Learn Runes

Consonants: 22 Runes

Do you already know how to read English in the Latin alphabet?

If yes, you'll be pleased to know we've arranged the 22 runes of the Anglo-Saxon futhorc in the order you'll find them easiest to learn in. Start in the top left and progress as you would normally read. Click on each rune for a short lesson. (Links still inactive.)

If you've learnt some runes before, don't be surprised if what you discover here is a little bit different. We teach the Modern English Futhorc - the only runic system designed for intelligibility across accents while still respecting the historic ideal that each and every rune should represent a sound.

We honour our ancestors by using the full Anglo-Saxon fuþorc (futhorc) to ensure historic continuity. Meanwhile, the principle of justifiable development has been employed where necessary adaptations for today's English have been required.

Consonant Digraphs: When 2 Runes Make 1 Sound

English has changed a bit since runes were last in vogue over a thousand years ago.

But even back then, they used the digraph ᛋᚳ. The word ᚠᛁᛋᚳ appears on the famous Franks Casket. In Modern English Fuþorc, there are 3 other digraphs you'll commonly see.

(Current images are placeholders.)

Rare Consonant Sounds

In some parts of the world, they use sounds most English speakers almost never hear.

Examples include the Scottish "ch" in "loch", the Welsh "ll" in "llan", and the way some people say the "wh" in "white".

If you don't use those sounds, there's no requirement to write them. But it still helps to know how to read them just in case you come across them or you meet someone who uses them all the time. (Current images are placeholders.)

Vowels

One of the advantages of writing in runes is that there are no standardised spellings, so you can only be "wrong" if folk can't read what you wrote. Unfortunately, because runes represent sounds and not everyone speaks with the same accent, communicating across dialects can be challenging.

To overcome the infamous "accent problem" we use a system of key words derived from Prof John Wells' Lexical Sets but supplemented by a few other words to fill in the gaps where you may hear some of the rarer vowels.

Looking at the chart, you'll see the 5 vowels of the Latin alphabet on the left. In the top row, you'll see that each one of them has 3 equivalent types in runes.

As a general rule, in the proverbial Average Joe's accent:

• Type 1 is either a short or lax vowel.

• Type 2 is either a long or tense vowel.

• Type 3 is a sliding vowel (diphthong).

However, in practice there are exceptions in every dialect.

In each box, the underlined vowel(s) in each word are sounds which can be represented by the rune(s) shown at the top of the box, e.g. ᛖ represents the vowel you hear in the word DRESS. You might think a word or two are in the wrong position.

That's because Average Joe's accent represents an amalgamation of around 50 accents spoken in various parts of the world by native English speakers. The result is that this reference chart works well for most people, most of the time.

But if you can't hear the difference between two or more sounds shown in the chart, there's a way you can reposition some words and still be understood.

The vowels videos

have been removed pending an update.

The consonant videos

have been removed pending an update.

All videos

have been removed

pending an update.

Stay tuned!