Icelandic orthography
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Icelandic orthography is the way in which Icelandic words are spelt and how their spelling corresponds with their pronunciation.
Contents |
[edit] Function of symbols
This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations, and how to pronounce them using a narrow International Phonetic Alphabet transcription. [1] See Icelandic language: Vowels to know when a vowel is long or short. The chart below is incomplete:
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| a | long: [äː] open central unrounded vowel
short: [ɐ] |
taska "handbag, suitcase"  listen (help·info)
|
before ng or nk
|
svangur "hungry" | |
| á | [äu̯] | fár "damage" listen (help·info) |
| au | [œy̯] | þau "they" listen (help·info) |
| b | [p⁼] unaspirated voiceless bilabial plosive | bær "town" listen (help·info) |
| d | [t⁼] unaspirated voiceless alveolar plosive | dalur "valley" listen (help·info) |
| ð | between vowels or at end of word: | eða "or" listen (help·info)
|
| before a voiceless consonant: | maðkur "maggot" listen (help·info) |
|
| e | long: [eɛ̯]
short: [ɛ] |
skera "to cut" |
before ng or nk
|
drengur "boy" | |
| é | [jɛ] | ég [jɛːɣ] "I" listen (help·info) |
| ei, ey | [ɛi̯] | skeið "spoon" listen (help·info) |
| f | normally:
|
fundur "meeting" |
around vowels:
|
lofa "promise" listen (help·info) |
|
between ó and a vowel:
|
prófa [prou̯ɐ] "test" listen (help·info)
|
|
before l or n:
|
Keflavík listen (help·info) |
|
| fnd | [mt] | hefnd [hɛmt] listen (help·info) |
| fnt | [m̥t] (voiceless) | nefnt [nɛm̥t] listen (help·info) |
| g | beginning of word, before a, á, é, j, o, ó, u, ú and ö; or between vowel and l or n:
|
glápa "have a look" listen (help·info)
|
beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
|
geta "can" listen (help·info)
|
|
| after vowels; before a, u, ð or r; or at end of word: | fluga "fly" listen (help·info)
|
|
| 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" | |
| hv | [kʰv] (older speakers say [xv]) | hvað "what" listen (help·info) |
| i | [ɪ] | sin "sinew" listen (help·info) |
| í | [i] | íslenska "Icelandic" listen (help·info) |
| j | [j] | já "yes" |
| k | [kʰ] | kynskiptingur "transsexual" listen (help·info) |
beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
|
keyra "drive" | |
| kk | [ʰk] | þakka "thank" listen (help·info) |
| l | in most cases:
|
lás "lock" listen (help·info) |
at end of word:
|
sól "sun" listen (help·info) |
|
| ll | in most cases:
|
bolli "cup" listen (help·info)
|
in loan words and pet names:
|
bolla listen (help·info)
|
|
| 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: [oɔ̯]
short: [ɔ] |
lofa "promise" listen (help·info)
dolla "pot" |
| ó | [ou̯] | rós "rose" listen (help·info) |
| p | beginning of word:
|
par "pair" listen (help·info) |
after a voiceless sound:
|
spara "save" listen (help·info) |
|
| before s, k or t: | September "September"
skips "ship's" |
|
| pp | [ʰp] | stoppa "stop" listen (help·info) |
| 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
|
hratt "fast"
svartur "black" |
|
| rl | [rtl̥] | karlmaður "man" |
| rn | [rtn̥] | þorn "the name of the letter þ" |
| s | [s] | sósa sauce |
| t | beginning of word:
|
taka "take" listen (help·info) |
after voiceless sound:
|
stela "steal" listen (help·info) |
|
| u | [ʏ] | hundur "dog" listen (help·info) |
before ng or nk
|
munkur "monk" | |
| ú | [u] | þú "you" listen (help·info) |
| v | [v] | vera "to be" |
| x | [xs] | lax "salmon" |
| þ | [θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | þú "you" |
| æ | [äi̯] | læsa "lock" listen (help·info) |
| ö | [œ] | ör "scar" listen (help·info) |
[edit] See also
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[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Thráinsson, Höskuldur. Icelandic in The Germanic Languages, 2002, eds. König, Ekkehard; van der Auwera, Johan. pgs 142-52. Routledge Language Family Descriptions
