Archive by Author
How To Properly Use Articles: A Crash Course Posted by Meg on May 15, 2018
I was recently reviewing some old class materials, and realized that I needed a refresher course in the proper use of articles. And what better way to learn than by teaching others? So today let’s look at definite and indefinite articles. A few notes before we begin: a definite noun designates a specified entity. In…
Fringe Theater Flourishing In Iceland: An Interview With Rvk Fringe Festival Director Nanna Gunnars Posted by Meg on May 1, 2018
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For this week’s blog, I met up with the charismatic Nanna Gunnars, co-director of the 2018 Reykjavik Fringe Festival. We chatted about the nature of a Fringe festival, the Icelandic cultural scene, and some interesting words to know for the event! Nanna, what is a Fringe Festival? A Fringe Festival is an art festival that…
Icelandic Idioms, Idioms Everywhere! Posted by Meg on Apr 18, 2018
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Today, I thought we’d do something fun and build up some vocabulary. Let’s have a look at a few idioms that I recently learned, and see if you can guess what they mean! This phrase means simply to take on a difficult task, to struggle with something. This phrase means “to have a full tree”…
Can Folklore Express Iceland’s ‘National Soul’? Posted by Meg on Apr 8, 2018
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These past few months, I’ve had the interesting challenge of reading Icelandic folktales in Icelandic. The use of language is, as one might imagine, slightly different than reading a contemporary text – terminology and spelling conventions vary, as does prosody and phraseology. But those changes don’t preclude a deeper understanding of Icelandic culture through a…
Icelandic Fisherwomen, Ruling the Sea One Pair of Trousers at a Time Posted by Meg on Mar 18, 2018
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Happy March, everyone! We´re just approaching the end of the old Icelandic calendar month Góa, and I thought it might be nice to pay tribute to a few Icelandic women. And not just any women, but women of the sea– so-called sjókonur. Many of you certainly know of the densely-populated Icelandic fisheries – mainly women…
Expressing the Five Senses In Icelandic Posted by Meg on Feb 28, 2018
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In Icelandic, the “five senses” are called “skilningarvitin fimm,” which is, lovely enough, “the understanding/perception senses”. The five senses are unchanged in Icelandic (although one might argue that the natives have a flair for seeing those pesky elves we talked about). They are: Sjónskyn – Sight Heyrnarskyn – Hearing, auditory Snertiskyn – Touch Efnaskyn…
Would You Rather Kiss a Troll or an Elf? Posted by Meg on Jan 31, 2018
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When talking about Iceland, elves and trolls inevitably come up. When I went home over Christmas, I brought my mother jólasveinar (Jól – Christmas or yule + sveinn – plural – meaning boy or lad) collectables (I admit, I bought them at the airport) because she just loves those peculiarities of Icelandic culture. At the gate, while…