Today, lets talk a little about Icelandic phonology and pronunciation. In order to do that, we have to start with one basic assumption: the letter does not equal the sound. Not always.

 

Sometimes, for example, we write two letters, but those two letters comprise one sound. Hj, kj, gj, hn, hr, hl are all one sound. Hjarta (pronunciation), kjóll (pronunciation), gjöf (pronunciation), hnerra (pronunciation), hringja (pronunciation ), hlaupa (pronunciation ). Likewise, we sometimes write one letter to represent two sounds: the x , for example, makes a ks, as in buxur (pronunciation ). É = e + j, (where j is pronounced ‘y’ – like yes), as in éta (pronunciation ). Hér (pronunciation ) is pronounced hjer.

 

Sometimes the letter and the sound are completely different, as is the case with question words. Hvað? Hver? Hvernig? as hvalur, hver, hvass. (pronunciation: hvass).
But that’s an easy one.

One letter can symbolize multiple sounds, as with g.

 

 

 

An f  before n or l :

fl is pronounced [pl]

• Keflavík (pronunciation), afl (pronunciation ), kafli (pronunciation )

fn is pronounced [pn]

• Hrefna (pronunciation ), sofna (pronunciation ), ofn (pronunciation )

 

Let’s wrap up with ll and nn.

ll is pronounced [tl] or [l:]

[tl] = hilla (pronunciation), allir, ellefu, fjall

[l:] = Palli (pronunciation), dollari, ball (pronunciation ), grilla *
*This l: typically occurs when the word is a borrow word, or a diminutive/pet name.

 

-nn- is sometimes pronounced [tn] and sometimes [n:]

Steinn (pronunciation ), grænn (pronunciation), þjónn (pronunciation ), einn, brúnn

 

[n:] henni (pronunciation), tennur, vinna

 

 

Next time: Vowel sounds are long before a single consonant, and short before 2 or more.

 

That’s all, folks!