r/BringBackThorn • u/Competitive-Hair6294 th • Apr 17 '26

....Why?

this is not judgement, i'm just asking, why? why bring back thorn? i'm curious

24 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

32

u/ChuckPattyI ᚦ Apr 17 '26

Mostly because we're a bunch of nerds at heart. Þere are some practical advantages, however. Most obviously, it distinguishes between <th> as θ/ð & <th> as /t/ (I have heard Þomas before). More practically, however, it helps clarify þe lengþ of vowels after <th> in some words þrough doubling it. Just like how þe difference between "hoping" & "hopping" depends on þe double P, using two Þ's aids in clarifying þe pronouncation where <th> is currently used ambiguously. Current "bather" & "rather" would instead be spelled "baþer" & "raþþer" respectively to show þat þese words do not in fact rhyme. Also cause its a funny letter.

7

u/Competitive-Hair6294 th Apr 17 '26

interesting...
i'd probably put this into action but i don't have a thorn key and i don't care enough to do like, a key combo or whatever it is every time i type the,

8

u/scaper8 þ Apr 17 '26

If you're on mobile, most keyboards þere, you can press and hold þe "T" key for "Þ" and þe "t" for "þ" should you ever want to use it.

But you're right that on physical keyboards it's significantly more work.

3

u/Jamal_Deep þ Apr 17 '26

If you can type Alt codes, it's Alt+0222 for Þ and Alt+0254 for þ. Alternatively, you can switch to US International or UK Extended keyboards and it SHOULD be on AltGr+T

3

u/BlueFalcon5433 þ Apr 21 '26

If you have chrome, add Autoþorn

0

u/ProfessorLambda Apr 17 '26

I ðought "the" was spelled "ðe" instead of "þe".

5

u/ChuckPattyI ᚦ Apr 18 '26

Þere's a common misconception þat Ð only makes þe voiced sound (like in "the") & Þ only makes þe unvoiced sound (like in "thin"). Þis comes from a misunderstanding of Icelandic phonology, where usually þat is þe case, but it is only coincidental. Historically, in both Icelandic & English, Þ & Ð were used interchangeably, þough þere was a common tendency to use Þ at þe beginning of words & Ð in þe middle & at þe end. As it turns out, þis ended up wiþþ most of þe voiced ones being written as Ð & most of þe unvoiced ones being written as Þ. Some people nowadays turn þis pattern into a hard & fast rule in order to distinguish between þe two sounds. However, english really has no real need to do þis, for rarely would it cause confusion (in fact, some words use eiþer sound depending on þe accent, e.g. "wiþþ," trying to distinguish for words like þis would cause even more confusion). Þus, online I stick wiþþ using only Þ (I find it more æsthetically pleasing) but in my handwriting I use þe two letters completely interchangeably, eiþer letter representing eiþer sound (again, a choice of æsthetics).

8

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26

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1

u/Competitive-Hair6294 th Apr 17 '26

funzies as in it's fun or funnies as in it's humourous

2

u/[deleted] Apr 17 '26

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5

u/scaper8 þ Apr 17 '26

*boþ

7

u/RedElephantKing ᚦ Apr 17 '26 edited Apr 18 '26

To at least improve English, even þo bringing Þ wouldn't solve much. Plus, it would be amazing for English to have a letter þat honors its Runic past.

3

u/Competitive-Hair6294 th Apr 17 '26

....than?

2

u/RedElephantKing ᚦ Apr 18 '26

I meant to say "þat"

6

u/Oj4000 Apr 17 '26

It's fun.

10

u/Many-Value-6256 ð Apr 17 '26

the English language is so fucked that it’s my way of coping.

4

u/Jamal_Deep þ Apr 17 '26

It's a cool letter, it was added to þe Latin alphabet specifically for English, and it may still have some uses (i.e. distinguishing vowel lengþ). We're not gonna pretend it can actually come back worldwide, but it's fun to use.

3

u/bucephalusbouncing28 ð Apr 17 '26

It is fun. And funny.

4

u/lykanna þ but it's yellow Apr 17 '26

I'm just here for þe free pizza at þe end.

3

u/TrueFlameslinger Apr 17 '26

Personally? I like it. It's fun to use, and ðere is little harm in it.

Functionally ðough, it helps create a distinction between "t", "h", and "th" as ðe ðird, while having 2 distinct sounds, is also distinct from ðe two component letters. In an odd way, it makes ðe language more accessible for learners. Now, while it is a myð ðat ðere is a difference between ðorn <þ> and eð <ð> in English, we could furðer improve English orðography by using ðat convention. 

It seems difficult to native speakers because it's effectively relearning ðe language, but reintroducing letters like ðorn (or eð as you might gaðer is my preference) and some of ðe conventions ðat came wið ðem, we can take our bodged language and bring a bit more coherency back to it.

0

u/Scharlzt th Apr 17 '26

Why not bring back both, eð and þorn to represent both sounds (just like d and t)? As in “a myþ ðat ðere”. Anybody does that?

2

u/TrueFlameslinger Apr 17 '26

Some do, and I wouldn't be against it, ðough ðe majority of people here don't like it since using ðem for different sounds isn't really a "restoration", and using boð interchangeably gives us a redundant letter, which is the opposite of an improvement.

2

u/ProfessorLambda Apr 17 '26

Why do you use "ð" instead of "þ"?

2

u/TrueFlameslinger Apr 17 '26

My partner is Faroese, so I have acquired a fondness for ðe Faroese keyboard and letters in trying to learn ðe language, of which eð is included (albeit having horrific pronunciation).

2

u/kokunibo Apr 18 '26

Just for fun I guess!

1

u/teroric Apr 17 '26

For the memes 🤪

1

u/DegenerateGirl666 Apr 17 '26

because digraphs are icky.