Icelandic Pronunciation: F and G

Learn how to pronounce Icelandic letters F and the more elusive G like an Icelander!

[@robertl1946]

Wow, this video is really well done. You included all the aspects I would have included had I made it myself. I am an Icelandic teacher and wrote up an entire document detailing the pronunciation of each and every letter. I spent the most time on F and G, as well. Never actually got around to making an accompanying video, you beat me to it, but I'll just refer my students to you now! Thanks!

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Thanks! Yes please feel free to refer them :)

[@NadirAgha]

I don't know or learn Icelandic. I saw video in my KZbin reccomendations. This video was very clear and instructive. The type of video, that one needs if he/she would learn the language. Now even I know how to pronounce "F" and "G" in Icelandic language 🙂

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Thank you for your kind words! Now you know where to come when you are ready to learn Icelandic :)

[@Durrgon]

Huh, neat. I listen to the band Skálmöld a lot, and always thought there were some tricky pronunciation bits of knowledge I was missing. Totally had no idea the 5th rule for 'gt' was even a sound in Icelandic haha. Awesome video, very clear and straightforward explanations.

[@Kolious_Thrace]

Very interesting! Thank you! I visited Iceland some years ago and even in was confused with some long words and letters that I was familiar with, when I heard people speaking Icelandic was not that difficult to imitate what they were saying! We have some common sounds, Icelandic🇮🇸 and Hellenic🇬🇷 and after seeing this video I could say it’s not that difficult to pronounce some words! Also, this phonetic alphabet uses a lot of Hellenic letters! γ, ε, θ, χ, δ… Like Icelandic we also have that (γ) sound. When I’m trying to explain it to foreigners I tell them to see it like the letter y in the word yes. In Hellenic has nothing to do with the English letter g, it’s sounds more like y on words like yes, yeah, you, Yule… Trying to teach to foreigners to say Yee-ros and not Jáiros when they see this word: gyros😂

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Thank you for your comment and insight into your language! Best of luck in your studies.

[@davidjosemoreno6435]

Probably the best channel to learn islandic. Good job

[@cproteus]

This was so important because G kills me! LOL

[@robertofranciscomonsalvesp8080]

Gee!! It was simply great.

[@ylchen77]

Very instructive.

[@eggertmaessy9135]

Thank you for this channel...easy for me to learn Icelandic. Great job. Hope more videos to come.

[@rafaelkehdy8231]

One of the best videos I ve ever seen!!!! thank you

[@ylchen77]

. Your video is wonderful and very instructive . I love it so much.

[@tomasvil]

Skogga er reyndar skrifað með tveim káum: að Skokka

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Úps takk! Þá hef ég alltaf sagt það vitlaust :P

[@vitorsg]

Perfect

[@stephenarnquist]

7:06 sounds like this also applies to ægi, in mikilvægi.

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Yes, absolutely! That should have been mentioned in the video too.

[@ThorirPP]

This was a really good video, very well explained. I want to comment though on something you didn't mention about the pronunciation of 'gl' 'gn' and 'fl' 'fn'. You maybe already know this, but others might find it informative. There is a certain simplification of clusters of 'f' 'g' and 'l' 'n' before the dental stops 't' or 'd'. The clusters 'gn' and 'ng' both become a simple velar nasal (english ng in sing). So gegndi, past of gegna, is [cɛŋtɪ], and hengdi, past of hengja, is [heiŋtɪ]. Same with gegnt being [cɛŋ̥t] and langt being [lauŋ̥t ] The clusters 'fn' and 'mb' both become a labial nasal (a normal m sound). So hefnd is [hɛmt] and dembdi, past of demba, is [tɛmtɪ]. And hefnt being [hɛm̥t] and dembt being [tɛm̥t] The clusters 'gl' and 'lg' both become a velarized lateral (like the English dark l). So sigldi, past of sigla, is [sɪɫtɪ] which rhymes with fylgdi [fɪɫtɪ]. And siglt is [sɪɫ̥t], fylgt is [fɪɫ̥t] Finally the clusters 'fl' and 'lf', which can sound either like 'vl' or 'lv' depending on speaker (might actually be a labialized lateral? hard to tell). So efldi, past of efla, is either [ɛlvtɪ] or [ɛvltɪ], and hvelfdur is [kʰvɛlvtʏr] or [kʰvɛvltʏr]. And eflt is [ɛl̥ft] or [ɛfl̥t] and álft is [aul̥ft] or [aufl̥t] For some speakers 'fl' 'lf' and 'gl' 'lg' become a simple l sound, so gld, lgd, fld and lfd all sound like ld [lt] and glt, lgt, flt and lft all sound like lt [l̥t]

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Thank you for posting this for my subscribers! I was planning on doing a consonant cluster video once I finished my alphabet videos. I appreciate this concise summary, and will use it as a reference when I make my later video.

[@SchmulKrieger]

Icelandic need a spelling reform. This orthography is historicising.

[@buyersremorse7106]

Ég elski myndskeiðin þín. Þau eru bestu sem ég hef séð fyrir framburð.

[@MrVoodemar]

the letter G is the craziest letter as far as all Germanic languages are concerned!

[@fpm616]

Wow, that was fantastic! Thanks!!! May I say that the "additional rule" number 4 would be g between vowels before the letter i? The [x] sound is something like the German R?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Yes, that would be a good way to describe that rule! I don't think [x] is akin to German R because German R is uvular (further back in the throat) than [x], which is velar. I thought it was closer to the CH in Nacht, but I'm not an expert in German.

[@fpm616]

@@icelandicforforeigners oh, I guess I get it now!!! Your videos are really helping me out here Brian! Thank you so much!

[@idonthaveausername8658]

@@icelandicforforeigners german 'ch' is [x] after back vowels and 'a', and [ç] everywhere else: 'Tuch' [tʰu:x] 'dachte' [däxtʰə] 'mich' [mɪç] 'echt' [ɛçt] 'Chemie' [çemi:] (some speakers pronounce it as [ʃ] or [kʰ] at the beginning of words, depends on dialect etc, there's probably more variation i'm not aware of) also, german 'ch' corresponds with icelandic pre-aspiration in some words: nótt - nacht dóttir - tochter

[@user-mrfrog]

Mjög skýrt! En ég trúi því að f þegi í orðinu "prófa".

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Já ég held að þú hafir rétt fyrir þér! Kannski ræði ég það seinna í öðru myndbandi :)

[@Alex-hz2xg]

The F sounding like the P is interesting. Because in Greek words like Sophia or Philokalia the PH is pronounced like an F.

[@HD-dq9kr]

The gj sound is written as c in the ipa

[@icelandicforforeigners]

There are actually different notations depending on the source; some use c and some use kj. I chose to use the kj because it’s a little more intuitive for people who are new to IPA.

[@HD-dq9kr]

@@icelandicforforeigners it’s definitely helpful to use something that makes more sense for new learners! But the actual sound is definitely [c] and not [kj]. My BA essay is about this issue 😊

[@flameofmage1099]

What about in the word Flóð? How would it be pronounced?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Good observation! The FL rule does not apply at the beginning of words :)

[@flameofmage1099]

@@icelandicforforeigners Thanks, that helps a lot!

[@pookyiceland292]

Takk fyrir

[@Emily-vi8tz]

It almost sounds like there’s an r sound at the end of ég. I’m I hearing it wrong?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Good question. My guess is that it sounds similar because most Icelandic consonants lose their voicing before a pause. I think voiceless consonants are harder to hear and distinguish from each other. Make sure to pronounce ég with a soft G, not an R :)

[@damianow.6114]

What happens to the F in rafmagnsketill?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Technically it's pronounced like a V, though I could imagine it becoming hard to hear next to the M. I would recommend pronouncing it like a V while you're learning, as this will sound the most correct.

[@tungumal1584]

What about the silent f in afmæli?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

It definitely seems like the f is hard to hear in afmæli, probably because it's articulated near the same place as the m. It is not truly silent, however, because it would still be correct to pronounce it with a full "v" sound. So I would recommend that learners pronounce it with a V in the beginning and can practice reducing that sound as they become more comfortable.

[@tungumal1584]

Icelandic For Foreigners, takk fyrir! :)

[@kalya_mco]

"soft g" is exactly the sound of the french "R"

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Technically the French R is uvular and the soft G is velar, meaning it's slightly more forward in the mouth. But they end up sounding very similar.

[@dgstranz]

It sounds rather like the Spanish g between any vowel and a,o,u (such as lago, pegar) or at the end of a syllable (diagnóstico). One of the trickier sounds of the language.

[@icelandicforforeigners]

@@dgstranz yes, exactly!

[@Kikkerv11]

But the F in fljúga sounds like F, not P. Maybe because the word starts with flj rather than fl?

[@icelandicforforeigners]

Exactly right! You're the first person to point it out, but the FL rule doesn't apply at the beginning of words or across word boundaries.

[@schlurpie]

and i thought danish was difficult 😆😆😆

[@icelandicforforeigners]

I actually find Danish pronunciation more difficult! I guess it's different for everyone :)

[@kaiotlatonie797]

Aþlæt fan kjözrte

[@SchmulKrieger]

I thought f can sound like a b in gifa like giba.

[@icelandicforforeigners]

I don't believe gifa is a word. At any rate I've never heard of f sounding like b :)

[@kaiotlatonie797]

Vas të veit baut F

[@alittlebird3818]

G is not an actual g. It's an unaspirated k, while k is aspirated

[@icelandicforforeigners]

In this video I use the IPA symbol g̥ which represents an unaspirated velar stop. Some people use k, but they represent the same sound.

[@hagsmunamadurinn]

Nah dude, the gt / x is more of a german acht rather than a scottish loch.

[@kaiotlatonie797]

Die ardbæ is rot en die pome als