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This is my fault for setting Robin off on this track in a phone conversation the other day. The truth is we don't know, whatever Beowulf is it survives as a literary text, it's not an oral poem because we've never heard how it sounded, only reconstructions. Somebody mentioned how pronunciation could vary wildly within a few miles, let alone centuries. This is spot on. Even now: this afternoon I was listening to a very very echt Leicester guy talking and he said the same sentence both 'home' (said as written) and ''ume' (same word word) Best Dave 2008/11/30 Patrick McManus <[log in to unmask]>: > Yogh- yogh- yogh > > Yogh- yogh- yogh > > Yogh- yogh- yogh - yogh- yogh > > Yogh- yogh- yogh - yogh- yogh- yogh- yogh - > > Yogh- yogh- yogh - yogh- yogh- yogh- yogh - > > > > etc > > > > > > Set to the sweete melody of jingle bells > > I do like to contribute to these learned discussions > > Cheers P > > Ps seasons greetings early phew! > > > > > > > > > -- David Bircumshaw Website and A Chide's Alphabet http://homepage.ntlworld.com/david.bircumshaw/ The Animal Subsides http://www.arrowheadpress.co.uk/books/animal.html Leicester Poetry Society: http://www.poetryleicester.co.uk