Icelandic/Alphabet and Pronunciation

Stafróf og framburður Alphabet and pronunciation __NOTOC__ The Icelandic alphabet consists of 32 letters. There are also three letters only used for foreign words, and one deleted letter (which is sometimes still used only for foreign words). The Icelandic language uses the Latin alphabet, which is the same as the English alphabet and most Western European languages. There are 10 letters that are not found in English, and even some letters that only Icelandic uses. Íslenska stafrófið thumb|right|450px|The Icelandic keyboard layout. Is-Icelandic alphabet.oga Icelandic alphabet An Icelandic speaker reciting the alphabet in Icelandic Ogg Upper case Lower case Name А а a Á á á B b bé D d dé Ð ð eð E e e É é é F f eff G g gé H h há I i i Í í í J j joð K k ká L l ell M m emm N n enn O o o Ó ó ó P p pé R r err S s ess T t té U u u Ú ú ú V v vaff X x ex Y y y Ý ý ý Þ þ þorn Æ æ æ Ö ö ö Letters C, Q, and W are not part of the Icelandic alphabet, but are used in foreign words: Upper case Lower case Name C c sé Q q kú W w tvöfalt vaff The final Basic Latin letter, Z, not any longer appears in Icelandic words as of the 1973 reform, and therefore is not any longer used in the Icelandic language either. However, it is still technically used only in very rare cases preserved in historic names of structures, organizations, and the like, such as Verzló (a school in Reykjavík). The 1973 spelling reform changed Z’s in native words only into S’s. Upper case Lower case Name Z z seta With the exception of letters C, Q and W, these letters do appear in the Icelandic language in foreign words, unlike the deleted letter Z, which only appears in very rare cases in foreign words (such as pizza) and therefore are also used more often than the deleted letter is. Until 1980, the Icelandic alphabet used to consist of 36 letters and also included the 3 letters that are only used for foreign words and the deleted letter (which is still technically only used for foreign words but very rarely) (and computers still order this way): A Á B C D Ð E É F G H I Í J K L M N O Ó P Q R S T U Ú V W X Y Ý Z Þ Æ Ö How the letters are pronounced LetterExplanationAis like "a" in "bar", "tar" , ''car '' ''dar'' , ' par''Áis like "ou" in "house", "about" and "shout"Bsame as English P, but without the puff of air, as in "spit"Dsame as English T, but without the puff of air, as in "stick"Ðis like "th" in "feather", "father" and "that", but as the last letter of a word it is like "th" in "thin".Esame as in English except that it's always short, like in "bed" and "end"Ésame as English "yay"Fsame as in English "from"; like "p" in "hip" before nGlike "k" in "wick" at the beginning of a word or between a vowel and -l, -n; /ɣ/ after vowels, before a, u, ð, r, and when it's the last character of a word; like "ch" in Scottish "loch" after vowels and before t, s; like "y" in "young" between vowel and -i, -j; dropped between a, á, ó, u, úHsame as in English "hello"Iis like the first "i" in "inside" and "impossible"Ílike an English "ee" and the "i" in "Maria" and the "y" in "diary"Jis like "y" in "yes", "yogurt" and "yield"Ksame as in English "king"Lsame as in English "love"Msame as in English "mom"Nsame as in English "never"Olike "a" in British English "all" and "o" in "bolt"Óis like "o" in "sole" and like "oa" in "goat" and "soap"Pgenerally same as in English "Peter", but can be softerRgenerally same as in Scottish English, virtually identical to a Spanish rolled R, from the very front of the mouthSsame as in English "soup"Tsame as in English "time"Uvirtually identical to a French "u" (as in "cul"), or a German "ü" (as in "über"). Equivalent to English "i" as in "kit", but with the lips rounded.Úlike English "oo" as in "zoo"V between English V and WXsame as in English "six"Yexactly like Icelandic "i", it's only a matter of spellingÝexactly like Icelandic "í", it's only a matter of spellingÞlike English "th" in "thunder", "theatre" and "thong"Æis like the name of the letter "i" in English or the sound of the letters "ai" in the words "Thai food". Hi/hæ & bye/bæ are the same in English and Icelandic.Ölike German "ö" and English "u" in "urgent" or "fur". Equivalent to English "e" as in "bed", but with the lips rounded. Notes: Icelandic words never begin with Ð or X, and no words end with Þ. I and Y share the same pronunciation, as do Í and Ý. Prior to the 1973 reform, the letter Z in Icelandic was restricted to the middle or end of word stems to represent specific historical consonant collapses. Consequently, native Icelandic vocabulary never began with the letter Z, with initial usage limited to foreign loanwords or names. HV is pronounced as KV, but is sometimes pronounced as Scots WH. J, L, M, N, and R are unvoiced after H and at the end of a word. (no English equivalent) There are no silent letters in Icelandic, though in spoken language some letters might produce a different sound than usual. Double BB, DD, GG, RR, and SS are pronounced for longer than their monograph equivalents. Double FF is pronounced as English F. Double LL is pronounced something like tl if the following sound is not a vowel or voiced consonant. Double MM and NN are often pronounced as pm and tn. Double KK, PP, and TT are pronounced with an H to their left and pronounced for longer than their monograph equivalents. If a K is followed by a t, it is pronounced similarly to a Spanish j (e.g. lukt – lantern). Likewise, a P followed by a t changes into an f sound (e.g. Að skipta – to shift). F in the middle of a word is often pronounced as a v (e.g. Að skafa – to shave). If you are not able to type in Icelandic letters, you can substitute Ð with DH, Þ with TH, Æ with AE, and Á, É, Í, Ó, Ö, Ú, Ý with AA, EE, II, OO, OE, UU, YY. Stress in Icelandic is always the first syllable. Diphthongs DiphthongSound au Pronounced as öi ei, ey like the ay in stay Dialects of Icelandic All dialects of Icelandic have assimilated into the standard spoken language, but people from Reykjavík tend to speak a little differently from people from Akureyri, Egilsstaðir, Ísafjörður and other countryside towns and villages. For example, the word for hot dog in Icelandic is pylsa; in Akureyri, they would say pil-sah but in Reykjavík you often will hear pulsa. Another example is the word for to want, langar: in Ísafjörður (the northwestern part of Iceland), you often will hear lahng-ar but in Reykjavík you will hear lángar.