# Spell My Name With An Eth: Why is 'Odin' pronounced like it is? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 20, 2012, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796 "2012-06-20T22:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/21 "2012-06-21T15:17:00Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > sh/“zh” (as the sound in “treasure.”) > th (as in “thin”)/th (as in “then”) > Also, you could say ch/j (one is t+sh, the other is d+zh) Also known as ʃ ʒ θ ð tʃ dʒ ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/22 "2012-06-21T15:39:44Z")
Oh, you get outta here with your secret language! ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/23 "2012-06-21T16:17:55Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@HeyHomie](#): > > > > Can we render pronunciation in a more meaningful and simple way? Instead of “ˈoʊdɨn” how about “OH-din” or whatever? > > I personally try to do both, but the problem is, as stated, the differences between accents. This is what I would ask for. Something like either “ˈoʊdɨn (approximately OH-din)” or “OH-din (more precisely ˈoʊdɨn)” would help those of us playing along at home. We might even accidentally learn something :). I’d like to see this in Wikipedia also, and have actually looked around a bit to see where to request it as part of a style recommendation, but nothing jumped out at me. Maybe I’ll look again. ETA: I do see a parallel with using foreign language, where it seems to be OK when it’s called for, and generally a translation to English is also provided, even if it’s only approximate. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/24 "2012-06-21T16:45:57Z")
> [@](#): > > What now? [h] is a voiceless glottal fricative, a consonant. Whatever you mean by “a,” it’s not a consonant. Actually, it seems to be correct, though I never thought of it that way before. You may just be getting caught up on the (somewhat artificial) distinction between vowels and consonants, but if you make a sustained H sound and then add voicing to it, you do end up with something awfully close to the sound of “a”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/25 "2012-06-21T16:53:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, it seems to be correct, though I never thought of it that way before. You may just be getting caught up on the (somewhat artificial) distinction between vowels and consonants, but if you make a sustained H sound and then add voicing to it, you do end up with something awfully close to the sound of “a”. This still doesn’t make any sense to me. The thing is there is a voiced “h” and an unvoiced “h.” The voiced “h” doesn’t appear in English (except in some dialects.) I’m making a voiced “h” sound right now and, no, it doesn’t sound anything like any variety of “a” anymore than a sustained “th” sounds like an “a” with voicing. ETA: [You can read about it and hear it here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voiced_glottal_fricative). Compare with the [unvoiced “h”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unvoiced_glottal_fricative). They add a vowel to it to make it easier to say, but that initial aspirated sound is what the voiced and unvoiced “h” sounds like. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/26 "2012-06-21T16:56:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, it seems to be correct, though I never thought of it that way before. You may just be getting caught up on the (somewhat artificial) distinction between vowels and consonants, but if you make a sustained H sound and then add voicing to it, you do end up with something awfully close to the sound of “a”. Actually, if I add voice to [h], I end up with a voiced glottal fricative [ɦ], not “a” (I still don’t know what you mean by “a”). ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/27 "2012-06-21T19:13:26Z")
> [@ZenBeam](#): > > I’d like to see this in Wikipedia also, and have actually looked around a bit to see where to request it as part of a style recommendation, but nothing jumped out at me. Maybe I’ll look again. Mouse over the IPA. In a lot of cases (not all of them), tooltips will show you what each IPA symbol (or linked pair of symbols) roughly corresponds to in a respelling scheme. (If this respelling scheme is too far from your own dialect, well, you still have the IPA to fall back on.) ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/28 "2012-06-21T19:18:17Z")
> [@naita](#): > > Why is ‘Odin’ pronounced like it is? Because the Old Norse voiced th changed in pronounciation to a ‘d’. OK, so when was it pronounced with a /ð/ to begin with? It sure looks like \*Wōdanaz was pronounced with a /d/ in that position. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/29 "2012-06-21T19:21:09Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > May I raise a point? > > Not just here on the SDMB, but also Wikipedia and several other places on the net, I often see pronunciation rendered in those ridiculous dictionary symbols. They’re all but useless; I haven’t opened a dictionary in probably two decades. > > Can we render pronunciation in a more meaningful and simple way? Instead of “ˈoʊdɨn” how about “OH-din” or whatever? > > Thanks. > [@Alessan](#): > > I agree completely with **HeyHomie**. In fact, one could argue that use of a specialized code in which just a handful of dopers is fluent can be seen as a violation of the SDMB rules on foreign language use. :rolleyes: this is really a sad day for the fight against ignorance. Perhaps we should re-define π to 3 - who needs all those decimal places. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean ‘pi’. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/30 "2012-06-21T19:38:30Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > :rolleyes: > > this is really a sad day for the fight against ignorance. Perhaps we should re-define π to 3 - who needs all those decimal places. Oh, I’m sorry, I mean ‘pi’. Aw, now, I think that’s a little harsh. The vast majority of even reasonably intelligent people aren’t fluent in IPA. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/31 "2012-06-21T19:55:43Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Aw, now, I think that’s a little harsh. The vast majority of even reasonably intelligent people aren’t fluent in IPA. There’s no reason they can’t become fluent between now and supper time. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/32 "2012-06-21T20:01:11Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Aw, now, I think that’s a little harsh. The vast majority of even reasonably intelligent people aren’t fluent in IPA. Neither am I, not completely anyway - but I do recognize that it serves an important purpose that the regular alphabet cannot serve, and I would not argue that it should not be used on the Dope. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/33 "2012-06-21T20:15:52Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There’s no reason they can’t become fluent between now and supper time. If this was intentional, then I see what you did there. If not, then never mind. . . IPA = India Pale Ale, becoming fluent by supper time. Nicely played! ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/34 "2012-06-21T20:20:23Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I agree completely with **HeyHomie**. In fact, one could argue that use of a specialized code in which just a handful of dopers is fluent can be seen as a violation of the SDMB rules on foreign language use. Have you actually read [the rules](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7697021&postcount=8)? _"Exceptions include requests for help with translation, explanation of foreign language words or expressions, foreign words or phrases that have come into English, etc. "_ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/35 "2012-06-21T23:26:50Z")
By “‘a’ sound”, I was referring to the sound at the beginning of “about”. What are you left with when you take away the voicing in that, if not an ‘h’ sound? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/36 "2012-06-21T23:42:57Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By “‘a’ sound”, I was referring to the sound at the beginning of “about”. That would be a schwa. > [@](#): > > What are you left with when you take away the voicing in that, if not an ‘h’ sound? A voiceless schwa, like in the first syllable of “potato” to many English speakers. It is represented by “ə̥” in IPA. You can also replicate it by whispering “about.” ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2012, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/37 "2012-06-21T23:58:05Z")
awww! now my head has exploded. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/38 "2012-06-22T01:00:08Z")
You know, Odin Allfather only had to give up _one_ of his eyes to learn the writing system he used. Looking at all this argument over IPA, he might well decide to finish the job and let his ravens split the other eye. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/39 "2012-06-22T01:48:37Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > By “‘a’ sound”, I was referring to the sound at the beginning of “about”. What are you left with when you take away the voicing in that, if not an ‘h’ sound? When you take away the voicing of a vowel, you get silence. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2012, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796/40 "2012-06-22T02:13:35Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > When you take away the voicing of a vowel, you get silence. But there is such a thing as voiceless vowels [See here.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voicelessness) Note that the “potato” example is mentioned. And isn’t all whispering unvoiced? So any vowel whispered would be voiceless? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spell-my-name-with-an-eth-why-is-odin-pronounced-like-it-is/625796.md?page=3)