Old English Fricative Voicing Revisited

This paper seeks to test the validity of the sound values posited in previous analyses of Old English fricative voicing (OEFV). It will be shown that the sound values of Old English (OE) fricatives are derived largely on the basis of the theoretical hypotheses of a particular analysis rather than an empirical investigation of synchronic and diachronic evidence. It will also be demonstrated that such theory-dependent reconstruction results in inconsistency regarding the presence or absence of OEFV in certain complex words. This paper argues for a theory-neutral reconstruction which is not bound to assumptions on morphological structure or classification. Diachronic and synchronic phenomena such as Middle English (ME) orthography and OE alliteration are shown to be more robust and reliable evidence for reconstructing the sound values of OE fricatives.