It all started with poetry; Ger\u00f0ur Kristn\u00fd,<\/em> to be precise: this exact poem<\/a> published over at Words Without Borders. It\u2019s hard to show the nuances in Icelandic when there\u2019s only an English translation, but you might see how the intensity of that poem could draw me in (this was before I spoke Icelandic) \u2013 the sound of ice cracking set against the backdrop of a downy pillow of snow. The immediacy of \u201cthe ice lets no one go\u201d. Even if you\u2019re not interested in poetry in particular, Ger\u00f0ur Kristn\u00fd is a great teacher: the language in her poems is dense, sharp, and widely varied. Good way to build some vocab.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve always found that I learn best by reading. This isn\u2019t the case for everybody. And Icelandic seems to require me to employ a lot of learning strategies that aren\u2019t typical of me: I learn a lot by rote because of its complicated declension system. Which is one of its positive points, returning to poetry: Icelandic is able to convey particulars in few words because of how precisely each part of speech is used. \u00a0Take this poem<\/a>, Hunang<\/em>, for example. Even without knowing what each word means, you can discern parts of speech. Which means you\u2019re seeing the outline of the language, its schematics.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also the possibility for a lot of ambiguity in Icelandic literature. Polysemous words \u2013 or words with multiple meanings \u2013 is an enormous hurdle to translation, and one of my favorite things about Icelandic. (e.g., \u201ca\u00f0 yrkja,\u201d meaning to compose verse or to till a field). Though its grammar is rather constricting at times, its vocabulary, its touches of color, counterbalances that rigidity. Plus, it\u2019s really easy to make a pun in Icelandic once you have some vocabulary behind you. And it\u2019s quite fun.<\/p>\n So, while we learn Icelandic together, I\u2019m also open to questions, which you can leave in the comments section. And if you come across something you can elaborate on, something you want to talk about or share with fellow readers, don\u2019t hesitate to post below.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sj\u00e1umst!<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hi everyone! I\u2019m Meg, and I\u2019ll be taking over the Transparent Icelandic blog in the new year (by the way, [s\u00ed\u00f0b\u00fai\u00f0] gle\u00f0ilegt \u00e1r!). And I decided I\u2019d start this new blog with an introduction \u2013 a little about who I am and how I ended up in love with Icelandic. I\u2019m currently on Fulbright in…<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/icelandic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/01\/for-SVC-254x350.png\")