=100px | Primitive Old West Norse
!! scope="col" | Old Icelandic<br>(1st Grammarian)
!! scope="col" width=100px | Later Old Icelandic
!! scope="col" | Example (Old Norse)
|-
| rowspan='4'| *a *{{IPAblink|ɑ}} || *a || {{IPA|a}} ; {{angbr|a}} || {{IPA|a}} || {{IPA|a}} || {{lang|non|land}} {{gloss|land}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*landą}}
|-
| *a (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|ɛ}} ; {{angbr|ę}} || {{IPA|e}} ; {{angbr|e}} || {{IPA|e}} || {{lang|non|menn}} {{gloss|men}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*manniz}}
|-
| *a {{nowrap|(+''u/w''-mut)}} || {{IPA|ɔ}} ;<br>{{angbr|ǫ}} || {{IPA|ɔ}} || {{IPA|ø}} ;<br>{{angbr|ö}} || {{lang|non|lǫnd}} {{gloss|lands}} < {{lang|mis|*landu}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*landō}} ;<br> {{lang|non|sǫngr}} {{gloss|song}} < {{lang|non|sǫngr}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*sangwaz}}
|-
| *a {{nowrap|(+''i''-mut}} {{nowrap|+''w''-mut)}} || {{IPA|œ}} ;<br>{{angbr|ø₂}} || {{IPA|ø}} || {{IPA|ø}} ;<br>{{angbr|ö}} || {{lang|non|gøra}} {{gloss|to make}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*garwijaną}}
|-
| rowspan='3'| *ē *{{IPAblink|æː}} || *aː || {{IPA|aː}} ; {{angbr|á}} || {{IPA|aː}} || {{IPA|aː}} || {{lang|non|láta}} {{gloss|to let}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*lētaną}}
|-
| *aː (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|ɛː}} ; {{angbr|æ}} || {{IPA|ɛː}} || {{IPA|ɛː}} || {{lang|non|mæla}} {{gloss|to speak}} < {{lang|mis|*mālijan}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*mēlijaną}}
|-
| *aː (+''u''-mut) || {{IPA|ɔː}} ; {{angbr|ǫ́}} || {{IPA|ɔː}} || {{IPA|aː}} ; {{angbr|á}} || {{lang|non|mǫ́l}} {{gloss|meals}} < {{lang|mis|*mālu}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*mēlō}}
|-
| rowspan='4'| *e || *e || {{IPA|e}} ;<br>{{angbr|e}} || {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|e}} || {{lang|non|sex}} {{gloss|six}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*seks}} ;<br>{{lang|non|bresta}} {{gloss|to burst}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*brestaną}}
|-
| *e {{nowrap|(+''u/w''-mut)}} || {{IPA|ø}} ; {{angbr|ø₁}} || {{IPA|ø}} || {{IPA|ø}} ; {{angbr|ö}} || {{lang|non|tøgr}} {{gloss|ten}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*teguz}}
|-
| *e (broken) || {{IPA|ea}} ; {{angbr|ea}} || {{IPA|ja}} ; {{angbr|ja}} || {{IPA|ja}} || {{lang|non|gjalda}} {{gloss|to repay}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*geldaną}}
|-
| *e (broken {{nowrap|+ ''u/w''-mut}}) || {{IPA|eo ~ io}} ;<br>{{angbr|eo ~ io}} || {{IPA|jo}} > {{IPA|jɔ}} ;<br>{{angbr|jǫ}} || {{IPA|jø}} ;<br>{{angbr|jö}} || {{lang|non|skjǫldr}} {{gloss|shield}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*skelduz}}
|-
| *ē₂ *{{IPAblink|eː}} || *eː || {{IPA|eː}} ; {{angbr|é}} || {{IPA|eː}} || {{IPA|eː}} || {{lang|non|lét}} {{gloss|to let {{abbr|{{SC|pst}}|past tense}}}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*lē₂t}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *i || *i || {{IPA|i}} ; {{angbr|i}} || {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|i}} || {{lang|non|mikill}} {{gloss|great}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*mikilaz}}
|-
| *i (+''w''-mut) || {{IPA|y}} ; {{angbr|y}} || {{IPA|y}} || {{IPA|y(ː)}} || {{lang|non|slyngva}} {{gloss|to sling}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*slingwaną}}
|-
| *ī || *iː || {{IPA|iː}} ; {{angbr|í}} || {{IPA|iː}} || {{IPA|iː}} || {{lang|non|líta}} {{gloss|to look}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*lītaną}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *ō {{IPAblink|ɔː}} <br>/*ā *{{IPAblink|ɑː}} || *oː || {{IPA|oː}} ; {{angbr|ó}} || {{IPA|oː}} || {{IPA|oː}} || {{lang|non|fór}} {{gloss|went}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*fōr}} ;<br /> {{lang|non|mót}} {{gloss|meeting}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*mōtą}}
|-
| *oː (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|øː}} ; {{angbr|œ}} || {{IPA|øː}} || {{IPA|ɛː}} ; {{angbr|æ}} || {{lang|non|mœðr}} {{gloss|mothers}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*mōdriz}}
|-
| rowspan='3'| *u || *u || {{IPA|u}} ; {{angbr|u}} || {{IPA|u}} || {{IPA|u}} || {{lang|non|una}} {{gloss|to be content}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*unaną}}
|-
| *u (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|y}} ; {{angbr|y}} || {{IPA|y}} || {{IPA|y}} || {{lang|non|kyn}} {{gloss|race}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*kunją}}
|-
| *u (+''a''-mut) || {{IPA|o}} ; {{angbr|o}} || {{IPA|o}} || {{IPA|o}} || {{lang|non|fogl}}/{{lang|non|fugl}} {{gloss|bird}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*fuglaz}} ;<br>{{lang|non|morginn}} {{gloss|morning}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*murganaz}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *ū || *uː || {{IPA|uː}} ; {{angbr|ú}} || {{IPA|uː}} || {{IPA|uː}} || {{lang|non|drúpa}} {{gloss|to droop}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*drūpaną}}
|-
| *uː (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|yː}} ; {{angbr|ý}} || {{IPA|yː}} || {{IPA|yː}} || {{lang|non|mýss}} {{gloss|mice}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|mūsiz}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *ai *{{IPAblink|ɑi̯}} || *ai || {{IPA|ai}} > {{IPA|ɛi}} ; {{angbr|ei}} || {{IPA|ɛi}} || {{IPA|ɛi}} || {{lang|non|bein}}, [[Old Gutnish|Gut.]] {{lang|mis|bain}} {{gloss|bone}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*bainą}}
|-
| *ai (+''w''-mut) || {{IPA|øy}} ; {{angbr|ey ~ øy}} || {{IPA|øy}} ; {{angbr|ey}}<ref name="FromOldNordic" /> || {{IPA|ɛy}} || {{lang|non|kveykva}} {{gloss|to kindle}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*kwaikwaną}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *au *{{IPAblink|ɑu̯}} || *au || {{IPA|au}} > {{IPA|ɔu}} ; {{angbr|au}} || {{IPA|ɔu}} || {{IPA|au}} || {{lang|non|lauss}} {{gloss|loose}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*lausaz}}
|-
| *au (+''i''-mut) || {{IPA|øy}} ; {{angbr|ey ~ øy}} || {{IPA|øy}} ; {{angbr|ey}} || {{IPA|ɛy}} || {{lang|non|leysa}} {{gloss|to loosen}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*lausijaną}}
|-
| rowspan='2'| *eu || *eu || {{IPA|eu}} ; {{angbr|eu}} || {{IPA|juː}} ; {{angbr|jú}} || {{IPA|juː}} || {{lang|non|djúpr}} {{gloss|deep}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*deupaz}}
|-
| *eu (+dental) || {{IPA|eo}} ; {{angbr|eo}} || {{IPA|joː}} ; {{angbr|jó}} || {{IPA|juː}} ; {{angbr|jú}} || {{lang|non|bjóða}}/{{lang|non|bjúða}} {{gloss|to offer}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*beudaną}}
|-
| *V̨ || *Ṽ || {{IPA|Ṽ}} || {{IPA|Ṽ}} || {{IPA|V}} || {{lang|non|komȧ}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*kwemaną}} {{gloss|to come, arrive}} ;<br> [[#Old West Norse|OWN]] {{lang|non|vėtr/vėttr}} < {{lang|non|vintr}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*wintruz}} {{gloss|winter}}
|-
| *V̨̄ || *Ṽː || {{IPA|Ṽː}} || {{IPA|Ṽː}} || {{IPA|Vː}} || {{lang|non|hȧ́r}} {{gloss|shark}} < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*hanhaz}} ; <br> {{lang|non|ȯ́rar}} {{gloss|our}} (pl.) < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*unseraz}} ;<br> {{lang|non|ø̇́rȧ}} {{gloss|younger}} (acc. neut. wk.<ref name="CleasbyA" group="cv" />) < {{lang|gem-x-proto|*junhizą}}{{Sfn|Haugen|1950|pp=4–64}}
|}

=== Consonants ===
Old Norse has six plosive phonemes, {{IPA|/p/}} being rare word-initially and {{IPA|/d/}} and {{IPA|/b/}} pronounced as voiced fricative [[allophone]]s between vowels except in compound words (e.g. {{lang|non|veðrabati}}), already in the [[Proto-Germanic language]] (e.g. {{lang|gem-x-proto|*b}} *{{IPA|[β]}} > {{IPA|[v]}} between vowels). The {{IPA|/ɡ/}} phoneme was pronounced as {{IPA|[ɡ]}} after an {{IPA|/n/}} or another {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and as {{IPA|[k]}} before {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/t/}}. Some accounts have it as a voiced velar fricative {{IPA|[ɣ]}} in all cases, and others have that realisation only in the middle of words and between vowels (with it otherwise being realised {{IPA|[ɡ]}}).<ref>{{citation| first = Orrin W. |last = Robinson |author-link=Orrin W. Robinson (philologist) | title = Old English and Its Closest Relatives| page =83| year = 1993}}</ref><ref name="Sweet">{{harvnb|Sweet|1895|p=5}}</ref>{{Clarify|date=March 2010}}<!-- reason=Scope of source in regards to {{IPA|/k/}} before {{IPA|/s/}}, {{IPA|/t/}}; In general or in OIC? Date? --> The Old East Norse /ʀ/ was an [[apical consonant]], with its precise position unknown; it is reconstructed as a palatal [[sibilant]].{{sfn|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch. XVII §202 "The typological development of the Nordic languages I: Phonology" (H. Sandøy) : ''Common Nordic'', p.1855}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schalin |first1=Johan |title=Preliterary Scandinavian Sound Change Viewed From the East |journal=Nordica Helsingiensia |date=2018 |volume=54 |pages=146–147}}</ref> It descended from Proto-Germanic *z and eventually developed into {{IPA|/r/}}, as had already occurred in Old West Norse.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! rowspan="2" | &nbsp;
! rowspan='2' | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! colspan='2' | [[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
! colspan='2' | [[Dorsal consonant|Dorsal]]
! rowspan='2' | [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|m}}}}
| colspan='2' style="border-right;" | {{IPA|{{IPA link|n̪|n}}}}
| colspan='2' style="border-left;" | {{IPA|({{IPA link|ŋ}})}}
|
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Plosive]]
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|p}} {{IPA link|b}}}}
| colspan='2' | {{IPA|{{IPA link|t̪|t}} {{IPA link|d̪|d}}}}
| colspan='2' | {{IPA|{{IPA link|k}} {{IPA link|ɡ}}}}
|
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Fricative]]
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|f}} ({{IPA link|v}})}}
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|θ}} {{IPA link|ð}}}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA|ʀ}}{{efn|name=rfromz|Reconstructed as {{IPA|[{{IPA link|ɹ̠˔}}]}} when part of the stem of a word with a voiceless allophone {{IPA|[{{IPA link|ɹ̠̊˔}}]}} word-finally when not part of the stem.<!--Applies to voiceless allophone-->}}
| style="border-right;" | {{IPA|({{IPA link|x}}) ({{IPA link|ɣ}})}}
| style="border-left;" | {{IPA|{{IPA link|h}}}}
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
|
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|r}}}}
|
|
|
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Glide consonant|Glide]]
|
|
|
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|j}}}}
| {{IPA|{{IPA link|w}}}}
|
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | [[Lateral consonant|Lateral]]
|
| colspan='2' | {{IPA|{{IPA link|l}}}}
|
|
|
|}
{{notelist}}

The pronunciation of {{angbr|hv}} is unclear, but it may have been {{IPA|/xʷ/}} (the assumed Proto-Germanic pronunciation), {{IPA|/hʷ/}} or the similar phoneme {{IPA|/ʍ/}}. Unlike the three other digraphs, it was retained much longer in all dialects. Without ever developing into a voiceless sonorant in Icelandic, it instead underwent [[fortition]] to a plosive {{IPA|/kv/}}, which suggests that instead of being a voiceless sonorant, it retained a stronger frication. In some Icelandic dialects it is still preserved as {{IPA|/xʷ/}} or {{IPA|/xv/}}.<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Höskuldur |last1=Þráinsson |first2=Kristján |last2=Árnason |year=2017 |title=Íslenskar mállýskur |trans-title=Icelandic dialects |at=3.1.2 Mállýskueinkenni á Suðausturlandi |url=https://ait.arnastofnun.is/grein.php?id=706 |access-date=25 April 2025 |website=Málsgreinar |language=is}}</ref>

=== Accent ===
{{See also|Stød|Norwegian phonology#Accent|Swedish phonology#Prosody|l1=Danish stød|l2=Norwegian tonal stress|l3=Swedish tonal stress}}Old Norse had a stress accent with primary stress generally on the first syllable of the word, a feature reflected particularly in the conservative modern descendants Icelandic and Faroese.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old Norse language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Old-Norse-language |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> Evidence from poetic metre, orthographic marks, and later phonological developments suggests that a contrastive prosodic feature—often reconstructed as a pitch or tonal distinction—was already forming in late Proto-Norse or early Old Norse.<ref>{{cite web |author=Michael Barnes and Anthony Faulkes |title=A New Introduction to Old Norse |url=https://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/NION-1.pdf |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Viking Society for Northern Research}}</ref> This system later contributed to the development of the modern Swedish and Norwegian tonal accents (traditionally called Accent 1 and Accent 2).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Riad |first=Tomas |title=The origin of Scandinavian tone accents |url=https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/The-origin-of-Scandinavian-tone-accents-Riad/486bb27efc728264215f88048f2be0823652e3f4 |journal=Semantics Scholar |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref>

The emergence of these tonal contrasts is commonly linked to the interaction of syllable weight, vowel length changes, and the reduction of unstressed syllables during the Viking Age and early Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gjert Kristoffersen |title=The Development of Tonal Dialects in Scandinavian Languages |url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/dfaf/02b73e492f361c019acb751dfba6f79546f0.pdf |access-date=30 October 2025 |website=Semantic Scholar}}</ref> The precise dating and mechanism of these prosodic changes remain debated among scholars. Some recent studies argue for a “peak delay” model of tonal development rather than an inherited double-peaked melody,<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kristoffersen |first=Gjert |year=2021 |title=Tonal Variation and Change in Dalarna Swedish |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-germanic-linguistics/article/tonal-variation-and-change-in-dalarna-swedish/C36F1CE49C13979A0E6E616F127FAE4C |journal=Journal of Germanic Linguistics |publisher=Cambridge University Press |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref> while others reinterpret the process as a later phonologization of earlier rhythmic contrasts.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Riad |first=Tomas |year=2023 |title=The explananda in North Germanic Tonogenesis |url=https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/ASJU/article/download/25974/24954/110929 |journal=ASJU |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref>

Icelandic and Faroese retained a primarily stress-based system and did not develop the two-way tonal accent distinction found across much of mainland Norway and Sweden, while Danish developed the related phenomenon of ''stød'' in many varieties.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110879131-008/html |title=The First Grammatical Treatise |publisher=De Gruyter |year=2024 |editor=Hreinn Benediktsson |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Hilmarsdóttir |first=S. |year=2025 |title=From the Aeneid to Accent Theory |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12138-025-00716-1 |journal=The Classical Quarterly |publisher=Springer |access-date=30 October 2025}}</ref>

Primary [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] in Old Norse falls on the [[word stem]], so that {{lang|non|hyrjar}} would be pronounced {{IPA|/ˈhyrjar/}}. In compound words, secondary stress falls on the second stem (e.g. {{lang|non|lærisveinn}}, {{IPA|/ˈlɛːɾiˌswɛinː/}}).<ref name="ProseReader">{{harvnb|Vigfússon|Powell|1879|loc= Ch. 1}}</ref>

== Orthography ==
{{Main|Old Norse orthography}}
Unlike Proto-Norse, which was written with the [[Elder Futhark]], [[runic]] Old Norse was originally written with the [[Younger Futhark]], which had only 16 letters. Because of the limited number of runes, several runes were used for different sounds, and long and short vowels were not distinguished in writing. [[Medieval runes]] came into use some time later.

As for the [[Latin alphabet]], there was no standardized orthography in use in the Middle Ages. A modified version of the letter [[wynn]] called [[vend (letter)|vend]] was used briefly for the sounds {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/v/}}, and {{IPA|/w/}}. Long vowels were sometimes marked with acutes but also sometimes left unmarked or geminated. The [[Old Norse orthography#Normalized spelling|standardized Old Norse spelling]] was created in the 19th century and is, for the most part, phonemic. The most notable deviation is that the nonphonemic difference between the [[voiced dental fricative|voiced]] and the [[voiceless dental fricative]] is marked. The oldest texts and [[runic inscriptions]] use [[thorn (letter)|''þ'']] exclusively. Long vowels are denoted with [[acute accent|acutes]]. Most other letters are written with the same glyph as the [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] phoneme's grapheme, except as shown in the above tables.

== Phonological processes ==
=== Ablaut ===
[[Indo-European ablaut|Ablaut]] patterns are groups of vowels which are swapped, or ''ablauted,'' in the [[Syllable nucleus|nucleus]] of a word. [[Old Norse morphology#Strong verbs|Strong verbs]] ablaut the [[Lemma (morphology)|lemma]]'s nucleus to derive the past forms of the verb. This parallels English conjugation, where, e.g., the nucleus of ''sing'' becomes ''sang'' in the past tense and ''sung'' in the past participle. Some verbs are derived by ablaut, as the [[Old Norse morphology#Present-preterite verbs|present-in-past verbs]] do by consequence of being derived from the past tense forms of strong verbs.

=== Umlaut ===
{{See also|Germanic umlaut|Old Norse morphology#Before Old Norse|l2=Old Norse morphophonology}}

Umlaut or mutation is an [[assimilation (linguistics)|assimilatory]] process acting on vowels preceding a vowel or semivowel of a different [[vowel backness]]. In the case of ''i''-umlaut and ''ʀ''-umlaut, this entails a fronting of back vowels, with retention of lip rounding. In the case of ''u''-umlaut, this entails [[labialization]] of unrounded vowels. Umlaut is phonemic and in many situations grammatically significant as a side effect of losing the [[Proto-Germanic language#Morphology|Proto-Germanic morphological suffixes]] whose vowels created the umlaut [[allophones]].

Some {{IPA|/y/}}, {{IPA|/yː/}}, {{IPA|/ø/}}, {{IPA|/øː/}}, {{IPA|/ɛ/}}, {{IPA|/ɛː/}}, {{IPA|/øy/}},<ref name="FromOldNordic" /> and all {{IPA|/ɛi/}} were obtained by [[i-mutation|''i''-umlaut]] from {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/uː/}}, {{IPA|/o/}}, {{IPA|/oː/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/aː/}}, {{IPA|/au/}}, and {{IPA|/ai/}} respectively. Others were formed via ''ʀ''-umlaut from {{IPA|/u/}}, {{IPA|/uː/}}, {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/aː/}}, and {{IPA|/au/}}.<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" />

Some {{IPA|/y/}}, {{IPA|/yː/}}, {{IPA|/ø/}}, {{IPA|/øː/}}, and all {{IPA|/ɔ/}}, {{IPA|/ɔː/}} were obtained by ''u''-umlaut from {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/iː/}}, {{IPA|/e/}}, {{IPA|/eː/}}, and {{IPA|/a/}}, {{IPA|/aː/}} respectively. See [[#Old Icelandic|Old Icelandic]] for information on {{IPA|/ɔː/}}.

{{IPA|/œ/}} was obtained through a simultaneous ''u''- and ''i''-umlaut of {{IPA|/a/}}. It appears in words like {{wikt-lang|non|gera}} (''{{lang|non|gøra}}'', ''{{lang|non|gjǫra}}'', ''{{lang|non|geyra}}''), from Proto-Germanic *{{wikt-lang|gem-x-proto|garwijaną}}, and commonly in verbs with a velar consonant before the suffix like {{wikt-lang|non|søkkva}} < *{{wikt-lang|gem-x-proto|sankwijaną}}.<ref name="CleasbyOE" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon|1874|loc = pp.&nbsp;761–762 (Introduction to Letter Ö (Ø))}}</ref>

OEN often preserves the original value of the vowel directly preceding runic ({{lang|non|ᛉ}}, {{transliteration|non|ʀ}}) while OWN receives ''ʀ''-umlaut. Compare runic OEN ''{{lang|non|glaʀ, haʀi, hrauʀ}}'' with OWN ''{{lang|non|gler, heri}}'' (later ''{{lang|non|héri}}''), ''{{lang|non|hrøyrr/hreyrr}}'' {{gloss|glass}}, {{gloss|hare}}, {{gloss|pile of rocks}}.

==== U-umlaut ====
''U''-umlaut is more common in Old West Norse in both phonemic and allophonic positions, while it only occurs sparsely in post-runic Old East Norse and even in runic Old East Norse.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ Comparison demonstrating ''U''-Umlaut in Swedish<ref>{{citation | last1 = Benediktsson | first1 = H. | title = Some Aspects of Nordic Umlaut and Breaking | journal = Language | volume = 39 | issue = 3 | pages = 409–431 | doi = 10.2307/411124 | year = 1963 | jstor = 411124 }}</ref><ref name=Iversen>{{harvnb|Iversen|1961|pp=24-}}</ref>
|-
! scope="col" rowspan=2 | Meaning
!! scope="col" rowspan=2 | West Old Norse
!! scope="col" rowspan=2 | [[Old Swedish]]{{ref label|id0|1}}
!! scope="col" colspan=2 | Modern Swedish
!! scope="col" colspan=2 | Icelandic
|-
! scope="col | Transcription !! scope="col" | IPA
! scope="col | Transcription !! scope="col" | IPA
|-
| Guardian / Caretaker || {{wikt-lang|non|v'''ǫ'''rðr}} || {{lang|mis|v'''a'''rþer}} || {{wikt-lang|sv|v'''å'''rd}} || {{IPA|sv|voːɖ|}} || {{wikt-lang|is|v'''ö'''rður}} || {{IPA|is|ˈvœrðʏr|}}
|-
| Eagle || {{wikt-lang|non|'''ǫ'''rn}} || {{lang|mis|'''ø'''rn}} || {{wikt-lang|sv|'''ö'''rn}} ||{{IPA|sv|œːɳ|}} || {{wikt-lang|is|'''ö'''rn}} || {{IPA|is|œrtn|}}
|-
| Earth || {{wikt-lang|non|j'''ǫ'''rð}} || {{lang|mis|[[wikt:iorþ#Old Swedish|i'''o'''rþ]]}} || {{wikt-lang|sv|j'''o'''rd}}{{ref label|id1|2}} || {{IPA|sv|juːɖ|}} || {{wikt-lang|is|j'''ö'''rð}} || {{IPA|is|jœrð|}}
|-
| Milk || {{wikt-lang|non|mj'''ǫ'''lk}} || {{lang|mis|[[wikt:miolk#Old Swedish|mi'''o'''lk]]}} || {{wikt-lang|sv|mj'''ö'''lk}}{{ref label|id1|2}} || {{IPA|sv|mjœlk|}} || {{wikt-lang|is|mj'''ó'''lk}} || {{IPA|is|mjoul̥k|}}
|}

: {{note label|id0||none}} [[Old Swedish#Orthography|Old Swedish orthography]] uses {{angbr|[[þ]]}} to represent both {{IPAslink|ð}} and {{IPAslink|θ}}. The change from Norse {{angbr|[[ð]]}} to Old Swedish {{angbr|þ}} represents only a change in orthography rather than a change in sound. Similarly {{angbr|i}} is used in place of {{angbr|j}}. And thus changes from Norse {{angbr|j}} to Old Swedish {{angbr|i}} to Swedish {{angbr|j}} should be viewed as a change in orthography.
: {{note label|id1||none}} Represents the ''u''-umlaut found in Swedish.

This is still a major difference between Swedish and Faroese and Icelandic today. Plurals of neuters do not have ''u''-umlaut at all in Swedish, but in Faroese and Icelandic they do, for example the Faroese and Icelandic plurals of the word {{wikt-lang|is|land}}, {{wikt-lang|fo|lond}} and {{wikt-lang|is|lönd}} respectively, in contrast to the Swedish plural {{wikt-lang|sv|land}} and numerous other examples. That also applies to almost all feminine nouns, for example the largest feminine noun group, the [[Thematic vowel|''o''-stem]] nouns (except the Swedish noun {{lang|sv|jord}} mentioned above), and even [[Thematic vowel|''i''-stem]] nouns and [[Proto-Indo-European root#Word formation|root nouns]], such as Old West Norse {{lang|non|mǫrk}} (''[http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/IcelOnline/IcelOnline.TEId-idx?type=entry&eid=MO3RK-1&q1=mörk mörk]'' in Icelandic) in comparison with Modern and Old Swedish {{lang|mis|{{wikt-lang|sv|mark}}}}.<ref name=Iversen />

=== Breaking ===
{{See also|Vowel breaking}}

Vowel breaking, or fracture, caused a front vowel to be split into a semivowel-vowel sequence before a back vowel in the following syllable.<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" /> While West Norse only broke {{IPA|/e/}}, East Norse also broke {{IPA|/i/}}. The change was blocked by a {{IPA|/w/}}, {{IPA|/l/}}, or /ʀ/ preceding the potentially-broken vowel.<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" />{{sfn|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch. XVII §202 "The typological development of the Nordic languages I: Phonology" (H. Sandøy) : ''Proto-Nordic'', p.1853}}

Some {{IPA|/ja/}} or {{IPA|/jɔ/}} and {{IPA|/jaː/}} or {{IPA|/jɔː/}} result from breaking of {{IPA|/e/}} and {{IPA|/eː/}} respectively.<ref name="CleasbyPhonRules" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon|1874|loc = pp.&nbsp;xxix–xxx "Formation of Words" : ''Vowel Changes'' }}</ref>

=== Assimilation or elision of inflectional ''ʀ'' ===
When a noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb has a long vowel or diphthong in the accented syllable and its stem ends in a single ''l'', ''n'', or ''s'', the ''r'' (or the elder ''r''- or ''z''-variant ''[[Yr rune (Younger Futhark)|ʀ]]'') in an ending is assimilated.<ref name="CleasbyTableN" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon|1874|loc= p.&nbsp;xvi "Strong Nouns" – ''Masculine'' – Remarks on the 1st Strong Masculine Declension, 3.a}}</ref> When the accented vowel is short, the ending is dropped.

The nominative of the strong masculine declension and some ''i''-stem feminine nouns uses one such -r (ʀ). {{lang|non|Óðin-r}} ({{lang|non|Óðin-ʀ}}) becomes {{wikt-lang|non|Óðinn}} instead of {{lang|non|{{tooltip|*|Indicates improper form}}Óðinr}} ({{lang|non|{{tooltip|*|Indicates improper form}}Óðinʀ}}).

The verb {{wikt-lang|non|blása}} {{gloss|to blow}}, has third person present tense '''{{lang|non|blæss}}''' {{gloss|[he] blows}} rather than {{lang|non|{{tooltip|*|Indicates improper form}}blæsr}} ({{lang|non|*blæsʀ}}).{{sfn|Old Norse for Beginners|loc = [http://www3.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/olessons/lesson5.php Lesson 5]}} Similarly, the verb {{wikt-lang|non|skína}} {{gloss|to shine}} had present tense third person '''{{lang|non|skínn}}''' (rather than {{lang|non|*skínr}}, {{lang|non|*skínʀ}}) ; while {{wikt-lang|non|kala}} {{gloss|to cool down}} had present tense third person '''{{lang|non|kell}}''' (rather than {{lang|non|*kelr}}, {{lang|non|*kelʀ}}).

The rule is not absolute, with certain counter-examples such as {{wikt-lang|non|vinr}} {{gloss|friend}}, which has the synonym {{lang|non|vin}}, yet retains the unabsorbed version, and {{wikt-lang|non|jǫtunn}} {{gloss|[[Jötunn|giant]]}}, where assimilation takes place even though the root vowel, {{lang|non|ǫ}}, is short.

The clusters */Clʀ, Csʀ, Cnʀ, Crʀ/ cannot yield {{IPA|*/Clː, Csː, Cnː, Crː/}} respectively, instead {{IPA|/Cl, Cs, Cn, Cr/}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Noreen |first=Adolf |title=Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik |url=http://www.arnastofnun.is/solofile/1016380 |pages=200–202; 207 (§ 277; § 283) |access-date=17 September 2018 |archive-date=2 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602093518/http://www.arnastofnun.is/solofile/1016380 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The effect of this shortening can result in the lack of distinction between some forms of the noun. In the case of {{wikt-lang|non|vetr}} {{gloss|winter}}, the nominative and accusative singular and plural forms are identical. The nominative singular and nominative and accusative plural would otherwise have been {{abbr|OWN|Old West Norse}} {{lang|non|*vetrr}}, {{abbr|OEN|Old East Norse}} {{lang|non|*wintrʀ}}. These forms are impossible because the cluster */Crʀ/ cannot be realized as {{IPA|/Crː/}}, nor as */Crʀ/, nor as */Cʀː/. The same shortening as in {{lang|non|vetr}} also occurs in {{wikt-lang|non|lax}} = {{lang|non|laks}} {{gloss|salmon}} (as opposed to {{lang|non|*lakss}}, {{lang|non|*laksʀ}}), {{wikt-lang|non|botn}} {{gloss|bottom}} (as opposed to {{lang|non|*botnn}}, {{lang|non|*botnʀ}}), and {{wikt-lang|non|jarl}} (as opposed to {{lang|non|*jarll}}, {{lang|non|*jarlʀ}}).

Furthermore, wherever the cluster */rʀ/ is expected to exist, such as in the male names {{lang|non|Ragnarr}}, {{lang|non|Steinarr}} (supposedly {{lang|non|*Ragnarʀ}}, {{lang|non|*Steinarʀ}}), the result is apparently always {{IPA|/rː/}} rather than */rʀ/ or */ʀː/. This is observable in the Runic corpus.

== Phonotactics ==
=== Blocking of ii, uu ===
In Old Norse, {{lang|non|i/j}} adjacent to {{lang|non|i}}, {{lang|non|e}}, their ''u''-umlauts, and {{lang|non|æ}} was not possible, nor {{lang|non|u/v}} adjacent to {{lang|non|u}}, {{lang|non|o}}, their ''i''-umlauts, and {{lang|non|ǫ}}.<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" /> At the beginning of words, this manifested as a dropping of the initial {{IPA|/j/}} (which was general, independent of the following vowel) or {{IPA|/v/}}. Compare ON {{wikt-lang|non|orð}}, {{wikt-lang|non|úlfr}}, {{wikt-lang|non|ár}} with English ''word, wolf, year''. In inflections, this manifested as the dropping of the inflectional vowels. Thus, {{lang|non|klæði}} + {{abbr|{{SC|dat}}|Dative case}} {{lang|non|-i}} remains {{lang|non|klæði}}, and {{lang|non|sjáum}} in Icelandic progressed to {{lang|non|sjǫ́um}} > {{lang|non|sjǫ́m}} > {{lang|non|sjám}}.<ref>{{citation| first = A. G.|last = Noreen | author-link = Adolf Noreen | title = Abriss Der Altnordischen (Altisländischen) Grammatik | language = de | page = 12| url =https://archive.org/details/altnordischegra00unkngoog }}</ref> The {{lang|gem-x-proto|jj}} and {{lang|gem-x-proto|ww}} of Proto-Germanic became {{lang|non|ggj}} and {{lang|non|ggv}} respectively in Old Norse, a change known as [[Holtzmann's law]].<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" />

=== Epenthesis ===
An [[epenthetic]] vowel became popular by 1200 in Old Danish, 1250 in Old Swedish and Old Norwegian, and 1300 in Old Icelandic.<ref name="TheNordicLanguages">{{harvnb|Bandle|2005}}</ref> An unstressed vowel was used which varied by dialect. Old Norwegian exhibited all three: {{IPA|/u/}} was used in West Norwegian south of [[Bergen]], as in {{lang|non|aftur}}, {{lang|non|aftor}} (older {{wikt-lang|non|aptr}}); North of Bergen, {{IPA|/i/}} appeared in {{lang|non|aftir}}, {{lang|non|after}}; and East Norwegian used {{IPA|/a/}}, {{lang|non|after}}, {{lang|non|aftær}}.<ref name="FromOldNordic">{{harvnb|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch.XIII §122 "Phonological developments from Old Nordic to Early Modern Nordic I: West Scandinavian." (M. Schulte). pp.&nbsp;1081–1096; Monophthongization: p.1082; {{IPA|/øy/}}: p. 1082; Reduced vowels: p.&nbsp;1085}}</ref>

== Grammar ==
Old Norse was a moderately [[inflection|inflected]] language with high levels of nominal and verbal inflection. Most of the fused [[morpheme]]s are retained in modern Icelandic, especially in regard to noun case declensions, whereas modern Norwegian in comparison has moved towards more analytical word structures.

=== Gender ===
{{Further|Grammatical gender}}

Old Norse had three [[grammatical gender]]s – masculine, feminine, and neuter. Adjectives or pronouns referring to a noun must [[Agreement (linguistics)|mirror the gender of that noun]], so that one says, "{{lang|non|heill maðr!}}" but, "{{lang|non|heilt barn!}}". As in other languages, the grammatical gender of an impersonal noun is generally unrelated to an expected natural gender of that noun. While indeed {{lang|non|karl}}, {{gloss|man}} is masculine, {{lang|non|kona}}, {{gloss|woman}}, is feminine, and {{lang|non|hús}}, {{gloss|house}}, is neuter, so also are {{lang|non|hrafn}} and {{lang|non|kráka}}, for {{gloss|raven}} and {{gloss|crow}}, masculine and feminine respectively, even in reference to a female raven or a male crow.

All neuter words have identical nominative and accusative forms,{{sfn|Old Norse for Beginners|loc = [http://www3.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/grammar/neutern.php Neuter nouns]}} and all feminine words have identical nominative and accusative plurals.{{sfn|Old Norse for Beginners|loc = [http://www3.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/grammar/femininen.php Feminine nouns]}}

The gender of some words' plurals does not agree with that of their singulars, such as {{lang|non|lim}} and {{lang|non|mund}}.<ref group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon |1874|loc= p.&nbsp;389 col.1, "LIM"; p.&nbsp;437, col.1 "MUND"}}</ref> Some words, such as {{lang|non|hungr}}, have multiple genders, evidenced by their [[Determiner (linguistics)|determiners]] being declined in different genders within a given sentence.{{sfn|''The Menota handbook''|loc=Ch. 8 §3.2.1 "Gender"}}{{sfn|Zoëga|1910|loc = H: ''hungr''}}

=== Morphology ===
{{Main|Old Norse morphology}}
Nouns, adjectives, and pronouns were [[declension|declined]] in four grammatical cases{{snd}}[[nominative case|nominative]], [[accusative case|accusative]], [[genitive case|genitive]], and [[dative case|dative]]{{snd}}in singular and plural numbers. Adjectives and pronouns were additionally declined in three grammatical genders. Some pronouns (first and second person) could have [[dual (grammatical number)|dual number]] in addition to singular and plural. The genitive was used [[partitive case|partitively]] and in compounds and [[kenning]]s (e.g., {{lang|non|[[Urðarbrunnr]]}}, {{gloss|the well of Urðr}} ; {{lang|non|[[Lokasenna]]}}, {{gloss|the [[gibing]] of Loki}}).

There were several classes of nouns within each gender. The following is an example of the "strong" [[inflectional paradigm]]s:

{| class="wikitable"
|+ The strong masculine noun {{wikt-lang|non|armr}}, {{nowrap|English {{gloss|arm}}}}
|-
!
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Nom.}}|Nominative case}}
| {{lang|non|armr}}
| {{lang|non|armar}}
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Acc.}}|Accusative case}}
| {{lang|non|arm}}
| rowspan="2" | {{lang|non|arma}}
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Gen.}}|Genitive case}}
| {{lang|non|arms}}
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Dat.}}|Dative case}}
| {{lang|non|armi}}
| {{lang|non|ǫrmum}} /{{lang|non|armum}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ The feminine noun {{wikt-lang|non|hǫll}} (OWN), {{wikt-lang|non|hall}} (OEN), {{nowrap|English {{gloss|hall}}}}
|-
! colspan="2" |
! Old West Norse
! Old East Norse
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|{{SC|Nom.}}|Nominative case}}-<br>{{abbr|{{SC|Acc.}}|Accusative case}}
! Singular
| {{lang|non|hǫll}}
| {{lang|non|hall}}
|-
! Plural
| {{lang|non|hallir}}
| {{lang|non|hallar}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|{{SC|Gen.}}|Genitive case}}
! Singular
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center" | {{lang|non|hallar}}
|-
! Plural
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center" | {{lang|non|halla}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | {{abbr|{{SC|Dat.}}|Dative case}}
! Singular
| {{lang|non|hǫllu}}
| {{lang|non|hallu}}
|-
! Plural
| {{lang|non|hǫllum}}
| {{lang|non|hallum}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ The neuter noun {{wikt-lang|non|troll}}, {{nowrap|English {{gloss|troll}}}}
|-
!
! Singular
! Plural
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Nom.}}|Nominative case}}-{{abbr|{{SC|Acc.}}|Accusative case}}
| colspan="2" style="text-align: center" | {{lang|non|troll}}
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Gen.}}|Genitive case}}
| {{lang|non|trolls}}
| {{lang|non|trolla}}
|-
! {{abbr|{{SC|Dat.}}|Dative case}}
| {{lang|non|trolli}}
| {{lang|non|trollum}}
|}

The numerous "weak" noun paradigms had a much higher degree of syncretism between the different cases : i.e. they had fewer forms than the "strong" nouns.

A definite article was appended as a suffix that retained an independent declension : e.g., {{lang|non|troll}} {{gloss|a troll}} – {{lang|non|trollit}} {{gloss|the troll}}, {{lang|non|hǫll}} {{gloss|a hall}} – {{lang|non|hǫllin}} {{gloss|the hall}}, {{lang|non|armr}} {{gloss|an arm}} – {{lang|non|armrinn}} {{gloss|the arm}}. This definite article, however, was a separate word and did not become attached to the noun before later stages of the Old Norse period.

== Texts ==
{{Commons category|Old Norse manuscripts}}
The earliest inscriptions in Old Norse are [[runic alphabet|runic]], from the 8th century. Runes continued to be commonly used until the 15th century and have been recorded to be in use in some form as late as the 19th century in some parts of Sweden. With the [[Christianization of Scandinavia|conversion to Christianity]] in the 11th century came the [[Latin alphabet]]. The oldest preserved texts in Old Norse in the Latin alphabet date from the middle of the 12th century. Subsequently, Old Norse became the vehicle of a large and varied body of vernacular literature. Most of the surviving literature was written in Iceland. Best known are the [[Norse saga]]s, the [[Icelanders' sagas]] and the mythological literature, but there also survives a large body of religious literature, translations into Old Norse of [[courtly romance]]s, classical mythology, and the Old Testament, as well as instructional material, [[First Grammatical Treatise|grammatical treatises]] and a large body of letters and official documents.{{sfn|O'Donoghue|2004|p=22–102}}

== Dialects ==
Most of the innovations that appeared in Old Norse spread evenly through the Old Norse area. As a result, the dialects were similar and considered to be the same language, a language that they sometimes called the Danish tongue ({{lang|non|Dǫnsk tunga}}), sometimes Norse language ({{lang|non|Norrœnt mál}}), as evidenced in the following two quotes from {{lang|non|[[Heimskringla]]}} by [[Snorri Sturluson]]:

{{Verse translation|lang=non|Móðir Dyggva var Drótt, dóttir Danps konungs, sonar Rígs er fyrstr var konungr kallaðr á danska tungu.
|attr1=''[[Heimskringla]]'', Ynglinga saga § 20. ''Dauði Dyggva''
|Dyggvi's mother was Drott, the daughter of king Danp, Ríg's son, who was the first to be called king in the Danish tongue.
}}

{{Verse translation|lang=non|...stirt var honum norrœnt mál, ok kylfdi mᴊǫk til orðanna, ok hǫfðu margir menn þat mᴊǫk at spotti.
|attr1=''[[Heimskringla]]'', Saga Sigurðar Jórsalafara, Eysteins ok Ólafs § 35(34). ''Frá veðjan Haralds ok Magnús''
|...the Norse language was hard for him, and he often fumbled for words, which amused people greatly.
}}

However, some changes were geographically limited and so created a dialectal difference between Old West Norse and Old East Norse.

As Proto-Norse evolved into Old Norse, in the 8th century, the effects of the [[Germanic umlaut|umlauts]] seem to have been very much the same over the whole Old Norse area. But in later dialects of the language a split occurred mainly between west and east as the use of umlauts began to vary. The typical umlauts (for example {{lang|non|fylla}} < {{lang|mis|*fullijan}}) were better preserved in the West due to later generalizations in the east where many instances of umlaut were removed (many archaic Eastern texts as well as eastern runic inscriptions however portray the same extent of umlauts as in later Western Old Norse).

All the while, the changes resulting in [[breaking (linguistics)|breaking]] (for example {{lang|non|hiarta}} < {{lang|mis|*hertō}}) were more influential in the East probably once again due to generalizations within the inflectional system. This difference was one of the greatest reasons behind the dialectalization that took place in the 9th and 10th centuries, shaping an Old West Norse dialect in Norway and the Atlantic settlements and an Old East Norse dialect in Denmark and Sweden.

Old West Norse and Old Gutnish did not take part in the monophthongization which changed {{lang|non|æi}} ({{lang|non|ei}}) into {{lang|non|ē}}, {{lang|non|øy}} ({{lang|non|ey}}) and {{lang|non|au}} into {{lang|non|ø̄}}, nor did certain peripheral dialects of Swedish, as seen in modern [[Swedish dialects in Ostrobothnia|Ostrobothnian dialects]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://aveneca.com/westeast.html|title=The Old Norse dialect areas| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707195311/http://aveneca.com/westeast.html| archive-date = 7 July 2011| year =2009 | work = aveneca.com}}</ref> Another difference was that Old West Norse lost certain combinations of consonants. The combinations {{lang|non|-mp-}}, {{lang|non|-nt-}}, and {{lang|non|-nk-}} were assimilated into {{lang|non|-pp-}}, {{lang|non|-tt-}} and {{lang|non|-kk-}} in Old West Norse, but this phenomenon was limited in Old East Norse.

Here is a comparison between the two dialects as well as Old Gutnish. It is a transcription from one of the [[Funbo Runestones]] in Sweden (U 990) from the eleventh century:

{{interlinear |indent=2 |italics2=yes |italics3=yes
|Veðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr reistu stein þenna at Haursa, fǫður sinn. Guð hjalpi ǫnd hans. |c1=(Old West Norse)
|Weðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans |c2=(Old East Norse)
|Weðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr raistu stain þenna at Haursa, faður sinn. Guð hialpi and hans |c3=(Old Gutnish)
|translation: 'Veðr and Thegn and Gunnar raised this stone after Haursi, their father. God help his spirit'}}

The OEN original text above is transliterated according to traditional scholarly methods, wherein ''u''-umlaut is not regarded in runic Old East Norse. Modern studies{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} have shown that the positions where it applies are the same as for runic Old West Norse. An alternative and probably more accurate transliteration would therefore render the text in OEN as such:
{{block indent|Weðr ok Þegn ok Gunnarr ræistu stæin þenna at Haursa, fǫður sinn. Guð hialpi ǫnd hans (OEN)}}

Some [[past participle]]s and other words underwent ''i''-umlaut in Old West Norse but not in Old East Norse dialects. Examples of that are Icelandic {{wikt-lang|is|slegið}}/{{wikt-lang|is|sleginn}} and {{wikt-lang|is|tekið}}/{{wikt-lang|is|tekinn}}, which in Swedish are {{wikt-lang|sv|slagit}}/{{wikt-lang|sv|slagen}} and {{wikt-lang|sv|tagit}}/{{wikt-lang|sv|tagen}}. This can also be seen in the Icelandic and Norwegian words ''{{linktext|sterkur}}'' and {{wikt-lang|no|sterk}} ("strong"), which in Swedish is {{wikt-lang|sv|stark}} as in Old Swedish.<ref>{{citation | url = https://runeberg.org/svetym/0950.html | title = stark | page = 862 | work = Svensk etymologisk ordbok [Swedish etymological dictionary] | language = sv | year = 1922 | editor-first = Elof | editor-last = Hellquist | editor-link = Elof Hellquist | access-date = 1 March 2012 | archive-date = 8 March 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120308171445/http://runeberg.org/svetym/0950.html | url-status = live }}</ref> These differences can also be seen in comparison between Norwegian and Swedish.

=== Old West Norse ===
'''Old West Norse''' is by far the best attested variety of Old Norse.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last = König|editor1-first = Ekkehard|editor2-last = van der Auwera|editor2-first = Johan|title= The Germanic Languages|url = https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00koni|url-access = limited|date= 2002|publisher= Routledge|page= [https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00koni/page/n54 38]|isbn= 978-0415280792}} "Old Norse is by far the best attested variety of Old Scandinavian."</ref> The term ''Old Norse'' is often used to refer to Old West Norse specifically, in which case the broader subject receives another name, such as ''Old Scandinavian''.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00koni |title=The Germanic Languages |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0415280792 |editor1-last=König |editor1-first=Ekkehard |page=[https://archive.org/details/germaniclanguage00koni/page/n54 38] |editor2-last=van der Auwera |editor2-first=Johan |url-access=limited}}</ref> Another designation is '''Old West Nordic'''.

The combinations {{lang|non|-mp-}}, {{lang|non|-nt-}}, and {{lang|non|-nk-}} mostly merged to {{lang|non|-pp-}}, {{lang|non|-tt-}} and {{lang|non|-kk-}} in Old West Norse around the 7th century, marking the first distinction between the Eastern and Western dialects.{{sfn|Bandle|2005|loc = Ch. XVII §202 "The typological development of the Nordic languages I: Phonology" (H. Sandøy) : ''Old East Nordic'', pp.&nbsp;1856, 1859}} The following table illustrates this:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
! English !! Old West Norse !! Old East Norse !! [[Proto-Norse language|Proto-Norse]]
|-
| mushroom || {{wikt-lang|non|svǫppr|s(v)ǫppr}} || {{lang|non|swampʀ}} || {{lang|mis|*swampuz}}<!-- it seems, there is no language code for proto-norse. i'll use "mis" instead. -->
|-
| steep || {{lang|non|brattr}} || {{lang|non|brantʀ}} || {{lang|mis|*brantaz}}
|-
| widow || {{wikt-lang|non|ekkja}} || {{lang|non|ænkija}} || {{lang|mis|*ain(a)kjōn}}
|-
| to shrink || {{wikt-lang|non|kreppa}} || {{lang|non|krimpa}} || {{lang|mis|*krimpan}}
|-
| to sprint || {{wikt-lang|non|spretta}} || {{lang|non|sprinta}} || {{lang|mis|*sprintan}}
|-
| to sink || {{wikt-lang|non|søkkva}} || {{lang|non|sænkwa}} || {{lang|mis|*sankwijan}}
|}

An early difference between Old West Norse and the other dialects was that Old West Norse had the forms {{lang|non|bú}} {{gloss|dwelling}}, {{lang|non|kú}} {{gloss|cow}} ({{abbr|{{SC|Acc.}}|Accusative case}}) and {{lang|non|trú}} 'faith', whereas Old East Norse {{lang|non|bó}}, {{lang|non|kó}} and {{lang|non|tró}}. Old West Norse was also characterized by the preservation of ''u''-umlaut, which meant that, for example, [[Proto-Norse language|Proto-Norse]] {{lang|non|*tanþu}} {{gloss|tooth}}, became {{lang|non|tǫnn}} and not {{lang|non|tann}} as in post-runic Old East Norse ; OWN {{lang|non|gǫ́s}} and runic OEN {{lang|non|gǫ́s}}, while post-runic OEN {{lang|non|gás}} {{gloss|goose}}.

The earliest body of text appears in [[runic inscriptions]] and in poems composed {{Circa|900}} by [[Þjóðólfr of Hvinir]] (although the poems are not preserved in contemporary sources, but only in much later manuscripts). The earliest manuscripts are from the period 1150–1200 and concern legal, religious and historical matters. During the 12th and 13th centuries, [[Trøndelag]] and [[Western Norway]] were the most important areas of the Norwegian kingdom and they shaped Old West Norse as an archaic language with a rich set of declensions. In the body of text that has survived into the modern day from until {{Circa|1300}}, Old West Norse had little dialect variation, and [[Old Icelandic]] does not diverge much more than the [[Old Norwegian]] dialects do from each other.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=Eric V. |title=An Introduction to Old Norse |edition=2nd |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1957}}</ref>
Old Norwegian differentiated early from Old Icelandic by the loss of the consonant ''h'' in initial position before ''l'', ''n'' and ''r''; thus whereas Old Icelandic manuscripts might use the form {{lang|non|hnefi}} {{gloss|fist}}, Old Norwegian manuscripts might use {{lang|mis|nefi}}.

From the late 13th century, Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian started to diverge more. After {{Circa|1350}}, the [[Black Death]] and following social upheavals seem to have accelerated language changes in Norway. From the late 14th century, the language used in Norway is generally referred to as [[Old Norwegian#Middle Norwegian|Middle Norwegian]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

Old West Norse underwent a lengthening of initial vowels at some point, especially in Norwegian, so that OWN {{wikt-lang|non|eta}} became {{lang|non|éta}}, ONW {{wikt-lang|non|akr}} > {{lang|non|ákr}}, OIC {{wikt-lang|non|ek}} > {{lang|non|ék}}.<ref>{{citation |title=Further Old Norse Secondary Formations |first=Albert Morey |last=Sturtevant |journal=Language |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=457–462 |year=1953 |jstor=409955 |doi=10.2307/409955 }}</ref>

==== Old Icelandic ====
In Iceland, initial {{IPA|/w/}} before {{IPA|/ɾ/}} was lost:<ref group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon |1874|loc = p.&nbsp;481 "R"}}</ref> compare Icelandic {{wikt-lang|non|rangur}} with Danish {{wikt-lang|non|vrang}}, OEN {{lang|non|wrangʀ}}. The change is shared with Old Gutnish.<ref name="TheNordicLanguages" />

A specifically Icelandic sound, the long, ''u''-umlauted A, spelled {{angbr|Ǫ́}} and pronounced {{IPA|/ɔː/}}, developed around the early 11th century.<ref name="CleasbyA" group="cv" /> It was short-lived, being marked in the [[First Grammatical Treatise|Grammatical Treatises]] and remaining until the end of the 12th century.<ref name="CleasbyA" group="cv" /> It then merged back into {{IPA|/aː/}} ; as a result, long A is not affected by ''u''-umlaut in Modern Icelandic.

{{IPA|/w/}} merged with {{IPA|/v/}} during the 12th century,<ref name="JohnsonEcyc" /> which caused {{IPA|/v/}} to become an independent phoneme from {{IPA|/f/}} and the written distinction of {{angbr IPA|v}} for {{IPA|/v/}} from medial and final {{angbr IPA|f}} to become merely etymological.

Around the 13th century, {{lang|non|Œ/Ǿ}} ({{IPA|/øː/}}, which had probably already lowered to {{IPA|/œː/}}) merged to {{lang|non|Æ}} ({{IPA|/ɛː/}}).<ref name="CleasbyAE" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon |1874|loc = p.&nbsp;757 "Æ"}}</ref> Thus, pre-13th-century {{lang|is|grœnn}} (with {{angbr|œ}}) 'green' became spelled as in modern Icelandic {{lang|is|grænn}} (with {{angbr|æ}}). The 12th-century [[Gray Goose Laws]] manuscripts distinguish the vowels, and so does the [[Codex Regius]] copy.<ref name="CleasbyAE" group="cv" /> However, the 13th-century Codex Regius copy of the [[Poetic Edda]] probably relied on newer or poorer quality sources, or both. Demonstrating either difficulty with or total lack of natural distinction, the manuscripts show separation of the two phonemes in some places, but they frequently confuse the letters chosen to distinguish them in others.<ref name="CleasbyAE" group="cv" /><ref>See [[Codex Regius]]</ref>

Towards the end of the 13th century, {{lang|non|Ę}} ({{IPA|/ɛ/}}) merged to {{lang|non|E}} ({{IPA|/e/}}).<ref name="CleasbyE" group="cv">{{harvnb|Cleasby|Vigfússon |1874|loc = pp.&nbsp;113–114 "E"}}</ref>

==== Old Norwegian ====
{{Further|Old Norwegian}}

Around the 11th century, Old Norwegian {{angbr IPA|hl}}, {{angbr IPA|hn}}, and {{angbr IPA|hr}} became {{angbr IPA|l}}, {{angbr IPA|n}} and {{angbr IPA|r}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/norwegian.html |title=Introduction – History of Norwegian up to 1349 |access-date=21 May 2023 |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131064838/https://linguistics.byu.edu/classes/Ling450ch/reports/norwegian.html |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2024}}<ref name=Hagland2002>{{Cite book |last=Hagland |first=Jan Ragnar |title=The Nordic Languages: An International Handbook of the History of the North Germanic Languages |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=2002 |isbn=3-11-014876-5 |volume=1 |location=Berlin |pages=1015–1017 |chapter=Dialects and written language in Old Nordic I: Old Norwegian and Old Icelandic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Faarlund |first=Jan Terje |title=The Germanic Languages |publisher=Routledge |year=1995 |editor-last=Konig |editor-first=Ekkehard |edition=1st |location=London |pages=38–71 |chapter=Old and Middle Scandinavian |doi=10.4324/9781315812786 |isbn=978-1-315-81278-6 |editor-last2=Auwera |editor-first2=Johan van der}}</ref> It is debatable whether the {{angbr IPA|hC}} sequences represented a consonant cluster ({{IPA|/hC/}}) or devoicing ({{IPA|/C̥/}}).

Orthographic evidence suggests that in a confined dialect of Old Norwegian, {{IPA|/ɔ/}} may have been unrounded before {{IPA|/u/}} and that ''u''-umlaut was reversed unless the ''u'' had been eliminated: {{wikt-lang|non|ǫll}}, {{lang|non|ǫllum}} > {{lang|non|ǫll}}, {{lang|non|allum}}.<ref>{{citation|author-link = Hans Henrich Hock| last = Hock | first = Hans Henrich | title = Principles of Historical Linguistics | year = 1986 |page = 149 }}</ref>

==== Greenlandic Norse ====
{{Further|Greenlandic Norse}}

This dialect of Old West Norse was spoken by Icelandic colonies in Greenland. When the colonies died out around the 15th century, the dialect went with it. The phoneme {{IPA|/θ/}} and some instances of {{IPA|/ð/}} merged to {{IPA|/t/}} and so Old Icelandic {{lang|non|Þórðr}} became {{lang|non|Tortr}}.

==== Text example ====
{{Further|Old Norse orthography}}

The following text is from {{lang|non|Alexanders saga}}, an [[Alexander romance]]. The manuscript, [[AM 519 a 4to]], is dated {{Circa|1280}}. The facsimile demonstrates the [[scribal abbreviation|sigla]] used by scribes to write Old Norse. Many of them were borrowed from Latin. Without familiarity with these abbreviations, the facsimile will be unreadable to many. In addition, reading the manuscript itself requires familiarity with the letterforms of the native script. The abbreviations are expanded in a version with normalized spelling like that of the [[Old Norse orthography|standard normalization]] system. Compared to the spelling of the same text in Modern Icelandic, pronunciation has changed greatly, but spelling has changed little since [[Icelandic orthography]] was intentionally modelled after Old Norse in the 19th century.

{| class=wikitable
! scope="col" | Digital facsimile of the manuscript text<ref name="MeNoTa14">{{citation | editor-first =Andrea de Leeuw | editor-last =van Weenen | title =(Manuscript AM 519 a 4to) "Alexanders saga" | at =fol. 1v, lines 10–14 | work =Medieval Nordic Text Archive www.menota.org | url =http://clarino.uib.no/menota/document-element?&cpos=558653 | access-date =4 September 2018 | archive-date =5 September 2018 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180905022912/http://clarino.uib.no/menota/document-element?&cpos=558653 | url-status =live }}</ref>
! scope="col" | The same text with normalized spelling<ref name="MeNoTa14" />
! scope="col" | The same text with Modern [[Icelandic language|Icelandic]] spelling
|-
|
{{lang|non|italic=no|[...] ſem oꝩın͛ h̅ſ brıgzloðo h̅o̅ epꞇ͛ þͥ ſe̅ ſıðaʀ mon ſagꞇ verða. Þeſſı ſveın̅ aͬ.* ꝩar ıſcola ſeꞇꞇr ſem ſıðꝩenıa e͛ ꞇıl rıkra man̅a vꞇan-lanꝺz aꞇ laꞇa g͛a vıð boꝛn̅ ſíıƞ́ Meıſꞇarı ꝩar h̅o̅ ꝼengın̅ ſa e͛ arıſꞇoꞇıleſ heꞇ. h̅ ꝩar harðla goðꝛ clercr ⁊ [[Old Norse morphology#Hit|en̅]] meſꞇı ſpekıngr aꞇ ꝩıꞇı. ⁊ er h̅ ꝩͬ.xíí. veꞇᷓ gamall aꞇ allꝺrı nalıga alroſcın̅ aꞇ ꝩıꞇı. en ſꞇoꝛhvgaðꝛ u̅ ꝼᷓm alla ſına ıaꝼnallꝺꝛa.}}
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{{lang|non|italic=no|[...] sem óvinir hans brigzluðu honum eftir því, sem síðarr man sagt verða. þessi sveinn Alexander var í skóla settr, sem siðvenja er til ríkra manna útanlands at láta gera við bǫrn sín. meistari var honum fenginn sá, er Aristoteles hét. hann var harðla góðr klerkr ok inn mesti spekingr at viti. ok er hann var tólv vetra gamall at aldri, náliga alroskinn at viti, en stórhugaðr umfram alla sína jafnaldra, [...]}}
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{{lang|is|italic=no|[...] sem óvinir hans brigsluðu honum eftir því, sem síðar mun sagt verða. Þessi sveinn Alexander var í skóla settur, sem siðvenja er til ríkra manna utanlands að láta gera við börn sín. Meistari var honum fenginn sá, er Aristóteles hét. Hann var harla góður klerkur og hinn mesti spekingur að viti og er hann var tólf vetra gamall að aldri, nálega alroskinn að viti, en stórhugaður umfram alla sína jafnaldra, [...]}}
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> '''a''' printed in [[uncial script|uncial]]. Uncials not encoded separately in Unicode as of this section's writing.

=== Old East Norse ===
<!-- This section is linked from [[Rurik]] -->
[[File:Rökstenen.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|right|The [[Rök runestone]] in [[Östergötland]], Sweden, is the longest surviving source of early Old East Norse. It is inscribed on both sides.]]
'''Old East Norse''' or '''Old East Nordic''' between 800 and 1100 is called ''Runic Swedish'' in Sweden and ''Runic Danish'' in Denmark, but for geographical rather than linguistic reasons. Any differences between the two were minute at best during the more ancient stages of this dialect group. Changes had a tendency to occur earlier in the Danish region. Even today many Old Danish changes have still not taken place in modern Swedish. Swedish is therefore the more [[Linguistic conservatism|conservative]] of the two in both the ancient and the modern languages, sometimes by a profound margin. The language is called "runic" because the body of text appears in [[runes]].

Runic Old East Norse is characteristically conservative in form, especially Swedish (which is still true for modern Swedish compared to Danish). In essence it matches or surpasses the conservatism of post-runic Old West Norse, which in turn is generally more conservative than post-runic Old East Norse. While typically "Eastern" in structure, many later post-runic changes and trademarks of OEN had yet to happen.

The phoneme ''ʀ'', which evolved during the Proto-Norse period from ''z'', was still clearly separated from ''r'' in most positions, even when being geminated, while in OWN it had already merged with ''r''.

The [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] phoneme /w/ was preserved in initial sounds in Old East Norse (w-), unlike in West Norse where it developed into {{IPA|/v/}}. It survived in rural [[Swedish dialects]] in the provinces of Westro- and North Bothnia, [[Skåne]], [[Blekinge]], [[Småland]], [[Halland]], [[Västergötland]] and south of [[Bohuslän]] into the 18th, 19th and 20th century. It is still preserved in the [[Dalecarlian language|Dalecarlian dialects]] in the province of [[Dalarna]], Sweden, and in [[Jutlandic dialect]]s in Denmark. The {{IPA|/w/}}-phoneme did also occur after consonants (kw-, tw-, sw- etc.) in Old East Norse and did so into modern times in said Swedish dialects and in a number of others. Generally, the initial w-sound developed into {{IPA|[v]}} in dialects earlier than after consonants where it survived much longer.

In summation, the {{IPAslink|w}}-sound survived in the East Nordic tongues almost a millennium longer than in the West Norse counterparts, and does still subsist at the present.

Monophthongization of {{lang|non|æi}} > {{lang|non|ē}} and {{lang|non|øy, au}} > {{lang|non|ø̄}} started in mid-10th-century Denmark.<ref name="FromOldNordic" /> Compare runic OEN: {{lang|non|fæigʀ}}, {{lang|non|gæiʀʀ}}, {{lang|non|haugʀ}}, {{lang|non|møydōmʀ}}, {{lang|non|diūʀ}} ; with Post-runic OEN: {{lang|non|fēgher}}, {{lang|non|gēr}}, {{lang|non|hø̄gher}}, {{lang|non|mø̄dōmber}}, {{lang|non|diūr}} ; OWN: {{wikt-lang|non|feigr}}, {{wikt-lang|non|geirr}}, {{wikt-lang|non|haugr}}, {{lang|non|meydómr}}, {{wikt-lang|non|dýr}} ; from PN {{lang|mis|*faigijaz}}, {{lang|mis|*gaizaz}}, {{lang|non|*haugaz}}, {{lang|non|*mawi}} + {{lang|non|-dōmaz}} {{gloss|maidendom/ virginity}}, {{lang|non|*diuza}}.

Feminine ''o''-stems often preserve the plural ending {{lang|non|-aʀ}}, while in OWN they more often merge with the feminine ''i''-stems: (runic OEN) {{lang|non|*sōlaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*hafnaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*hamnaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*wāgaʀ}} versus OWN {{lang|non|sólir}}, {{lang|non|hafnir}} and {{lang|non|vágir}} (Danish has mainly lost the distinction between the two stems, with both endings now being rendered as {{lang|da|-er}} or {{lang|da|-e}} alternatively for the ''o''-stems ; modern Swedish {{wikt-lang|sv|sol|solar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|hamn|hamnar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|våg|vågar}}).

Vice versa, masculine ''i''-stems with the root ending in either {{lang|non|g}} or {{lang|non|k}} tended to shift the plural ending to that of the ''ja''-stems while OEN kept the original: {{lang|non|drængiaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*ælgiaʀ}} and {{lang|non|*bænkiaʀ}} versus OWN {{wikt-lang|non|drengr|drengir}}, {{wikt-lang|non|elgr|elgir}} and {{wikt-lang|non|bekkr|bekkir}} (modern Danish {{wikt-lang|da|dreng|drenge}}, {{wikt-lang|da|elg|elge}}, {{wikt-lang|da|bænk|bænke}} ; modern Swedish {{wikt-lang|sv|dräng|drängar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|älg|älgar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|bänk|bänkar}}).

The plural ending of ''ja''-stems were mostly preserved while those of OWN often acquired that of the ''i''-stems: {{lang|non|*bæðiaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*bækkiaʀ}}, {{lang|non|*wæfiaʀ}} versus OWN {{wikt-lang|non|beðr|beðir}}, ''[[wikt:bekkr#Etymology 2|bekkir]]'', {{wikt-lang|non|vefr|vefir}} (modern Swedish {{wikt-lang|sv|bädd|bäddar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|bäck|bäckar}}, {{wikt-lang|sv|väv|vävar}}).

==== Old Danish ====
{{Further|History of Danish}}
Until the early 12th century, Old East Norse was very much a uniform dialect. It was in Denmark that the first innovations appeared that would differentiate Old Danish from Old Swedish ({{harvnb|Bandle|2005|loc = ''Old East Nordic'', pp.&nbsp;1856, 1859}}) as these innovations spread north unevenly (unlike the earlier changes that spread more evenly over the East Norse area), creating a series of [[isogloss]]es going from [[Zealand]] to [[Svealand]].

In Old Danish, {{IPA|/hɾ/}} merged with {{IPA|/ɾ/}} during the 9th century.<ref>{{citation | first = Tarrin | last = Wills | title = The Anonymous Verse in the Third Grammatical Treatise | url = https://sro.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/10765/54631 | year = 2006 | publisher = The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Durham University | access-date = 4 September 2018 | archive-date = 4 September 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180904230041/https://sro.library.usyd.edu.au/handle/10765/54631 | url-status = dead }}</ref> From the 11th to 14th centuries, the unstressed vowels -''a'', -''o'' and -''e'' ([[Old Norse orthography#Normalized spelling|standard normalization]] -''a'', -''u'' and -''i'') started to merge into -''ə'', represented with the letter {{angbr|e}}. This vowel came to be [[epenthesis|epenthetic]], particularly before ''-ʀ'' endings.<ref name="TheNordicLanguages" /> At the same time, the voiceless [[stop consonant]]s ''p'', ''t'' and ''k'' became voiced plosives and even [[fricative consonant]]s. Resulting from these innovations, Danish has {{lang|da|kage}} (cake), {{lang|da|tunger}} (tongues) and {{lang|da|gæster}} (guests) whereas (Standard) Swedish has retained older forms, {{lang|sv|kaka}}, {{lang|sv|tungor}} and {{lang|sv|gäster}} (OEN {{lang|non|kaka}}, {{lang|non|tungur}}, {{lang|non|gæstir}}).

Moreover, the Danish [[pitch accent]] shared with Norwegian and Swedish changed into ''[[stød]]'' around this time.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}}

==== Old Swedish ====
{{Further|Old Swedish}}
At the end of the 10th and early 11th century initial ''h-'' before ''l'', ''n'' and ''r'' was still preserved in the middle and northern parts of Sweden, and is sporadically still preserved in some northern dialects as ''g-'', e.g. {{lang|non|gly}} (lukewarm), from {{lang|non|hlýʀ}}. The [[Dalecarlian dialects]] developed independently from Old Swedish<ref name=Kroonen>{{citation|last1=Kroonen|first1=Guus|title=On the origins of the Elfdalian nasal vowels from the perspective of diachronic dialectology and Germanic etymology|url=http://inss.ku.dk/ansatte/?pure=files/35220983/elfdalian.pdf|work=inss.ku.dk|type=Presentation|access-date=27 January 2016|quote=(Slide 26) §7.2 quote: "In many aspects, Elfdalian, takes up a middle position between East and West Nordic. However, it shares some innovations with West Nordic, but none with East Nordic. This invalidates the claim that Elfdalian split off from Old Swedish."|archive-date=6 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206012822/http://inss.ku.dk/ansatte/?pure=files/35220983/elfdalian.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and as such can be considered separate languages from Swedish.

==== Text example ====
This is an extract from {{lang|non|[[Västgötalagen]]}}, the Westrogothic law. It is the oldest text written as a manuscript found in Sweden and from the 13th century. It is contemporaneous with most of the Icelandic literature. The text marks the beginning of [[Old Swedish]] as a distinct dialect.
{{Verse translation|lang=non|
Dræpær maþar svænskan man eller smalenskæn, innan konongsrikis man, eigh væstgøskan, bøte firi atta ørtogher ok þrettan markær ok ænga ætar bot. [...] Dræpar maþær danskan man allæ noræn man, bøte niv markum. Dræpær maþær vtlænskan man, eigh ma frid flyia or landi sinu oc j æth hans. Dræpær maþær vtlænskæn prest, bøte sva mykit firi sum hærlænskan man. Præstær skal i bondalaghum væræ. Varþær suþærman dræpin ællær ænskær maþær, ta skal bøta firi marchum fiurum þem sakinæ søkir, ok tvar marchar konongi.
|
If someone slays a Swede or a Smålander, a man from the kingdom, but not a West Geat, he will pay eight örtugar and thirteen marks, but no weregild. [...] If someone slays a Dane or a Norwegian, he will pay nine marks. If someone slays a foreigner, he shall not be banished and have to flee to his clan. If someone slays a foreign priest, he will pay as much as for a fellow countryman. A priest counts as a freeman. If a Southerner is slain or an Englishman, he shall pay four marks to the plaintiff and two marks to the king.
|attr1=[[Västgötalagen]]
}}

=== Old Gutnish ===
{{Main|Old Gutnish}}
Due to [[Gotland]]'s early isolation from the mainland, many features of Old Norse did not spread from or to the island, and Old Gutnish developed as an entirely separate branch from Old East and West Norse. For example, the diphthong {{lang|non|ai}} in {{lang|non|aigu}}, {{lang|non|þair}} and {{lang|non|waita}} was not subject to [[Assimilation (phonology)|anticipatory assimilation]] to {{lang|non|ei}} as in e.g. Old Icelandic {{lang|non|eigu}}, {{lang|non|þeir}} and {{lang|non|veita}}. Gutnish also shows dropping of {{IPA|/w/}} in initial {{IPA|/wɾ/}}, which it shares with the Old West Norse dialects (except Old East Norwegian<ref>{{cite book |last=Noreen |first=Adolf |title=Altnordische Grammatik I: Altisländische und altnorwegische Grammatik |url=http://www.arnastofnun.is/solofile/1016380 |page=211 (§ 288, note 1) |access-date=17 September 2018 |archive-date=2 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602093518/http://www.arnastofnun.is/solofile/1016380 |url-status=dead }}</ref>), but which is otherwise abnormal. Breaking was also particularly active in Old Gutnish, leading to e.g. {{lang|non|biera}} versus mainland {{lang|non|bera}}.<ref name="TheNordicLanguages" />

==== Text example ====
The {{lang|non|[[Gutalagen|Guta lag]]}} {{gloss|law of the Gutes}} is the longest text surviving from [[Old Gutnish]]. Appended to it is a short texting dealing with the history of the Gotlanders. This part relates to the agreement that the Gotlanders had with the Swedish king sometime before the 9th century:

{{Verse translation|lang=non|
So gingu gutar sielfs wiliandi vndir suia kunung þy at þair mattin frir Oc frelsir sykia suiariki j huerium staþ. vtan tull oc allar utgiftir. So aigu oc suiar sykia gutland firir vtan cornband ellar annur forbuþ. hegnan oc hielp sculdi kunungur gutum at waita. En þair wiþr þorftin. oc kallaþin. sendimen al oc kunungr oc ierl samulaiþ a gutnal þing senda. Oc latta þar taka scatt sinn. þair sendibuþar aighu friþ lysa gutum alla steþi til sykia yfir haf sum upsala kunungi til hoyrir. Oc so þair sum þan wegin aigu hinget sykia.
|
So, by their own will, the Gotlanders became the subjects of the Swedish king, so that they could travel freely and without risk to any location in the Swedish kingdom without toll and other fees. Likewise, the Swedes had the right to go to Gotland without corn restrictions or other prohibitions. The king was to provide protection and help, when they needed it and asked for it. The king and the jarl shall in return send emissaries to the Gutnish ''All-thing'' to receive the taxes. These emissaries shall declare free passage for the Gotlanders to all ports across the sea which belong to the king at Uppsala and likewise for everyone who want to travel to Gotland.
|attr1={{harvnb|Gutasaga|loc= § ''Inträdet i Sverige''}}
|attr2=
}}

== Relationship to other languages ==
=== Relationship to English ===
{{See also|History of English#Scandinavian influence|List of English words of Old Norse origin}}

[[Old English]] and Old Norse were related languages. It is therefore not surprising that many words in Old Norse look familiar to English speakers : e.g., {{lang|non|armr}} {{gloss|arm}}, {{lang|non|fótr}} {{gloss|foot}}, {{lang|non|land}} {{gloss|land}}, {{lang|non|fullr}} {{gloss|full}}, {{lang|non|hanga}} {{gloss|to hang}}, {{lang|non|standa}} {{gloss|to stand}}. This is because both [[English language|English]] and Old Norse stem from a [[Proto-Germanic]] mother language. In addition, numerous common, everyday Old Norse words were adopted into the Old English language during the [[Viking Age]]. A few examples of Old Norse [[loanword]]s in modern English are (English/Viking Age Old East Norse), in some cases even displacing their Old English cognates:{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}
* '''Nouns''' – ''anger'' ({{lang|non|angr}}), ''bag'' ({{lang|non|baggi}}), ''bait'' ({{lang|non|bæit}}, {{lang|non|bæita}}, {{lang|non|bæiti}}), ''band'' ({{lang|non|band}}), ''bark'' ({{lang|non|bǫrkʀ}}, stem {{lang|non|bark-}}), ''birth'' ({{lang|non|byrðr}}), ''dirt'' ({{lang|non|drit}}), ''dregs'' ({{lang|non|dræggiaʀ}}), ''egg'' ({{lang|non|ægg}}, related to {{abbr|OE.|Old English}} cognate {{lang|ang|æg}} which became {{langx|enm|eye}}/{{lang|enm|eai}}), ''fellow'' ({{lang|non|félagi}}), ''gap'' ({{lang|non|gap}}), ''husband'' ({{lang|non|húsbóndi}}), ''cake'' ({{lang|non|kaka}}), ''keel'' ({{lang|non|kiǫlʀ}}, stem also {{lang|non|kial-}}, {{lang|non|kil-}}), ''kid'' ({{lang|non|kið}}), ''knife'' ({{lang|non|knífʀ}}), ''law'' ({{lang|non|lǫg}}, stem {{lang|non|lag-}}), ''leg'' ({{lang|non|læggʀ}}), ''link'' ({{lang|non|hlænkʀ}}), ''loan'' ({{lang|non|lán}}, related to OE. cognate {{lang|ang|læn}}, cf. lend), ''race'' ({{lang|non|rǫs}}, stem {{lang|non|rás-}}), ''root'' ({{lang|non|rót}}, related to OE. cognate {{lang|ang|wyrt}}, cf. [[List of wort plants|wort]]), ''sale'' ({{lang|non|sala}}), ''scrap'' ({{lang|non|skrap}}), ''seat'' ({{lang|non|sæti}}), ''sister'' ({{lang|non|systir}}, related to OE. cognate {{lang|ang|sweostor}}), ''skill'' ({{lang|non|skial}}/{{lang|non|skil}}), ''skin'' ({{lang|non|skinn}}), ''skirt'' ({{lang|non|skyrta}} vs. the native English ''shirt'' of the same root), ''sky'' ({{lang|non|ský}}), ''slaughter'' ({{lang|non|slátr}}), ''snare'' ({{lang|non|snara}}), ''steak'' ({{lang|non|stæik}}), ''thrift'' ({{lang|non|þrift}}), ''tidings'' ({{lang|non|tíðindi}}), ''trust'' ({{lang|non|traust}}), ''window'' ({{lang|non|vindauga}}), ''wing'' ({{lang|non|væ(i)ngʀ}})
* '''Verbs''' – ''are'' ({{lang|non|er}}, displacing OE {{lang|ang|sind}}), ''blend'' ({{lang|non|blanda}}), ''call'' ({{lang|non|kalla}}), ''cast'' ({{lang|non|kasta}}), ''clip'' ({{lang|non|klippa}}), ''crawl'' ({{lang|non|krafla}}), ''cut'' (possibly from ON {{lang|non|kuta}}), ''die'' ({{lang|non|døyia}}), ''gasp'' ({{lang|non|gæispa}}), ''get'' ({{lang|non|geta}}), ''give'' ({{lang|non|gifa}}/{{lang|non|gefa}}, related to OE. cognate {{lang|ang|giefan}}), ''glitter'' ({{lang|non|glitra}}), ''hit'' ({{lang|non|hitta}}), ''lift'' ({{lang|non|lyfta}}), ''raise'' ({{lang|non|ræisa}}), ''ransack'' ({{lang|non|rannsaka}}), ''rid'' ({{lang|non|ryðia}}), ''run'' ({{lang|non|rinna}}, stem {{lang|non|rinn-/rann-/runn-}}, related to OE. cognate {{lang|ang|rinnan}}), ''scare'' ({{lang|non|skirra}}), ''scrape'' ({{lang|non|skrapa}}), ''seem'' ({{lang|non|søma}}), ''sprint'' ({{lang|non|sprinta}}), ''take'' ({{lang|non|taka}}), ''thrive'' ({{lang|non|þrífa(s)}}), ''thrust'' ({{lang|non|þrysta}}), ''want'' ({{lang|non|vanta}})
* '''Adjectives''' – ''flat'' ({{lang|non|flatr}}), ''happy'' ({{lang|non|happ}}), ''ill'' ({{lang|non|illr}}), ''likely'' ({{lang|non|líklígʀ}}), ''loose'' ({{lang|non|lauss}}), ''low'' ({{lang|non|lágʀ}}), ''meek'' ({{lang|non|miúkʀ}}), ''odd'' ({{lang|non|odda}}), ''rotten'' ({{lang|non|rotinn}}/{{lang|non|rutinn}}), ''scant'' ({{lang|non|skamt}}), ''sly'' ({{lang|non|sløgʀ}}), ''weak'' ({{lang|non|væikʀ}}), ''wrong'' ({{lang|non|vrangʀ}})
* '''Adverbs''' – ''thwart/athwart'' ({{lang|non|þvert}})
* '''Prepositions''' – ''till'' ({{lang|non|til}}), ''fro'' ({{lang|non|frá}})
* '''Conjunction''' – though/tho ({{lang|non|þó}})
* '''Interjection''' – ''hail'' ({{lang|non|hæill}}), ''wassail'' ({{lang|non|ves hæill}})
* '''Personal pronoun''' – ''they'' ({{lang|non|þæiʀ}}), ''their'' ({{lang|non|þæiʀa}}), ''them'' ({{lang|non|þæim}}) (for which the Anglo-Saxons said {{lang|ang|híe}},{{sfn|O'Donoghue|2004|pp=190–201}}{{sfn|Lass|1993|pp=187–188}} {{lang|ang|hiera}}, {{lang|ang|him}})
* '''Prenominal adjectives''' – ''same'' ({{lang|non|sam}})

In a simple sentence like 'They are both weak', the extent of the Old Norse loanwords becomes quite clear; compare Old East Norse with archaic pronunciation: {{lang|non|"Þæiʀ eʀu báðiʀ wæikiʀ"}} with {{langx|ang|"híe syndon bégen (þá) wáce"}}. The words "they" and "weak" are both borrowed from Old Norse, and the word "both" might also be a borrowing, though this is disputed (cf. German {{lang|de|beide}}).{{who|date=December 2010}} While the number of loanwords adopted from the Norse was not as numerous as that of [[Norman French]] or [[Latin]], their depth and everyday nature make them a substantial and very important part of everyday English speech as they are part of the very core of the modern English vocabulary.{{Citation needed|date=February 2019}}

Tracing the origins of words like "bull" and "Thursday" is more difficult.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} "Bull" may derive from either {{langx|ang|bula}} or {{langx|non|buli}},{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} while "Thursday" may be a borrowing or simply derive from the {{langx|ang|Þunresdæg}}, which could have been influenced by the Old Norse cognate.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}} The word "are" is from {{langx|ang|earun}}/{{lang|ang|aron}}, which stems back to Proto-Germanic as well as the Old Norse cognates.<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 August 2024 |title=Language Legacy of the Vikings: How Old Norse Influenced Modern English |url=https://viking.style/language-legacy-of-the-vikings-how-old-norse-influenced-modern-english/ |access-date=29 August 2025 |website=Viking Style |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Relationship to modern Scandinavian languages ===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Development of Old Norse vowels to the modern Scandinavian languages
! Old Norse !! Modern<br />Icelandic !! Modern<br />Faroese !! Modern<br />Swedish<ref name="helfenstein">Helfenstein, James (1870). ''A Comparative Grammar of the Teutonic Languages: Being at the Same Time a Historical Grammar of the English Language''. London: MacMillan and Co.</ref> !! Modern<br />Danish<ref name="helfenstein" /> !! Examples<ref group="n">[[Bokmål]] Norwegian – Norwegianization of written Danish ; [[Nynorsk]] Norwegian – Standardised written Norwegian based on Norwegian dialects; No = same in both forms of Norwegian.</ref>
|-
! {{IPA|a}} {{angbr|a}}
| {{IPA|a(ː)}}<ref group="n" name="vowel-length">Vowel length in the modern Scandinavian languages does not stem from Old Norse vowel length. In all of the modern languages, Old Norse vowel length was lost, and vowel length became allophonically determined by syllable structure, with long vowels occurring when followed by zero or one consonants (and some clusters, e.g. in Icelandic, most clusters of obstruent to [[obstruent]] + {{IPA|[r]}}, {{IPA|[j]}} or {{IPA|[v]}}, such as {{IPA|[pr]}}, {{IPA|[tj]}}, {{IPA|[kv]}} etc.) ; short vowels occurred when followed by most consonant clusters, including [[Digraph (orthography)#Homogeneous digraph|double consonants]]. Often, pairs of short and long vowels became differentiated in quality before the loss of vowel length and thus did not end up merging; e.g. Old Norse {{IPA|/a aː i iː/}} became Icelandic {{IPA|/a au ɪ i/}}, all of which can occur allophonically short or long. In the mainland Scandinavian languages, double consonants were reduced to single consonants, making the new vowel length phonemic.</ref> || {{IPA|a/ɛaː}} ;<ref group="n" name="vowel-length" /><br/> {{IPA|ɛ}} {{angbr|a}} (+ng, nk) || {{IPA|a/ɑː}}<ref group="n" name="vowel-length" /> {{angbr|a}} ;<br /> {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} {{angbr|å}} (+ld, rd, ng) || {{angbr|a}} ;<br /> {{IPA|ɔ/ɔː}} {{angbr|å}} (+rd) || ON {{wikt-lang|non|land}} {{gloss|land}}: Ic/Fa/Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:land|land]]'' ;<br /> ON {{wikt-lang|non|dagr}} {{gloss|day}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:dagur|dagur]]'', Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:dag|dag]]'';<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|harðr}} {{gloss|hard}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:harður|harður]]'', Sw/Da ''[[wikt:hård|hård]]'', No {{wikt-lang|no|hard}} ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|langr}} {{gloss|long}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:langur|langur]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|lång}}, Da/No ''[[wikt:lang|lang]]''
|-
! {{IPA|ja}} {{angbr|ja}}
| {{IPA|ja(ː)}} || {{IPA|ja/jɛaː}} || {{IPA|(j)ɛ(ː)}} {{angbr|(j)ä}} || {{IPA|jɛ:}} {{angbr|jæ}} ;<br /> {{IPA|jæ:}} {{angbr|je}} (+r) || ON {{wikt-lang|non|hjalpa}} {{gloss|to help}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:hjálpa|hjálpa]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|hjälpa}}, Da {{wikt-lang|da|hjælpe}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|hjelpe}}, NN {{wikt-lang|nn|hjelpa}} ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|hjarta}} {{gloss|heart}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:hjarta|hjarta]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|hjärta}}, Da/NB ''[[wikt:hjerte|hjerte]]'', NN {{wikt-lang|nn|hjarta}}/{{wikt-lang|nn|hjarte}}
|-
! {{IPA|aː}} {{angbr|á}}
| {{IPA|au(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɔ/ɔaː}} || {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} {{angbr|å}} || {{IPA|ɔ/ɒ:}} {{angbr|å}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|láta}} {{gloss|to let}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:láta|láta]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|låta}}, Da {{wikt-lang|da|lade}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|la}}
|-
! {{IPA|ɛː}} {{angbr|æ}}
| {{IPA|ai(ː)}} || {{IPA|a/ɛaː}} || rowspan=3| {{IPA|ɛ(ː)}} {{angbr|ä}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|mæla}} {{gloss|to speak}}: Ic/Fa/NN ''[[wikt:mæla|mæla]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|mäla}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|mæle}} ;<br /> ON {{wikt-lang|non|sæll}} {{gloss|happy}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|sæll}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|sælur}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|säll}}, Da/No ''[[wikt:sæl|sæl]]''
|-
! {{IPA|e}} {{angbr|e}}
| {{IPA|ɛ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɛ/eː}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|menn}} {{gloss|men}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:menn|menn]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|män}}, Da {{wikt-lang|da|mænd}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|menn}} ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|bera}} {{gloss|to bear}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:bera|bera]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|bära}}, Da/NB ''[[wikt:bære|bære]]'', NN {{wikt-lang|nn|bera}}/{{wikt-lang|nn|bere}} ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|vegr}} {{gloss|way}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:vegur|vegur]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|väg}}, Da {{wikt-lang|da|vej}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|vej}}/ {{wikt-lang|nn|veg}}
|-
! {{IPA|eː}} {{angbr|é}}
| {{IPA|jɛ(ː)}} || {{IPA|a/ɛaː}} {{angbr|æ}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|kné}} {{gloss|knee}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|hné}}, Fa/Da ''[[wikt:knæ|knæ]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|knä}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|kne}}
|-
! {{IPA|i}} {{angbr|i}}
| {{IPA|ɪ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɪ/iː}} || rowspan=2|{{IPA|ɪ/iː}} {{angbr|i}} || {{IPA|e}} {{angbr|i}}/<br />{{IPA|eː}} {{angbr|e}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|kinn}} "cheek": Ic/Fa/No ''[[wikt:kinn|kinn]]'', Sw/Da ''[[wikt:kind|kind]]''
|-
! {{IPA|iː}} {{angbr|í}}
| {{IPA|i(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊɪ(ː)}}<br />{{IPA|ʊt͡ʃː}} {{angbr|íggj}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant">When not followed by a consonant.</ref> || {{angbr|i}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|tíð}} {{gloss|time}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:tíð|tíð]]'', Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:tid|tid]]''
|-
! {{IPA|ɔ}} {{angbr|ǫ}}
| {{IPA|ø}} > {{IPA|œ(ː)}} {{angbr|ö}} || {{IPA|œ/øː}} {{angbr|ø}}<br /> {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} {{angbr|o}} <ref group="n" name="nasal consonant">When followed by a nasal consonant.</ref> || {{angbr|a}} ;<br /> {{angbr|o}} ;<ref group="n" name="swedish-hook-o">{{angbr|o}} or (before {{IPA|/r/}}) {{angbr|ø}} in some isolated words, but the tendency was to restore {{angbr|a}}.</ref> <br />{{angbr|ø}} (+r) ;<ref group="n" name="swedish-hook-o" /> <br />{{angbr|å}} (+ld, rd, ng) || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|hǫnd}}' {{gloss|hand}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|hönd}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|hond}}, Sw/NN ''[[wikt:hand|hand]]'', Da/NB ''[[wikt:hånd|hånd]]'' ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|nǫs}} {{gloss|nose}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|nös}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|nøs}}, Sw/NN ''[[wikt:nos|nos]]'', Da {{wikt-lang|da|næse}}, NB {{wikt-lang|no|nese}}, NN {{wikt-lang|nn|nase}} ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|ǫrn}} {{gloss|eagle}}: Ic/Sw ''[[wikt:örn|örn]]'', Fa/Da/No ''[[wikt:ørn|ørn]]'' ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|sǫngr}} {{gloss|song}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|söngur}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|songur}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|sång}}, Da/NB ''[[wikt:sang|sang]]'', NN {{wikt-lang|nn|song}}
|-
! {{IPA|jɔ}} {{angbr|jǫ}}
| {{IPA|jø}} > {{IPA|jœ(ː)}} {{angbr|jö}} || {{IPA|jœ/jøː}} {{angbr|jø}} || {{IPA|(j)œ/(j)øː}} {{angbr|(j)ö}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|skjǫldr}} {{gloss|shield}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|skjöldur}}', Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|skjøldur}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|sköld}}, Da/No ''[[wikt:skjold|skjold]]'' ;<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|bjǫrn}} {{gloss|bear}}: Ic/Sw ''[[wikt:björn|björn]]'', Fa/Da/NN ''[[wikt:bjørn|bjørn]]''
|-
! {{IPA|ɔː}} {{angbr|ǫ́}}
| {{IPA|aː}} > {{IPA|au(ː)}} {{angbr|á}} || {{IPA|ɔ/ɔaː}} {{angbr|á}} <br> {{IPA|œ/ɔuː}} {{angbr|ó}} || {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} {{angbr|å}} || {{angbr|å}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|tá}} (*''[[wikt:tǫ́|tǫ́]]'') {{gloss|toe}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:tá|tá]]'', Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:tå|tå]]''<!--; <br />Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|nátt}} {{IPA|[nɔʰtː]}}-->
|-
! {{IPA|o}} {{angbr|o}}
| {{IPA|ɔ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} || {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} {{angbr|o}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|morginn}}/{{wikt-lang|non|morgunn}} {{gloss|morning}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|morgunn}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|morgun}}, Sw/NN ''[[wikt:morgon|morgon]]'', Da/NB ''[[wikt:morgen|morgen]]''
|-
! {{IPA|oː}} {{angbr|ó}}
| {{IPA|ou(ː)}} || {{IPA|œ/ɔuː}}<br />{{IPA|ɛkv}} {{angbr|ógv}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || {{IPA|ʊ/uː}} {{angbr|o}} || {{angbr|o}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|bók}} {{gloss|book}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:bók|bók]]'', Sw/No ''[[wikt:bok|bok]]'', Da {{wikt-lang|da|bog}}
|-
! {{IPA|u}} {{angbr|u}}
| {{IPA|ʏ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊ/uː}} || rowspan=2|{{IPA|ɵ/ʉː}} {{angbr|u}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|fullr}} {{gloss|full}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:fullur|fullur]]'', Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:full|full]]''
|-
! {{IPA|uː}} {{angbr|ú}}
| {{IPA|u(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʏ/ʉuː}}<br />{{IPA|ɪkv}} {{angbr|úgv}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || {{angbr|u}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|hús}} {{gloss|house}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:hús|hús]]'', Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:hus|hus]]''
|-
! {{IPA|joː}} {{angbr|jó}}
| {{IPA|jou(ː)}} || {{IPA|jœ/jɔuː}}<br />{{IPA|(j)ɛkv}} {{angbr|(j)ógv}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || rowspan=2|{{IPA|jɵ/jʉː}} {{angbr|ju}} || rowspan=2|{{angbr|y}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|bjóða}} {{gloss|to offer, command}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:bjóða|bjóða]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|bjuda}}, Da/No ''[[wikt:byde|byde]]'', NN {{wikt-lang|nn|byda}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|by}}
|-
! {{IPA|juː}} {{angbr|jú}}
| {{IPA|ju(ː)}} || {{IPA|jʏ/jʉuː}}<br />{{IPA|(j)ɪkv}} {{angbr|(j)úgv}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || ON {{wikt-lang|non|djúpr}} {{gloss|deep}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:djúpur|djúpur]]'', Sw/No ''[[wikt:djup|djup]]'', Da {{wikt-lang|da|dyb}}, NB {{wikt-lang|nn|dyp}}
|-
! {{IPA|ø}} {{angbr|ø}}
| {{IPA|ø}} > {{IPA|œ(ː)}} {{angbr|ö}} || rowspan=2|{{IPA|œ/øː}} {{angbr|ø}} || rowspan=2| {{IPA|œ/øː}} {{angbr|ö}} || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|gøra}} {{gloss|to prepare}}: Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|göra}}
|-
! {{IPA|øː}} {{angbr|œ}}
| {{IPA|ɛː}} > {{IPA|ai(ː)}} {{angbr|æ}} || {{angbr|ø}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|grœnn}} {{gloss|green}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|grænn}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|grønur}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|grön}}, Da/NN ''[[wikt:grøn|grøn]]'', No {{wikt-lang|no|grønn}}
|-
! {{IPA|y}} {{angbr|y}}
| {{IPA|ɪ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɪ/iː}} || {{angbr|ö}},<br />{{angbr|y}}<ref group="n">When un-umlauted {{IPA|*/u/}} is still present elsewhere in the paradigm.</ref>  || || ON {{wikt-lang|non|dyrr}} {{gloss|door}}: Ic/Fa ''[[wikt:dyr|dyr]]'', Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|dörr}}, Da/No ''[[wikt:dør|dør]]''<br />ON {{wikt-lang|non|fylla}} {{gloss|to fill}}: Ic/Fa/NN/Sw ''[[wikt:fylla|fylla]]'', Da {{wikt-lang|da|fylde}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|fylle}}
|-
! {{IPA|yː}} {{angbr|ý}}
| {{IPA|i(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊɪ(ː)}}<br />{{IPA|ʊt͡ʃː}} {{angbr|ýggj}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || {{IPA|ʏ/yː}} {{angbr|y}} || {{angbr|y}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|dýrr}} {{gloss|dear}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|dýr}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|dýrur}}, Sw/Da/No ''[[wikt:dyr|dyr]]''
|-
! {{IPA|ɛi}} {{angbr|ei}}
| {{IPA|ei(ː)}} || {{IPA|aɪ(ː)}}<br />{{IPA|at͡ʃː}} {{angbr|eiggj}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || {{IPA|e(ː)}} {{angbr|e}} || {{angbr|e}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|steinn}} {{gloss|stone}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|steinn}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|steinur}}, Sw/Da/NB ''[[wikt:sten|sten]]'', No {{wikt-lang|no|stein}}
|-
! {{IPA|œy}}<ref name="FromOldNordic" /> {{angbr|ey}}
| {{IPA|ei(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɔɪ(ː)}} {{angbr|oy}}<br />{{IPA|ɔt͡ʃː}} {{angbr|oyggj}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || rowspan=2|{{IPA|œ/øː}} {{angbr|ö}} || rowspan=2|{{angbr|ø}} || ON {{wikt-lang|non|ey}} {{gloss|island}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|is|ey}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|oyggj}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|ö}}, Da {{wikt-lang|da|ø}}, No {{wikt-lang|no|øy}}
|-
! {{IPA|ɔu}} {{angbr|au}}
| {{IPA|øy(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɛ/ɛɪː}} {{angbr|ey}}<br />{{IPA|ɛt͡ʃː}} {{angbr|eyggj}}<ref group="n" name="no-consonant"/> || ON {{wikt-lang|non|draumr}} {{gloss|dream}}: Ic {{wikt-lang|non|draumur}}, Fa {{wikt-lang|fa|dreymur}}, Sw {{wikt-lang|sv|dröm}}, Da/NB ''[[wikt:drøm|drøm]]'', NN {{wikt-lang|nn|draum}}
|}

{{reflist|group="n"}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Pronunciation of vowels in various Scandinavian languages
! Spelling !! Old Norse !! Modern<br />Icelandic !! Modern<br />Faroese !! Modern<br />Swedish !! Modern<br />Norwegian
|-
! {{angbr|a}}
| {{IPA|a}} || {{IPA|a(ː)}} || {{IPA|a/ɛaː}} || {{IPA|a/ɑː}} || {{IPA|ɑ(ː)}}
|-
! {{angbr|á}}
| {{IPA|aː}} || {{IPA|au(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɔ/ɔaː}} || colspan="2 | –
|-
! {{angbr|ä}}
| colspan="3" rowspan="2" | – || {{IPA|ɛ/ɛː}} || –
|-
! {{angbr|å}}
| colspan="2 | {{IPA|ɔ/oː}}
|-
! {{angbr|æ}}
| {{IPA|ɛː}} || {{IPA|ai(ː)}} || {{IPA|a/ɛaː}} || – || {{IPA|æ(ː)}} , {{IPA|ɛ/eː}}
|-
! {{angbr|e}}
| {{IPA|e}} || {{IPA|ɛ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɛ/eː}} || {{IPA|e/eː}} || {{IPA|ɛ/eː}} , {{IPA|ə}}, {{IPA|æ(ː)}}
|-
! {{angbr|é}}
| {{IPA|eː}} || {{IPA|jɛ(ː)}} || colspan="3 | –
|-
! {{angbr|i}}
| {{IPA|i}} || {{IPA|ɪ(ː)}} || colspan="3 | {{IPA|ɪ/iː}}
|-
! {{angbr|í}}
| {{IPA|iː}} || {{IPA|i(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊɪ(ː)}} || colspan="2 | –
|-
! {{angbr|o}}
| {{IPA|o}} || {{IPA|ɔ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} || {{IPA|ʊ/uː}} , {{IPA|ɔ/oː}} || {{IPA|uː}} , {{IPA|ɔ/oː}}
|-
! {{angbr|ó}}
| {{IPA|oː}} || {{IPA|ou(ː)}} || {{IPA|œ/ɔuː}} || colspan="2 | –
|-
! {{angbr|ǫ}}
| {{IPA|ɔ}} || colspan="4" rowspan="2" | –
|-
! {{angbr|ǫ́}}
| {{IPA|ɔː}}
|-
! {{angbr|ö}}
| – || ø > œ(ː) || – || œ/øː || –
|-
! {{angbr|ø}}
| {{IPA|ø}} || – || {{IPA|œ/øː}} || – || {{IPA|œ/øː}}
|-
! {{angbr|œ}}
| {{IPA|øː}}|| colspan="4" | –
|-
! {{angbr|u}}
| {{IPA|u}} || {{IPA|ʏ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊ/uː}} || {{IPA|ɵ/ʉː}} || {{IPA|ʉ(ː)}}
|-
! {{angbr|ú}}
| {{IPA|uː}} || {{IPA|u(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʏ/ʉuː}} || colspan="2" | –
|-
! {{angbr|y}}
| {{IPA|y}} || {{IPA|ɪ(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɪ/iː}} || colspan="2" | {{IPA|ʏ/yː}}
|-
! {{angbr|ý}}
| {{IPA|yː}} || {{IPA|i(ː)}} || {{IPA|ʊɪ(ː)}} || colspan="2" | –
|-
! {{angbr|ei}}
| {{IPA|ɛi}} || {{IPA|ei(ː)}} || {{IPA|aɪ(ː)}} || – || {{IPA|æɪ}}
|-
! {{angbr|ey}}
| {{IPA|œy}}<ref name="FromOldNordic" /> || {{IPA|ei(ː)}} || {{IPA|ɛ/ɛɪː}} || colspan="2" | –
|-
! {{angbr|oy}}
| colspan="2" | – || {{IPA|ɔɪ(ː)}} || colspan="2" | –
|-
! {{angbr|øy}}
| colspan="4" | – || {{IPA|œʏ}}
|-
! {{angbr|au}}
| {{IPA|ɔu}} || {{IPA|øy(ː)}} || colspan="2" | – || {{IPA|æʉ}}
|}

== See also ==
* [[Germanic a-mutation]]
* ''[[An Introduction to Old Norse]]''{{snd}}A common textbook on the language
* [[List of English words of Old Norse origin]]
* {{annotated link|List of Old Norse exonyms}}
* [[Old Norse morphology]]{{snd}}The grammar of the language.
* [[Old Norse orthography]]{{snd}}The spelling of the language
* [[Old Norse poetry]]
* [[Proto-Norse language]]{{snd}}The Scandinavian dialect of Proto-Germanic that developed into Old Norse

=== Dialectal information ===
* [[Greenlandic Norse]]
* [[History of Danish]]
* [[History of Icelandic]]
* [[Old Gutnish]]
* [[Old Norwegian]]
* [[Old Swedish]]

== Citations ==
=== General citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Cleasby-Vigfússon citations ===
{{Reflist|group="cv"}}

== Sources ==
=== General sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation | last = Harbert | first = Wayne | title = The Germanic Languages | work = Cambridge Language Surveys | publisher = Cambridge: Cambridge University Press | year = 2007 }}
* {{citation | last = Haugan | first = Jens | title = Right Dislocated 'Subjects' in Old Norse | work = Working Papers in Scandinavian Syntax | number = 62 | year = 1998 | pages = 37–60}}
* {{citation | first = Einar | last = Haugen | author-link = Einar Haugen | year = 1950 | title = First Grammatical Treatise. The Earliest Germanic Phonology | journal = Language | volume = 26 | pages = 4–64 | issue = 4 | doi = 10.2307/522272 | jstor = 522272 }}
* {{citation | url = http://www.menota.org/HB2_index.xml | title = The Menota handbook: Guidelines for the electronic encoding of Medieval Nordic primary sources | editor-first = Odd Einar | editor-last = Haugen | editor-link = Odd Einar Haugen | edition = Version 2.0 | publisher = Bergen: Medieval Nordic Text Archive | orig-year = 2004 | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-82-8088-400-8 | ref = {{harvid|''The Menota handbook''}} | access-date = 4 September 2018 | archive-date = 24 May 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200524141221/https://www.menota.org/HB2_index.xml | url-status = live }} , "The Menota handbook 2.0"
* {{citation | last = Lass | first = Roger | title = Old English: A Historical Linguistic Companion | publisher = Cambridge: Cambridge University Press | year = 1993 }}
* {{citation | editor-last = Adams | editor-first = Charles Kendall | editor-link = Charles Kendall Adams | title = Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia: A New Edition | volume = 7 (Raleigh-Tananarivo) | url = https://archive.org/details/johnsonsuniversa07adam | orig-year = 1876 | year = 1899 | publisher = D. Appleton, A. J. Johnson }}
* {{citation | editor-first = J. | editor-last = van der Auwera | editor-first2 = E. | editor-last2 = König | year = 1994 | title = The Germanic Languages }}
* {{citation | first1 = J. | last1 = Moberg | first2 = C. | last2 = Gooskens | first3 = J. | last3 = Nerbonne | first4 = N. | last4 = Vaillette | year = 2007 | chapter = 4. Conditional Entropy Measures Intelligibility among Related Languages | title = Proceedings of the 17th Meeting of Computational Linguistics in the Netherlands | pages = 51–66 | volume = 7 (LOT Occasional series) | hdl = 1874/296747 }}
* {{citation | editor-first = Oskar | editor-last = Bandle | editor-first2 = Kurt | editor-last2 = Braunmüller | editor-first3 = Ernst Hakon | editor-last3 = Jahr | editor-first4 = Allan | editor-last4 = Karker | editor-first5 = Hans-Peter | editor-last5 = Naumann | editor-first6 = Ulf | editor-last6 = Teleman | editor-first7 = Lennart | editor-last7 = Elmevik | editor-first8 = Gun | editor-last8 = Widmark | title = The Nordic Languages, An International Handbook on the History of the North Germanic Languages | publisher = Walter de Gruyter, Berlin | year = 2002}}
** {{citation | title = Volume 2 | year = 2005 | ref = {{harvid | Bandle | 2005}} }}
* {{citation | last = O'Donoghue | first = Heather |title=Old Norse-Icelandic Literature: A Short Introduction |series=Blackwell Introductions to Literature |publisher=Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |date=2004}}
* {{citation | last1 = Torp | first1 = Arne | author-link = Arne Torp | first2 = Lars S | last2 = Vikør | author-link2 = Lars Vikør | orig-year = 1993 | title = Hovuddrag i norsk språkhistorie | trans-title = The main features of Norwegian language history | language = no | publisher = Gyldendal Norsk Forlag | year = 2014 | isbn = 978-8205464025 | edition = 4th | ref = {{harvid | Torp | Vikør | 1993}} }}
{{refend}}

=== Dictionaries ===
{{refbegin|}}
* {{citation | last1 = Cleasby | first1 = Richard | author-link = Richard Cleasby | last2 = Vigfússon | author-link2 = Guðbrandur Vigfússon | first2 = Guðbrandur | title = An Icelandic-English Dictionary | publisher = Oxford: Clarendon Press | year = 1874 | url = https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RnEJAAAAQAAJ }}
** [http://www.germanic-lexicon-project.org/texts/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html e-text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720131325/http://www.germanic-lexicon-project.org/texts/oi_cleasbyvigfusson_about.html |date=20 July 2021 }} via the Germanic Lexicon Project (''germanic-lexicon-project.org'')
** [https://old-norse.net e-text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417094040/https://old-norse.net/search.php |date=17 April 2023 }} adapted from the Germanic Lexicon Project version to work better with mobile devices and with an improved search (''old-norse.net'')
* {{citation | first = G. T. | last = Zoëga | title = Íslenzk-Ensk orðabók | year = 1896 | url = https://archive.org/details/enskslenzkorabk00zogoog | publisher = S. Kristjánsson }}
** {{citation | title = Íslenzk-Ensk orðabók | year = 1922 | url = https://archive.org/details/slenzkenskorab00zouoft | publisher = Reykjavík, Kostnaarmaur: Sigurdur Kristjánsson }}
* {{citation | first = G. T. | last = Zoëga | title = A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic| year = 1910 }}
** [http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/texts/oi_zoega_about.html scanned document] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211155218/http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/texts/oi_zoega_about.html |date=11 February 2021 }} via "Germanic Lexicon Project" (''lexicon.ff.cuni.cz'')
** [http://norroen.info/dct/zoega/ e-text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101154914/http://norroen.info/dct/zoega/ |date=1 January 2022 }} via ''norroen.info''
* {{citation | url = https://onp.ku.dk/onp/onp.php | title = ONP: Dictionary of Old Norse Prose | publisher = University of Copenhagen | language = da, en | access-date = 6 August 2021 | archive-date = 18 December 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191218105653/https://onp.ku.dk/onp/onp.php | url-status = live }}
* {{citation | first = Jan | last = de Vries | author-link = Jan de Vries (linguist) | orig-year = 1961 | title = Altnordisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch | year = 1977 }}
* {{citation | editor-first = Sveinbjorn | editor-last = Egilsson | editor-link = Sveinbjörn Egilsson | title = Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis | year = 1854 | url = https://archive.org/details/lexiconpoticuma00copegoog | language = da, la | publisher = Hafniæ, typis J. D. Qvist & comp }}
* {{citation | editor-first = Sveinbjorn | editor-last = Egilsson | editor-link = Sveinbjörn Egilsson | editor-first2 = Finnur | editor-last2 = Jónsson | editor-link2 = Finnur Jónsson | title = Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis | orig-year = 1913–1916 | year = 1931 | edition = 2nd }}
** [http://www.septentrionalia.net/etexts/ First and Second editions] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419093224/http://www.septentrionalia.net/etexts/ |date=19 April 2021 }} via ''www.septentrionalia.net''
{{refend}}

=== Grammars ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation | first = George | last = Bayldon | title = An Elementary Grammar of the Old Norse or Icelandic Language | publisher = London: Williams and Norgate | year = 1870 | url = https://archive.org/details/elementarygramma00bayluoft }}
* {{citation | last1 = Vigfússon | first1 = Gudbrand | author-link = Guðbrandur Vigfússon | first2 = F. York | last2 = Powell | author-link2 = Frederick York Powell | url = https://archive.org/details/icelandicprosere00guuoft | title = An Icelandic Prose Reader: with Notes, Grammar, and Glossary | year = 1879 | publisher = Oxford Clarendon Press }}
* {{citation | author-link = Adolf Noreen | last = Noreen | first = Adolf | title = Altnordische grammatik I. Altisländische und altnorwegische grammatik (laut- und flexionslehre) | edition = 4th | year = 1923 | url = https://digital-humanities.uni-tuebingen.de/altn-gram/noreen1923.html | publisher = Halle (Saale): Max Niemeyer | access-date = 9 June 2020 | archive-date = 24 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211024173130/https://digital-humanities.uni-tuebingen.de/altn-gram/noreen1923.html | url-status = live }} ('''Old West Norse''')
* {{citation | last = Noreen | first = Adolf | title = Altnordische grammatik II. Altschwedische grammatik mit einschluss des altgutnischen | year = 1904 | url = https://archive.org/details/altschwedischegr00noreuoft/page/n11/mode/2up | publisher = Halle: Max Niemeyer }} ('''Old Swedish''' and '''Old Gutnish''')
*{{citation | last1 = Barnes | first1 = Michael | title = A New Introduction to Old Norse Part I: Grammar | year = 2008 | publisher = London: Viking Society for Northern Research, University College London }}
* {{citation | last = Brøndum-Nielsen | first = Johannes | title = Gammeldansk Grammatik i sproghistorisk Fremstilling ''(8 volumes)'' | year = 1928–1974 | publisher = København: J. H. Schultz }} ('''Old Danish''')
* {{cite book | author-link = Ragnvald Iversen | last = Iversen | first = Ragnvald | year = 1972 | title = Norrøn grammatikk | edition = 7th | publisher = Oslo: Aschehoug }} ('''Old West Norse''')
* {{citation | author-link = Jan Terje Faarlund | last = Faarlund | first = Jan Terje | title = The Syntax of Old Norse | year = 2004 | publisher = New York: Oxford University Press }} (''Old Norse'' in the narrow sense, i.e. '''Old West Norse''')
* {{citation | author-link = Odd Einar Haugen | last = Haugen | first = Odd Einar | title = Grunnbok i norrønt språk | year = 2006 | edition = 3rd, revised printing of the 4th | publisher = Gyldendal Akademisk }} ('''Old West Norse''')
* {{citation | last = Haugen | first = Odd Einar | title = Norröne Grammatik im Überblick | year = 2015 | edition = 2nd | publisher = Universität Bergen | url = https://digital-humanities.uni-tuebingen.de/altn-gram/haugen2015.html | access-date = 10 June 2021 | archive-date = 24 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211024173130/https://digital-humanities.uni-tuebingen.de/altn-gram/haugen2015.html | url-status = live }} ('''Old West Norse''')
{{refend}}

=== Old Norse texts ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{citation | ref = {{harvid | Gutasaga}} | url = https://runeberg.org/gutasaga/ | title = Gutasagan | editor-first = Lars | editor-last = Aronsson | editor-link = Lars Aronsson | work = [[Project Runeberg]] | year = 1997 | language = non | access-date = 16 May 2007 | archive-date = 12 November 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201112085657/http://runeberg.org/gutasaga/ | url-status = live }}
** {{citation | url = http://www.germanicmythology.com/works/Gutasagan.html | title = Gutarnas Krönika eller Gutasagan [The History of the Gotlanders] | editor-first = Peter | editor-last = Tunstall | language = non, en | access-date = 17 July 2011 | archive-date = 10 November 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111110120521/http://www.germanicmythology.com/works/Gutasagan.html | url-status = live }} , facing translation
{{refend}}

=== Language learning resources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Barnes, Michael; Faulkes, Anthony (2007–2011), [http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ ''A New Introduction to Old Norse'']. [http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/NION-1.pdf Part I - Grammar]. [http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/NION%20II-2011.pdf Part II - Reader]. [http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Glossary%202011.pdf Part III - Glossary]. Viking Society for Northern Research. University College London. Available at [http://vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/ the Viking Society for Northern Research homepage].
* {{citation | last = Byock | first = Jesse | author-link =Jesse Byock | title = Viking Language: Learn Old Norse, Runes, and Icelandic Sagas | year = 2013 | publisher = Jules William Press | isbn = 978-1-4802-1644-0 }}
* {{citation | last1 = Gordon | first1 = Eric V. | author-link = E. V. Gordon | title = An Introduction to Old Norse | year = 1981 | publisher = Clarendon Press | location = Oxford | isbn = 978-0-19-811184-9 | first2 = A. R. | last2 = Taylor | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/introductiontool00gord }}
* {{citation | last = Sweet | first = Henry | author-link = Henry Sweet | title = An Icelandic Primer, with Grammar, Notes, and Glossary | year = 1895 | publisher = Univerzita Karlova | url = https://archive.org/details/icelandicprimerw00swee | edition = 2nd }}
** [http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/texts/oi_sweet_about.html alt source] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224043854/http://lexicon.ff.cuni.cz/texts/oi_sweet_about.html |date=24 February 2021 }} via Germanic Lexicon Project (lexicon.ff.cuni.cz)
** [http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5424 e-ext] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026213656/https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5424 |date=26 October 2021 }} via [[Project Gutenberg]]
* {{citation | title = Old Norse for Beginners | first1 = Haukur | last1 = Þorgeirsson | first2 = Óskar | last2 = Guðlaugsson | url = https://notendur.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ | ref = {{harvid | Old Norse for Beginners}} | access-date = 4 September 2018 | archive-date = 23 January 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170123013137/https://notendur.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/ | url-status = dead }}
{{refend}}
* Valfells, Sigrid; Caithey, James E. (1982), ''Old Icelandic: An Introductory Course.'' Oxford University Press.

== External links ==
{{WikisourceWiki|Norrœnt}}
{{Wiktionary category|type=Old Norse|category=Old Norse language}}
* [http://www.heimskringla.no/wiki/Main_Page Heimskringla.no], an online collection of Old Norse source material
* [https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol/norol Old Norse Online] by Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, free online lessons at the [https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc Linguistics Research Center] at the [[University of Texas at Austin]]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wz-srPR-Do&t=4s Video: Old Norse text read with reconstructed pronunciation and a Modern Icelandic pronunciation, for comparison]. With subtitles by Eldar Heide
* Old Norse sound samples for [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAdc0duf8hA early Old Norse] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-dkZO1S1qc 13th century Norwegian Old Norse] by [[Arne Torp]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090318013455/http://www3.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/sounds/ragn1_2b.mp3  Old Norse sound sample] by Haukur Þorgeirsson (archived from the [http://www3.hi.is/~haukurth/norse/sounds/ragn1_2b.mp3 original]) 
* [http://germanic-studies.org/Scandinavian-loanwords-in-Old-and-Middle-English-and-their-legacy-in-the-dialects-of-England-and-modern-standard-English.htm Old Norse loans in Old and Middle English, and their legacy in the dialects of England and modern standard English]
* [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ier\grm&limit=-1 Old Norse basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
* [https://incubator.miraheze.org/wiki/Wp/non Old Norse Wiki] on [[Miraheze]]
{{Viking}}
{{Nordic countries}}
{{Germanic languages}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Old Norse| ]]
[[Category:8th-century establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:14th-century disestablishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Languages attested from the 8th century]]
[[Category:Languages extinct in the 14th century]]
[[Category:Medieval languages|Norse, Old]]
[[Category:North Germanic languages]]