{"id":2175,"date":"2013-04-23T13:20:04","date_gmt":"2013-04-23T13:20:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/?p=2175"},"modified":"2013-04-23T13:20:04","modified_gmt":"2013-04-23T13:20:04","slug":"getting-understood-in-iceland-pre-aspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/2013\/04\/23\/getting-understood-in-iceland-pre-aspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting understood in Iceland: pre-aspiration."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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 entry about sharp consonants, the h-sound that follows certain consonants such as “k” and “t”, so let’s now look at a completely other kind of hidden h.<\/p>\n

A\u00f0bl\u00e1stur<\/strong> (= pre-aspiration)<\/p>\n

Certain double consonants and combinations are pronounced with an extra h-sound between them and the vowels that come right before them. The h is audible and clearly pronounced, and with a couple of exceptions you cannot leave it out, else no one is going to understand what word you’re trying to say. The double consonants that do this are:<\/p>\n

kk, pp and tt<\/strong><\/p>\n

For example when reading out aloud the following sentence<\/p>\n

“Ekki meira, takk.”<\/em> (= No more [for me], thank you)<\/p>\n

and extra h-sound is added before both double k clusters:<\/p>\n

“EH<\/strong>kki meira, taH<\/strong>kk.”<\/p>\n

Or:<\/p>\n

“\u00c9g er svo heppinn a\u00f0 vera h\u00e9r.”<\/em> (= I’m so happy to be here.”<\/p>\n

“\u00c9g er svo heH<\/strong>ppinn a\u00f0 vera h\u00e9r.”<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Erum vi\u00f0 eH<\/strong>kki \u00e1 jeH<\/strong>ppa?”<\/em><\/p>\n

Kl, pl, tl, kn, pn, tn<\/strong><\/p>\n

are the consonant combinations that do the same.<\/p>\n

“\u00cdslenskt vatn er best \u00ed heimi.”<\/em> (= Icelandic water is the best in the world.)<\/p>\n

“\u00cdslenskt vaH<\/strong>tn er best \u00ed heimi.”<\/p>\n

Sometimes when Icelanders speak quickly they leave some sounds only half pronounced, so it’s not unusual to hear the word vatn<\/em> (= water, lake) pronounced both vaH<\/strong>tn and vaH<\/strong>n. In compound words where vatn is in the genitive form vatns, it turns into vaHS<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

“Hekla er um 1500 metra h\u00e1tt.”<\/em> (= Hekla is about 1500 metres tall.”<\/p>\n

“HeH<\/strong>kla er um 1500 metra h\u00e1H<\/strong>tt.”<\/p>\n

“Opna\u00f0u augun \u00fe\u00edn.”<\/em> (= Open your eyes.)<\/p>\n

“OH<\/strong>pna\u00f0u augun \u00fe\u00edn.”<\/p>\n

It’s important to not confuse the a\u00f0bl\u00e1stur with \u00f6nghlj\u00f3\u00f0<\/em>, a voiceless fricative sound\u00a0that Icelandic also has. A\u00f0bl\u00e1stur is a clear h-sound, not formed in the back of one’s mouth but in the center. If pronouncing it feels difficult at first, try to make a small pause between the consonant clusters that demand it – f.ex. instead of saying “teHppi” you can say “te-ppi” – the end result sounds very nearly the same.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo taken late in the evening last Saturday – Icelandic spring is full of surprises. At least it’s also very light!<\/em><\/p>\n

Exceptions:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compound words are naturally an exception. For example any word that begins with \u00fat- will rarely get a pre-aspiration between \u00fa and t. \u00datlendingur<\/em> (= a foreigner) gets no a\u00f0bl\u00e1stur, and neither does \u00fatlit<\/em> (= appearance).<\/p>\n

Consonant clusters at the beginning of a word will naturally not get an a\u00f0bl\u00e1stur, because it can only happen between vowels and consonants. Klaustur<\/em> (= monastery, cloister) is not Hklaustur. \ud83d\ude00<\/p>\n

If the word has a -lega or a -leysi ending with a k in front of it it will not get an a\u00f0bl\u00e1stur. Mj\u00faklega<\/em> (= gently) and sakleysi<\/em> (= innocence) neither get an a\u00f0bl\u00e1stur.<\/p>\n

There’s also one curious exception that may or may not come into action if the vowel before the consonants is either \u00ed, \u00fd, ei, ey or \u00e6. Sometimes instead of a h-sound you’ll hear a y-\/j-sound instead. Don’t worry too much about which way you pronounce this one, these are the words that Icelanders will easily understand in both forms of pronunciation.<\/p>\n

As a common example: \u00e6tla<\/em> (= to plan, to intend) can be pronounced both \u00e6H<\/strong>tla and \u00e6Y<\/strong>tla\/\u00e6J<\/strong>tla. Technically speaking \u00e6H<\/strong>tla is the correct form, but it sounds a little more natural to pronounce it as \u00e6Y<\/strong>tla\/\u00e6J<\/strong>tla when talking normally. For example, when Icelanders order food at a restaurant they commonly say “\u00c9g \u00e6J<\/strong>tla a\u00f0 f\u00e1…”<\/em> (= I’m going to have\/I’d like to have…)<\/p>\n