Flying over the volcano in Iceland

**Barb T** · 23rd June 10, 01:07 AM

Originally Posted by MacBean

"and fly over Eyjafjallajokull"

easy to write, but how do you say it!?

Actually not that hard to pronounce. A double L in Icelandic is pronounced like a "tl", J is like "y", and "ey" is like "ay" as in "say" or "bay", but NOT like "aye" (which is more like a long "i"). Then it helps to recognize where the words are. This is a compound word that means "islands" (eyja) "hills" (fjalla) "glacier" (jokull). So, putting that all together

ay (as in bay) - ya - fee - at - la - yer (with a British "R") - kuh - tull

Icelandic is essentially unchanged from Old Norse, and, as a result of Viking raids and emigrations in the 7th-12th centuries, Old Norse lent names to lots of places. The word "island" in Icelandic is "ey", and is found in lots of places around the British Isles, (e.g., Orkney). "Fjall" means hill, and the word "fell" is basically the same word (the noun, not the verb).

**KFCarter** · 23rd June 10, 05:26 AM

Awesome pictures... and no, that was not "more detail than you wanted to know..." No such thing. Fascinating stuff.

**Mipi** · 23rd June 10, 06:21 AM

Fantastic pics. Thanks for sharing with us.

**piperdbh** · 23rd June 10, 06:47 AM

I always enjoy your pictures, Barb. Thanks for putting them here for us.

**wildrover** · 23rd June 10, 08:04 AM

Awesome!

Also, I did not know the TL sound of the LL in Icelandic, from Old Norse...interesting! In Norwegian it would just be L...so a mountain would sound like an F in front of 'yell', 'fjell'...with a sort of looping, curvy sound to the 'ell', spoken more in the front of the mouth...

I always though of Norwegian as sounding like it's spoken in the front of the mouth, compared to Danish which sounds like it's back in the throat, and Swedish seemed to be somewhere in the middle. Where's Icelandic fit amongst the three, being closer to Old Norse?

**fluter** · 23rd June 10, 08:30 AM

Thanks for that, Barb!

Originally Posted by Barb T.

yer (with a British "R")

Does this mean the almost, but not quite silent English "ah(r)", or some kind of Continental trilled 'r'? "yeah" versus "yerrr"

**ronstew** · 23rd June 10, 08:30 AM

I confess jealousy. To have such a job, and to be good at it.....

**Barb T** · 23rd June 10, 12:17 PM

Originally Posted by fluter

Does this mean the almost, but not quite silent English "ah(r)", or some kind of Continental trilled 'r'? "yeah" versus "yerrr"

Not trilled. More like the not quite silent English "ah(r)".

Where's Icelandic fit amongst the three, being closer to Old Norse?

I'd say more in the middle of the mouth. Many times, "s" has an almost "sh" sound - not quite, and that's more a mid-mouth kind of sound. As in Jonasson, which would be more like Jonass(h)on. And "fl" in Icelandic is pronounced "bl", so the airport Keflavik is pronounced KEB' la veek (which again, is more a midmouth kind of sound that Keflavik (with an "f') would be. And most words have a stress on the first syllable - so an American's inclination to pronounced the airport Kuh FLAH vik is doubly wrong.

Icelandic is a very complicated language, but the pronunciation rules (while not entirely intuitive) are very regularly applied.

**Barb T** · 23rd June 10, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by ronstew

I confess jealousy. To have such a job...

It sure makes up for being a colossal nerd in high school and being treated as one!!! My job is a whole heck of lot more interesting than that of most of the "cool kids" in high school. And, hey, I get to know you guys!!!

**wildrover** · 23rd June 10, 02:01 PM

Originally Posted by Barb T.

Not trilled. More like the not quite silent English "ah(r)".

I'd say more in the middle of the mouth. Many times, "s" has an almost "sh" sound - not quite, and that's more a mid-mouth kind of sound. As in Jonasson, which would be more like Jonass(h)on. And "fl" in Icelandic is pronounced "bl", so the airport Keflavik is pronounced KEB' la veek (which again, is more a midmouth kind of sound that Keflavik (with an "f') would be. And most words have a stress on the first syllable - so an American's inclination to pronounced the airport Kuh FLAH vik is doubly wrong.

Icelandic is a very complicated language, but the pronunciation rules (while not entirely intuitive) are very regularly applied.

Interesting...I could probably learn it very quickly. I read Keflavik as "KEH-fla-vik"...the accent on the first syllable is probably a result of fluency in Norwegian, which is also fairly regular (more so than English, I thought).

Norwegian has the same tendency to pronounce 's' as 'sh' and drop the 'r'..."Norsk" comes out "Nawshk" rather than "Nor(rolled)sk", though as I sit here saying it (talking to myself is the first sign of insanity, I think), it's right behind my teeth. Pulled back to the middle of my mouth, it's more "NOHshk". Would that be about correct, if you were to say it Icelandic, purely based on the written form?

Which of the modern Scandinavian languages does it resemble most...or maybe the question is, which of the modern Scandinavian dialects most resembles Old Norse?