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Re: About Beorn

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:16 pm
by Aeglosdir
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Re: About Beorn

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 4:39 pm
by Murcushio
Davio wrote: Beorn is anglosaxon (if Im not misstaken) for both Warrior and bear, which is Beorns character.
It's not Anglo-Saxon, it's scandinavian. (Those are two different groups.)

The spelling throws people off. Don't think "Beorn." Think "Bjorn." Beorn is just a variant spelling; it is pronounced the exact same way, like Steven and Stephen.

Re: About Beorn

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 5:39 pm
by Stormcrow
Björn and Bjørn are Scandinavian names; Beorn is Old English, i.e., Anglo-Saxon. While the Scandinavian j appears to be the palatal approximant [j], Old English eo is a dipthong [eo], which combines the vowels of English hey and toe (sort of*) into one sound.

* Actually, all the "long" vowels in Modern English are already dipthongs, so just pay attention to the first part of the vowel before your mouth changes position.

In all cases, the name is a single syllable. It is not bee-orn or bay-orn.

Re: About Beorn

Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 7:18 pm
by Majestic
Thanks for the heads-up on the linguistics of that, Stormcrow. I like to try to pronounce the various Tolkien names correctly, when I can.