Not consistently—the more usual pattern is to use þ at the beginning of words and ð internally, even if the internal sound is voiceless.
In both languages, the two sounds are usually allophones and are perceived as the same sound influenced by context—the way the “th” sound in “breath” and “breathe” are perceived as the same consonant, just influenced by the preceding vowel. (If we wrote “breþ” and ‘breeð”, the different letters would hide the fact that we hear them as the same sound.)
I had assumed they were allophones and always wondered if there was a minimal pair to prove otherwise. It turns out though there is one: tooth (n) vs tooth (v), or tooþ vs tooð.
Isn’t þ in Icelandic generally voiceless, as in ‘thin’ for example?
Not consistently—the more usual pattern is to use þ at the beginning of words and ð internally, even if the internal sound is voiceless.
In both languages, the two sounds are usually allophones and are perceived as the same sound influenced by context—the way the “th” sound in “breath” and “breathe” are perceived as the same consonant, just influenced by the preceding vowel. (If we wrote “breþ” and ‘breeð”, the different letters would hide the fact that we hear them as the same sound.)
I had assumed they were allophones and always wondered if there was a minimal pair to prove otherwise. It turns out though there is one: tooth (n) vs tooth (v), or tooþ vs tooð.