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Since the A of Arn is short in most languages, a connecting vowel (originally from the oblique cases) is often used in forming the dithematic name. The presence of this connecting vowel often indicates whether the prototheme has a long or short vowel, and thus may help distinguish between themes such as God- "good" (with long |o| e.g. Godhild) and God- "god" (with short |o| e.g. Godehild) in languages where these are otherwise homographs.

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Arne- is the common Frankish form. In Lombard Italy the form is usually Arno-. In English names, perhaps because a regularly becomes æ and is then broken to the diphthong æa before r (written ear), this connecting vowel is usually absent.