this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2025
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Big Crunch, here we come! A new study is implying that the universe may actually be slowing down and that the culmination of the decrease in dark energy could spell a reverse big bang.

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[–] ol_capt_joe@piefed.ee 7 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Þ/þ makes the unvoiced th sound, like in Thursday/thunder.

Ð/ð makes the voiced th sound like in this/that.

Anyway, that's why it's a debate - we don't know yet.

[–] Sxan@piefed.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Thorn had completely replaced eth by þe Middle English period. It's arbitrary usage to begin wiþ.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 1 points 2 weeks ago

That's only how it works in IPA, these letters are/were used in several languages and none consistently used thorn for one sound and eth for a different sound.

[–] Zeoic@lemmy.world -2 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

Wait, whats different between the th in thursday and in this? They make the same sound

[–] SlothMama@lemmy.world 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Zeoic@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Well that must be one hell of a regional difference, because they most certainly do.

[–] SlothMama@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

It's difficult to explain this, but you're wrong, there is no regional dialect that would pronounce the word this as this, because it is awkward.

Both are interdental fricatives, but this is always done with a voiced dental fricative, a voiceless would be the way people pronounce thistle. Now try to say this place but say this without the le on thistle.

I'm on mobile and can't type out the IPA symbols, but I did take linguistics classes so I know the difference between the two phones, whereas you seem to equate the phones with their orthography.

[–] Zeoic@lemmy.world 1 points 2 weeks ago

I really dont know what to say lol. This sounds exactly the same to thistle to me. I went and researched the voiced and voiceless th, but none of the explanations really tracked with how I say th and how i hear it said around me. To me, "voiced th" is simply me not whispering.

[–] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 2 points 2 weeks ago

Check the IPA, they do not. Incidentally, the phonetic alphabet is pretty much the only writing system that ever used thorn and eth consistently for different sounds.

[–] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 weeks ago

Imagine pronouncing "this" like the first syllable of "thistle". There's more emphasis on the "th" sound than there is when you say "this"