Icelandic Alphabet Pronuciation

Upper case B D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T U V X Y b d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v x Lower case Name a b d e e eff g h i jo k ell emm enn o p err ess t u vaff ex ypsilon y ypsilon orn

Letters which are not part of the Icelandic alphabet, but are used in foreign words are:

Upper case C Q W c q w

Lower case

Name se k tvfalt vaff

The final letter, Z, is no longer used in Icelandic. The only place you might find this letter is in historic names of structures, orginisations, and the like, such as Verzl (a school in Reykjavk), or in the Icelandic newspaper, Morgunblai.
Upper case Z z Lower case seta Name

[edit] How the letters are pronounced

Letter Explanation A 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) 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" after G vowels 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"

P R S T U V X Y

generally same as in English (Peter), but can be softer, like somewhere between an English "b" and "p" non-existent in English except Scottish English, virtually identical to a Spanish "r", from the very front of the mouth same as in English same as in English virtually identical to a German "" ("oo" in "foot" or "good") like English "oo" as in "zoo" same as in English same as in English 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 in English and Icelandic) like German "" and English "u" in "urgent" or "fur"

Notes:

and are pronounced similarly. Also, Icelandic words never begin with /, and no words 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 softer in Reykjavk Double LL. (An explanation from another person). If you say a word like Iceland (though this may differ from person to person) there might form a small clicking noise from the side of your cheek when you come to the L. Ice-*click*-land.. Well, it sounds very 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 they say Iceland. Also note that LL isn't always pronounced this way. It is equally often (even though I know nothing of that) pronounced similarly to the English double LL, as in hello or hell Double LL is pronounced tl. In Icelandic, the R is trilled, though not as much as Spanish or Italian. It is never pronounced like a French r or a Scottish loch. U is said like the English u except with rounded lips V might be said like an English W at 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 very phonetic language

When there are double letters in a sentence, there is a slight glottal stop with a breath of air. Try saying the word, bottle but like baht-tle If a K is followed by a t, then the sound changes and becomes a soft k, virtually the same as 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 make one single sound. We have them in English too. In Icelandic, we have two essential diphthongs to be aware of. Let's take a look:
Diphthong Sound au 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 of Icelandic. Actually, there are a few. People from Reykjavk tend to speak a little differently than people from Akureyri, Egilstair, safjrur, 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 Reykjavk you will hear pulsa. Another example is the word for to want, langar. In safjrur (the northwestern part of Iceland), you will hear lahng-ar. But in Reykjavk you will hear lngar. The reason why some books might say that there are no dialects of Icelandic is because they are not so different where someone from Reykjavk might not be able to understand someone from Akureyri. This book will teach Icelandic from a neutral point and will provide a dialect explanation when a word like pylsa comes up.