Function of Symbols
This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations, and how to pronounce them using a narrow International Phonetic Alphabet transcription.
Icelandic vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: unstressed vowels are neutral in quantitative aspect. The vowel length is determined by the consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant (i.e. in a syllable), the vowel is long; if there are more than one, including geminates, the vowel is short. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule:
- A vowel is long when the first consonant following it is and the second, vg. esja, vepja, akrar, vökvar, tvisvar.
- A vowel is also long in monosyllabic substantives with a genitive -s whose stem ends in a single following a vowel (vg. ráps, skaks), except if the final is assimilated into the (what sometimes happen, vg. báts).
- The first word of a compound term preserves its long vowel if its following consonant is one of the group, vg. matmál
- The non-compound verbs vitkast and litka have long vowels.
The chart below is incomplete:
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | long: open central unrounded vowel
short: |
taska "handbag, suitcase" listen
kaka "cake" listen |
| before ng or nk
|
svangur "hungry" | |
| á | fár "damage" listen | |
| au | þau "they" listen | |
| b | unaspirated voiceless bilabial plosive | bær "town" listen |
| d | unaspirated voiceless alveolar plosive | dalur "valley" listen |
| ð | between vowels or at end of word:
|
eða "or" listen
bað "bath" listen |
before a voiceless consonant:
|
maðkur "maggot" listen | |
| e | long:
short: |
skera "to cut"
drekka "to drink" listen |
| before ng or nk
|
drengur "boy" | |
| é | ég "I" listen | |
| ei, ey | skeið "spoon" listen | |
| f | normally:
|
fundur "meeting" |
| around vowels:
|
lofa "promise" listen | |
between ó and a vowel:
|
prófa "test" listen
gulrófa "rutabaga" listen |
|
| before l or n:
|
Keflavík listen | |
| fnd | hefnd listen | |
| fnt | (voiceless) | nefnt listen |
| g | beginning of word, before a, á, é, o, ó, u, ú and ö; or between vowel and l or n:
|
glápa "have a look" listen
logn "calm (weather)" listen |
beginning of word, before e, i, í, j, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
|
geta "can" listen
gulrófa "rutabaga" listen |
|
after vowels; before a, u, ð or r; or at end of word:
|
fluga "fly" listen
lag "song" listen |
|
before t or s
|
dragt "suit" | |
after a vowel and before j or i
|
segja "to say" | |
between á ó ú and a or u
|
fljúga "to fly" | |
| gj | unaspirated voiceless palatal plosive | gjalda "to pay" |
| hj | or | hjá "next to, with" |
| hl | voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | hlýr "warm" |
| hr | voiceless alveolar trill | hratt "fast" |
| hv | ( among some older speakers in southern Iceland) | hvað "what" listen |
| i | sin "sinew" listen | |
| í | íslenska "Icelandic" listen | |
| j | já "yes" | |
| k | kynskiptingur "transsexual" listen | |
beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
|
keyra "drive" | |
before t
|
október "October" | |
| kj | beginning of word:
|
kjöt "meat" |
all other contexts:
|
þykja "to be regarded" | |
| kk | þakka "thank" listen | |
| l | in most cases:
|
lás "lock" listen |
at end of word, or next to a voiceless consonant:
|
sól "sun" listen, stúlka | |
| ll | in most cases:
|
bolli "cup" listen
milli "between" listen |
| in loan words and pet names:
|
bolla listen
mylla "mill" listen |
|
| m | in most cases:
|
mamma "mum" |
| after and before voiceless consonants
|
lampi "lamp" | |
| n | in most cases:
|
nafn "name" |
| after and before voiceless consonants
|
planta "plant"
hnifur "knife" |
|
| nn | after accented vowels or diphthongs:
|
steinn "rock"
fínn "elegant" |
| all other contexts
|
finna "to find" | |
| o | long:
short: |
lofa "promise" listen
dolla "pot" |
| ó | rós "rose" listen | |
| p | beginning of word:
|
par "pair" listen |
after a voiceless sound:
|
spara "save" listen | |
before s, k or t:
|
September "September"
skips "ship's" |
|
| pp | stoppa "stop" listen | |
| r | at the beginning of words and between vowels:
|
rigna "to rain"
læra "to learn" |
before and after voiceless consonants and at the end of a pause
|
svartur "black" | |
| rl | karlmaður "man" | |
| rn | þorn "the name of the letter þ" | |
| s | sósa sauce | |
| sl | rusl | |
| sn | bysna | |
| t | beginning of word:
|
taka "take" listen |
after voiceless sound:
|
stela "steal" listen | |
| tt | detta "to fall" | |
| u | hundur "dog" listen | |
| before ng or nk
|
munkur "monk" | |
| ú | þú "you" listen | |
| v | vera "to be" | |
| x | lax "salmon" | |
| þ | voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | þú "you"
Aþena "Athens" listen |
| æ | læsa "lock" listen | |
| ö | ör "scar" listen |
Read more about this topic: Icelandic Orthography
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