The combination #cg#, which frequently stands for #gg#, had probably the sound of _dge_ in Modern English _edge_: #ęcg#, _edge_; #sęcgan#, _to say_; #brycg#, _bridge_. Initial #h# is sounded as in Modern English: #habban#, _to have_; #hālga#, _saint_. When closing a syllable it has the sound of German _ch_: #slōh#, _he slew_; #hēah#, _high_; #ðurh#, _through_.
9. An important distinction is that between voiced (or sonant) and voiceless (or surd) consonants.[2] In Old English they are as follows:
g h, c d t ð, þ (as in _th_ough) ð, þ (as in _th_in) b p f (= v) f s (= z) s
It is evident, therefore, that ð (þ), f, and s have double values in Old English. If voiced, they are equivalent to _th_ (in _th_ough), _v_, and _z_. Otherwise, they are pronounced as _th_ (in _th_in), _f_ (in _f_in), and _s_ (in _s_in). The syllabic environment will usually compel the student to give these letters their proper values. When occurring between vowels, they are always voiced: #ōðer#, _other_; #ofer#, _over_; #rīsan#, _to rise_.
NOTE.--The general rule in Old English, as in Modern English, is, that voiced consonants have a special affinity for other voiced consonants, and voiceless for voiceless. This is the law of Assimilation. Thus when _de_ is added to form the preterit of a verb whose stem ends in a voiceless consonant, the d is unvoiced, or assimilated, to t: #sęttan#, _to set_, #sętte# (but #tręddan#, _to tread_, has #trędde#); #slǣpan#, _to sleep_, #slǣpte#; #dręncan#, _to drench_, #dręncte#; #cyssan#, _to kiss_, #cyste#. See § 126, Note 1.
[Footnote 2: A little practice will enable the student to see the appropriateness of calling these consonants voiced and voiceless. Try to pronounce a voiced consonant,--_d_ in _den_, for example, but without the assistance of _en_,--and there will be heard a gurgle, or _vocal_ murmur. But in _t_, of _ten_, there is no sound at all, but only a feeling of tension in the organs.]
10. A syllable is usually a vowel, either alone or in combination with consonants, uttered with a single impulse of stress; but certain consonants may form syllables: _oven_ (= _ov-n_), _battle_ (= _bæt-l_); (_cf._ also the vulgar pronunciation of _elm_).
A syllable may be (1) weak or strong, (2) open or closed, (3) long or short.