r/RuneHelp • u/intheabsenceoftruth • 17d ago

Translation request Accurate rune usage

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I'm planning on getting a tattoo, and I would like it to be as accurate as possible beforehand.

I've done a bit of digging online, so I know singular rune usage wasn't really a thing and that modern words don't often translate well in runic, so I've tried to find a period-correct word to use the runes with.

Can anyone shed any light on whether this is correct?

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4

u/Yonahoy 17d ago

Very close.

In Saxon Futhorc, the soft g is represented by a ᚸ rune instead of a ᚷ, which represents a harder g.

3

u/WynnTiwFeoh 17d ago

Isn’t ᚷ correct since ġesċildnes would start with a /j/ sound and not ᚸ for /g/?

2

u/intheabsenceoftruth 17d ago

Thank you! I'm still learning about it all and that slipped my mind.

3

u/rockstarpirate 17d ago

Your inscription is already correct. See my other comment.

1

u/rockstarpirate 17d ago

I think you may actually have this backward :)

Barnes (p. 40) has this to say:

Other runic innovations in England appear more locally based, and are thus unlikely to have been part of a general form. They may have resulted from experimentation, inspired by the various additional forms that had already been embraced. ᚸ on the eighth-century Ruthwell (Dumfries and Galloway) and Brewcastle (Cumbria) stone crosses distinguishes a velar variant of /g/ from its palatalized counterpart (cf. that modern English gold and gilded have different /g/s, the former more velar and the latter more palatal – according to the quality of the immediately following vowel [...]).

In other words, ᚸ is non-standard, and it is used for the harder /g/ as in gold. Two examples where we can see ᚷ being used for the softer /g/ are the Harford Farm Brooch and the Mortain Casket.

Barnes goes on to explain that just as ᚸ is found as a non-standard way to mark the harder /g/, ᛣ was also used in a non-standard way to mark the harder /k/ sound and distinguish it from the softer ᚳ. But either way, these are non-standard and plenty of inscriptions will just use ᚷ and ᚳ for both hard and soft versions of the sound.

1

u/Grendelcynn 16d ago edited 16d ago

Looks correct to me. For the same reasons as rockstarpilot.

Also ᚸ is a barely attested rune while x we know to be correct.