Phonological Evidence from the Continental Runic Inscriptions

Abstract

In using runic inscriptions as evidence for sound change, we tend to focus on the interpretation of individual texts, rather than examining the dataset as a whole. This study aims at the phonological analysis of a corpus of 90 runic inscriptions on the Continent to test claims that the phonological processes which characterise Old High German and Old Saxon are at work in the 5th-7th centuries. The study presents significant challenges to existing models of these sound changes.