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Icelandic Alphabet Pronuciation
Upper case Lower case Name
a
B b bD d d
e
E e e
F f eff
G g g
H h h
I i i
J j jo
K k k
L l ell
M m emm
N n enn
O o o
P p p
R r err
S s essT t t
U u u
V v vaff
X x ex
Y ypsilon y
ypsilon
orn
Letters which are not part of the Icelandic alphabet, but are
used in foreign words are:
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Upper case Lower case Name
C c se
Q q k
W w tvfalt vaff
The final letter, Z, is no longer used in Icelandic. The only
place you might find this letter is inhistoric names of structures,
orginisations, and the like, such as Verzl (a school in
Reykjavk),or in the Icelandic newspaper,Morgunblai.
Upper case Lower case NameZ z seta
[edit] How the letters are pronouncedLetter ExplanationA is like
"a" in "bar", "tar" and "car"
is like "ou" in "house", "about" and "shout"
B same as in English (Brazil)
D same as in English (Diary)
is like "th" in "feather", "father" and "that", but as the last
letter of a word it represents /.
E same as in English except that it's always short, like in
"bed" and "end"
is like "ye" in "yet" (used to be spelled in Icelandic "je" and
is pronounced the same, see "j"and "e" in Icelandic)
F same as in English (From)
G
like "k" in "wick" at the beginning of a word, between a vowel
and -l, -n; // after vowels,before a, u, , r, and when it's the
last character of a word; like "ch" in Scottish "loch" aftervowels
and before t, s; like "y" in "young" between vowel and -i, -j;
dropped between a, , ,u,
H same as in English (Hello)
I is like the first "i" in "inside" and "impossible"
like an English "ee" and the "i" in "Maria" and the "y" in
"diary"
J is like "y" in "yes", "Yahweh", "Yoda" and "yikes"
K same as in English (King)
L same as in English (Love)
M same as in English (Mom)
N same as in English (Never)
O like "a" in "all" and "o" in "bolt"
is like "o" in "sole" and like "oa" in "goat" and "soap"
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Pgenerally same as in English (Peter), but can be softer, like
somewhere between an English"b" and "p"
Rnon-existent in English except Scottish English, virtually
identical to a Spanish "r", from thevery front of the mouth
S same as in English
T same as in EnglishU virtually identical to a German "" ("oo"
in "foot" or "good")
like English "oo" as in "zoo"
V same as in English
X same as in English
Y exactly like Icelandic "i", it's only a matter of spelling
exactly like Icelandic "", it's only a matter of spelling
like "th" in "thunder", "theatre" and "thong"
is like the name of the letter "i" in English or in "icy" (hi/h
& bye/b are the same inEnglish and Icelandic)
like German "" and English "u" in "urgent" or "fur"
Notes:
and are pronounced similarly. Also, Icelandic words never begin
with /, and nowords end with /.
I and Y share the same pronunciation, as do and also. hv is
pronounced as kv. A double LL will sound very odd to a learner of
Icelandic. Say an English l, but then
flatten your tongue. It will sound like you are about to spit
from the front of your mouth.
This sound will be heard much harder in the northern part of the
country and a bit softerin Reykjavk Double LL. (An explanation from
another person). If you say a word like I celand
(though this may differ from person to person) there might form
a small clicking noisefrom the side of your cheek when you come to
the L.Ice-*click*-land.. Well, it soundsvery similar to the
Icelandic double LL to me, only the Icelandic one is slightly
harder,and isn't accidental, as I suspect people aren't trying to
make this click sound when theysayIceland. Also note that LL isn't
always pronounced this way. It is equally often (eventhough I know
nothing of that) pronounced similarly to the English double LL, as
inhello orhell
Double LL is pronounced tl. In Icelandic, the Ris trilled,
though not as much as Spanish or Italian. It is neverpronounced
like a French ror a Scottish loch. U is said like the English u
except with rounded lips V might be said like an English Wat times.
It is slightly softer than the actual English V There are no
gutteral sounds in Icelandic There are no silent letters in
Icelandic. There are a few exceptions in spoken language
where a letter might produce a different sound than usual.
Otherwise, Icelandic is a veryphonetic language
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When there are double letters in a sentence, there is a slight
glottal stop with a breath ofair. Try saying the word, bottle but
like baht-tle
If a Kis followed by a t, then the sound changes and becomes a
soft k, virtually the sameas a spanish j/g, gente (e.g. lukt -
lantern)
Likewise, a P followed by a t changes into an f sound (e.g. A
skipta - to shift)
F in the middle of a word is often pronounced as a v (e.g. A
skafa - to shave) F followed by an l will change to a b-sound (afl
is pronounced as abl If you are not able to type in Icelandic
letters, you can substitute with d, with th,
with ae, and , , , , , , with a, e, i, o, u, y
[edit] Diphthongs
A diphthong is not a type of clothing. Instead, it is a
combination of two vowel sounds to makeone single sound. We have
them in English too. In Icelandic, we have two essential
diphthongsto be aware of. Let's take a look:
Diphthong Soundau Pronounced as i
ei, ey like the ay in stay
[edit] Stress
Stress in Icelandic always falls on the first syllable. There
are no exceptions.
[edit] Dialects of Icelandic
You might read in other books, websites, and other places that
there are no significant dialects ofIcelandic. Actually, there are
a few. People from Reykjavk tend to speak a little differently
thanpeople from Akureyri, Egilstair, safjrur, and other countryside
towns and villages. Forexample, the word forhot dogin Icelandic is
pylsa. In Akureyri, they would saypil-sah, but inReykjavk you will
hearpulsa. Another example is the word forto want, langar. In
safjrur(the northwestern part of Iceland), you will hearlahng-ar.
But in Reykjavk you will hearlngar.
The reason why some books might say that there are no dialects
of Icelandic is because they arenot so different where someone from
Reykjavk might not be able to understand someone fromAkureyri. This
book will teach Icelandic from a neutral point and will provide a
dialect
explanation when a word like pylsa comes up.
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