Archive for 'Uncategorized'
Getting understood in Iceland: pre-aspiration. Posted by hulda on Apr 23, 2013
One way of describing spoken Icelandic is that Icelanders breathe it out. Take this literally: there are many “hidden” extra h-sounds in the language that aren’t written down but nevertheless are there, which give Icelandic its trademark whisper-like sound that’s unlike all the other Nordic languages. I already wrote about some of them in the…
Reykjavík, one week in pictures: storm, snowstorm, ash fall. Posted by hulda on Mar 10, 2013
Last week really gave us a proper taste of Icelandic weather at its worst! Starting with a storm on Monday and growing into a snowstorm that began on Wednesday morning, ending up with an ash fall. The snowing was no ordinary kind either. We got so much snow that the schools were closed and guess…
A 5 step guide to rhythm. Posted by hulda on Feb 6, 2013
Like I promised last month, here’s the entry on the length of vowels and what determines whether a vowel is long or short. For example, why is the name Vala pronounced with a long first “a” but the name Valla with a short one? Why do the words gata (= street) and hús (= house)…
Ready, steady, recite! Posted by hulda on Sep 5, 2012
Did you know that the world tungl (= moon)* has been said to be the hardest word of Icelandic to rhyme? According to a story by Jón Árnason there’s only ever been one man capable of finding a rhyme for it, a famous skáld (= poet) called Kolbeinn Jöklaskáld (= Kolbeinn glacier poet). One time…
Welcome home. Posted by hulda on Aug 8, 2012
“Dömur mínar og herrar, velkomin heim.” The friendly voice of the announcement you hear soon as the plane lands on Iceland welcomes you first in Icelandic and then English, and listening to it carefully you may catch the small difference in the message. The English one welcomes you to Iceland, the Icelandic one – home…
Stereotypes and Myths Posted by sequoia on Jul 21, 2012
When you read about Iceland or talk to Icelanders you often get a picturesque view, compounded by the fact that most things about Iceland easily available stem from the Icelandic tourist board. Many things about Iceland are only in Icelandic, or aren’t mentioned at all, and most Icelanders don’t know what it’s like from a…
Everyday Icelandic Posted by sequoia on Jul 17, 2012
The most difficult thing to find when you don’t live in Iceland is the Icelandic for things that you would never talk to someone else about. You might be able to get some of this from reading a lot of varied books, but unless you have a friend in Iceland willing to take photos or…