TOP TIPS on how to speak ICELANDIC

[@nicolek4673]

I watched Lazy Town when I was little and I had no idea that it is Icelandic!!

[@nunoaurelio8027]

OMG I AM SHOOK. uau

[@sara.danielaa]

I wanna learn Icelandic for the simple reason that I wanna watch Latibær in it’s original language. Stupid reason but whatever

[@angelanav1946]

Lazy Town is Icelandic?!

[@missthing5842]

NicoleK IT IS TF?!!??? HOW COME I NEVER KNEW THIS?!?

[@jacoblochner6132]

IT'S ICELANDIC

[@andreao1328]

Me, a spanish speaker: "Oh, great. The 'Rrr' sound, yeah, I got it. The next would be easy ... " The rest of icelandic pronunciation and grammar: "No."

[@nightspicer]

I'm a Pole and tbh, pretty much the same 😂

[@davidcm8670]

I feel you haha

[@blancabru13]

Pues a mi su rrr me suena diferente al nuestro jajajaja

[@andreao1328]

@@blancabru13sí suena diferente, pero creo que se refiere más bien a que ya sabemos cómo hacer el sonido (no supe cómo traducir "rolled" jajaja)

[@akehapkap6143]

It's not really that hard. I was born in Denmark where the r is semi hard. In Norway it can be both rolling and hard, depending of dialect. Icelandic is hard, even for me 😉

[@_Mett_]

As an American who's trying to learn Icelandic, I greatly appreciate every minute of these videos. Thank you, ma'am :)

[@FrozenMermaid666]

The misused superiority / purity term ma’am must be edited out, such terms cannot be misused by ppl in any way, and ppl are the exact opposite of such terms - I am the only Ma’am / Mrs / Ms / Lady / Miss / Queen / Princess / Star etc aka the superior / pure being!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

Re the R sound, the Rs is Icelandic and Norse are not supposed to be harsh / rolled / thrilled Rs like the RRs in Spanish, they are actually supposed to be soft normal Rs, which are referred to as a tap, not a thrill, like some of the Rs used in Brazilian Portuguese! Sometimes the Rs in videos are thrilled to emphasize the words, but it’s not how Icelandic normally sounds, and I highly recommend using a soft normal R in Icelandic / Norse and Spanish and other languages, as R is one of those problematic sounds that only sound good when pronounced softly and fast, so, just barely touching the Rs and saying them as fast as possible, so that they don’t become thrilled, because if one tries to prolong an R sound, it will automatically become a thrill, which sounds like a motor or engine sound, and why would one want to sound as an engine, when one can sound soft and refined and modern! I highly recommend learning the prettiest languages ever created Icelandic / Norse / Dutch / Norwegian / Gothic / Welsh 2gether, as they are as pretty / refined / poetic as English and are way too pretty not know!

[@lisas2666]

You can watch "The Valhalla Murders" on Netflix in Icelandic :)

[@unclejacksimulations9423]

TAKK FYRIRRR

[@damienmx]

Best thing about Valhalla Murders on Netflix is that there are Icelandic subtitles. Even better than hearing Icelandic and reading English.

[@mallaanimations130]

There is a series called “Trapped” I think. On Netflix. And it’s in Icelandic and it’s super good lol :3

[@mallaanimations130]

@dota vinkz but y’all can watch Ófærð so idk what you’re on about

[@zitabrigitta8930]

Discovering that Lazy Town was icelandic was very much groundbreaking for me 🙈 thank you for this video Hrafna, very useful! ❤️

[@FrozenMermaid666]

If one is learning Icelandic, here are some of the most important sounds + pronunciation rules in Icelandic, as Icelandic has one of the easiest / prettiest / coolest pronunciations ever, having a category 1 pronunciation with super cool modern sounds! - the eth letter ð is an approximant of the letter D (a less obvious D similar to the D in the Spanish word nada and like the TH in the English words this and that) and the thorn letter þ is an approximant of T (a less obvious T that’s sort of lisped, and it is the same sound as the TH in the English words think and thing, though it sounds closer to a normal T sound in Icelandic) More pronunciation rules and sounds in Icelandic... - the HV is pronounced KV - the NN is pronounced as a TN if it comes after Æ and after EI / EY and after a long vowel such as Á / É / Í / Ó / Ú (but it is a normal N sound if it comes after the short vowels A / E / I / O / U and in inn word combinations, and I recommend adding a very soft breathy H sound to the ‘inn’ word ending in masculine words to make it a bit different from the word ending ‘in’ which is the feminine word ending, like I do, as I pronounce the inn more like ihn in masculine nouns and masculine adjectives that have the inn word ending, which represents the definite article in nouns, tho there are also three articles that aren’t added to the noun, namely hinn and hin and hið, so, one can say hinn stormur or stormurinn and hinn storm or storminn as both mean the storm in nominative and accusative) - the LL is usually pronounced TL in most words and if the LL is at the end of the word it sounds more like a weak T sound - the RN is pronounced with an extra soft ‘nasal’ T sound between the R and the N (so a word like þarna sounds like thartna) - the FL / FN letter combinations are pronounced PL / PN (so F becomes a P sound if it’s before an L or an N) - the G is ultra soft in short words like ég and mig etc, so it is pronounced more like an H sound (so ég sounds like yeh) and the G in the middle of the words is kinda soft (in words like segja / saga / segir etc it is a soft G that is still a G sound and not an H) and the Gs and GGs can also sound like Ks in many of the words if they are at the end of the word or even in the middle of the word and sometimes even at the beginning of the word (same as in Old Norse) tho Gs are usually pronounced like a normal G sound if they are at the beginning of the word (except for a few words) - the KK / TT etc is pronounced more like HK / HT as a soft breathy H sound is included before the K / T sound when there is a double consonant and even when there are two different consonants (for example, ekki sounds like ehki and óútreiknanlegt sounds like outreihnanleht etc) - the letter F is usually pronounced like a V if it’s in the middle of the word or at the end of the word (so leyfa sounds like leyva) and it is pronounced like a normal F sound if it’s at the beginning of the word or very close to the beginning of the word (for example, if a words starts with af, the af is pronounced af, not av) The diphthongs and umlauts and vowels in Icelandic... - AU is pronounced EOI (normal e sound + normal o sound + normal i sound said 2gether fast in one sound) - EI / EY are pronounced EI / EY (same as they are spellt) - the Æ / æ is usually pronounced ai in most Icelandic words (but hvenær seems to be pronounced kvenar and not really kvenair, so it depends on the word) - Ö is an EO sound (normal e sound + normal o sound said 2gether in one sound, like the œ in the French word cœur) - Ó is usually pronounced OU - O is usually pronounced UO and sometimes as an O sound (depending on the word) - Ú is a normal u sound - U is a more rounded YU sound (like the u in the French word mur and it is also the same sound as the Ü in Hungarian and German and the same sound as the UU in Dutch in words like muur and duur) tho in some words it is pronounced like a normal U sound (especially at the beginning of the word in words like ungur, and when there are multiple Us in the same word it’s usually the last U that is pronounced like YU and most other Us are pronounced like a normal U sound in that kind of words) - Á is an AU sound in almost every word (there are only a few exceptions) - A is a normal a sound and the A before NG / NK is pronounced like an AU sound just like the Á (so að ganga sounds like ath gaunga and it means to walk) - É is an YE sound (normal i sound + normal e sound) - E is a normal e sound (full e sound) - Í / Ý is a normal i sound - I / Y is a half i sound (this sound is very similar to how the i is pronounced in most English words like fit and chips and this, so it’s sort of like a weak i that goes more towards an e sound, but it isn’t a full e sound, and it isn’t a full i sound either, so it’s right between an i sound and an e sound)

[@FrozenMermaid666]

By the way, I am upper intermediate level in both Old Norse and Icelandic, and I have the right Norse pronunciation, which is the most logical, and by the way, I will use DH for the TH sound in the English words this and that, which is the approximant of D and not the approximant of T like the TH in the English word think, and I will use AO for the ‘closed’ A sound that is like an A and O sound said 2gether in one sound (similar to the A sound in Hungarian) that melts into a soft O sound! For example... - hvat sounds like hvat or vat or kvat - mæra sounds like mera - ávast sounds like avast - nágrindr sounds like naogrind:r - líkligr sounds like liklig:r or likliguhr - frænda sounds like freinda or freoynda or frenda - þat sounds like that - ræðir sounds like reidhir - hárr sounds like haruhr or har:r (could have also been har / harr) - gæfr sounds like gev:r or gevuhr - hverfa sounds like hverva or verva or kverva (any of them or all 3 could’ve been used) Also... - hæll sounds like heyl - saltr sounds like solt:r - mæla sounds like mala - drápa sounds like drapa or dropa - kæra sounds like kaera or kaira - ferr sounds like fer:r - jafna sounds like yavna - hœgri sounds like heoyri - girðing sounds like girdhing - hádegi sounds like haodegi - ørendislaust sounds like eorendislaust The word... - verr sounds like ver - ekki sounds like eki or ehki - þverra sounds like thverra - gegna sounds like gekna - vefja sounds like vevya - yfir sounds like ɪvɪr as in Icelandic - ætla sounds like etla - ofn sounds like ovn - náliga sounds like naoliga - sauma could have been pronounced either saima or seoyma like in Icelandic or both or even sauma as it is written - ofleti sounds like ofleti The emphasis of stress in Norse languages such as Norse and Icelandic etc is always at the beginning of the word - for compound words made of multiple smaller words, one should add a bit of stress at the beginning of each word that the compound word is made of and the most stress always at the beginning of the compound word... I don’t think there was any fixed way of pronouncing the diphthongs, and it’s most likely that the pronunciation of diphthongs such as AU would differ depending on the word, including pronunciations such as ai / au / ao / eoy / oy / ey etc, and it may have also differed depending on the region and accent, and the Æ in Norse can have many pronunciations, depending on the word, so it can sound like e / ei / a / eoy / oey / uey / ai / ea / ae etc, depending on what sound sounds best and the most natural and easiest to say in each word, so one should use one’s intuition a lot in Norse... The Rs are always different depending on the region and depending of the speaker in every language, but in Germanic languages, a soft normal R is usually used by most speakers and by younger speakers, and I highly recommend using a soft normal R in Norse and in all other languages that aren’t English as soft Rs have the best and most refined sound, soft Rs that are pronounced as fast as possible being the types of Rs that truly suit such refined languages as Norse and the other Germanic languages, whereas hard or prolonged or thrilled Rs sound very harsh and unrefined... By the way, it’s also important to know that in Norse and Icelandic the G is usually pronounced like a K sound, especially at the end of the word, and in many words the G is pronounced K even in the middle of the word, and there are also some words where the G is pronounced as a K even when it is at the beginning of the word, so it is normal to hear a lot of K sounds when there is a G in spelling - for example, lots of speakers of Icelandic will pronounce even the G in góðan (góðan daginn) as a soft K sound, without even realizing, and this pronunciation rule comes from Norse!

[@stoneghost2936]

I wish duolingo had Icelandic...

[@karenfriebel7680]

ᚺᛃᚨᛚᛗᚨᚱ ᚾᛁᚴᛟᛚᚨᛋᛋᛟᚾ Hello! I used Duolingo for learning German and thought it was a great program. Since Duolingo doesn’t offer Icelandic, I found another online program called Drops for my attempt to learn Icelandic. I’ve been doing short lessons twice a day for several months now. There’s a free version, and from there you can choose to upgrade to other paid versions....maybe give it a go! I’m having fun with it, and Hrafna’s videos like this one are SUPER helpful❣️

[@vDullahan]

@@karenfriebel7680 I second this, I've been using Drops recently to learn Icelandic and found it better than Duolingo for learning overall.

[@stoneghost2936]

@@karenfriebel7680 Thank you! I'll definitely go check it out

[@Obsidian_MoonVT]

I use Drops also, I like it so far :)

[@stoneghost2936]

@@Obsidian_MoonVT i installed it today , and i have to say i really like it

[@MrPitki]

Thanks for the video, you are amazing as always. :) Hey everyone, to make your life easier about searching Icelandic song, here is the list Hrafna had shown in the video> 1. Bubbi Mortens - Afgan kzbin.info/www/bejne/nafUdKCto7CpmZI 2. Ragnheiður Gröndal- Ást kzbin.info/www/bejne/maLCpWewaZWcjpI 3. Sálin Hans Jóns Míns - Hjá þér kzbin.info/www/bejne/nmG8lYSQh7OJjaM 4. Mannakorn - Reyndu aftur kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5ewl6GqmauSf7M 5. Ísold og Helga - Klukkan tifar kzbin.info/www/bejne/bomUhoiQrpmsmtE 6. GDRN - Hvað er ástin? kzbin.info/www/bejne/e4fQZqqrZ7qdbNE 7. Jón Jónsson - Þegar ég sá þig fyrst kzbin.info/www/bejne/pp2TknWeosdnjqc 8. KK - Vegbúinn kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXyxoqOpf56datU 9. Bríet - Esjan kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZ_dhaWLnb2Yl5Y + Bonus tipp: My favorite Icelandic band is Hjálmar. Check them out if you want.

[@larrylestylo4458]

Takk fyrir!

[@andrea4268]

One of the most difficult things is lear Icelandic when you are a Italian speaker and you have to study it in english because no one explain it in Italian

[@p1kkujuha]

Same with Finnish. I've seen only one icelandic course that's not in english and it was in swedish...

[@andrea4268]

@@p1kkujuha lmao

[@FrozenMermaid666]

English is as pretty as Icelandic, and all should be fluent in English nowadays - I highly recommend learning from vocab videos mostly (Go Learn etc) as one can also see the pix and learn both the English and Icelandic word at the same time, and G translate is also a great option to learn new words that aren’t covered in vocab videos, and lyrics such as the Skáld lyrics, and I highly recommend always watching everything with Icelandic sub and English sub etc!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

By the way, the Rs is Icelandic and Norse are not supposed to be harsh / rolled / thrilled Rs like the RRs in Spanish, they are actually supposed to be soft normal Rs, which are referred to as a tap, not a thrill, like some of the Rs used in Brazilian Portuguese! Sometimes the Rs in videos are thrilled to emphasize the words, but it’s not how Icelandic normally sounds, and I highly recommend using a soft normal R in Icelandic / Norse and Spanish and other languages, as R is one of those problematic sounds that only sound good when pronounced softly and fast, so, just barely touching the Rs and saying them as fast as possible, so that they don’t become thrilled, because if one tries to prolong an R sound, it will automatically become a thrill, which sounds like a motor or engine sound, and why would one want to sound as an engine, when one can sound soft and refined and modern! I highly recommend learning the prettiest languages ever created Icelandic / Norse / Dutch / Norwegian / Gothic / Welsh 2gether, as they are as pretty / refined / poetic as English and are way too pretty not know!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

If one is learning Icelandic, here are some of the most important sounds + pronunciation rules in Icelandic, as Icelandic has one of the easiest / prettiest / coolest pronunciations ever, having a category 1 pronunciation with super cool modern sounds! - the eth letter ð is an approximant of the letter D (a less obvious D similar to the D in the Spanish word nada and like the TH in the English words this and that) and the thorn letter þ is an approximant of T (a less obvious T that’s sort of lisped, and it is the same sound as the TH in the English words think and thing, though it sounds closer to a normal T sound in Icelandic) More pronunciation rules and sounds in Icelandic... - the HV is pronounced KV - the NN is pronounced as a TN if it comes after Æ and after EI / EY and after a long vowel such as Á / É / Í / Ó / Ú (but it is a normal N sound if it comes after the short vowels A / E / I / O / U and in inn word combinations, and I recommend adding a very soft breathy H sound to the ‘inn’ word ending in masculine words to make it a bit different from the word ending ‘in’ which is the feminine word ending, like I do, as I pronounce the inn more like ihn in masculine nouns and masculine adjectives that have the inn word ending, which represents the definite article in nouns, tho there are also three articles that aren’t added to the noun, namely hinn and hin and hið, so, one can say hinn stormur or stormurinn and hinn storm or storminn as both mean the storm in nominative and accusative) - the LL is usually pronounced TL in most words and if the LL is at the end of the word it sounds more like a weak T sound - the RN is pronounced with an extra soft ‘nasal’ T sound between the R and the N (so a word like þarna sounds like thartna) - the FL / FN letter combinations are pronounced PL / PN (so F becomes a P sound if it’s before an L or an N) - the G is ultra soft in short words like ég and mig etc, so it is pronounced more like an H sound (so ég sounds like yeh) and the G in the middle of the words is kinda soft (in words like segja / saga / segir etc it is a soft G that is still a G sound and not an H) and the Gs and GGs can also sound like Ks in many of the words if they are at the end of the word or even in the middle of the word and sometimes even at the beginning of the word (same as in Old Norse) tho Gs are usually pronounced like a normal G sound if they are at the beginning of the word (except for a few words) - the KK / TT etc is pronounced more like HK / HT as a soft breathy H sound is included before the K / T sound when there is a double consonant and even when there are two different consonants (for example, ekki sounds like ehki and óútreiknanlegt sounds like outreihnanleht etc) - the letter F is usually pronounced like a V if it’s in the middle of the word or at the end of the word (so leyfa sounds like leyva) and it is pronounced like a normal F sound if it’s at the beginning of the word or very close to the beginning of the word (for example, if a words starts with af, the af is pronounced af, not av) The diphthongs and umlauts and vowels in Icelandic... - AU is pronounced EOI (normal e sound + normal o sound + normal i sound said 2gether fast in one sound) - EI / EY are pronounced EI / EY (same as they are spellt) - the Æ / æ is usually pronounced ai in most Icelandic words (but hvenær seems to be pronounced kvenar and not really kvenair, so it depends on the word) - Ö is an EO sound (normal e sound + normal o sound said 2gether in one sound, like the œ in the French word cœur) - Ó is usually pronounced OU - O is usually pronounced UO and sometimes as an O sound (depending on the word) - Ú is a normal u sound - U is a more rounded YU sound (like the u in the French word mur and it is also the same sound as the Ü in Hungarian and German and the same sound as the UU in Dutch in words like muur and duur) tho in some words it is pronounced like a normal U sound (especially at the beginning of the word in words like ungur, and when there are multiple Us in the same word it’s usually the last U that is pronounced like YU and most other Us are pronounced like a normal U sound in that kind of words) - Á is an AU sound in almost every word (there are only a few exceptions) - A is a normal a sound and the A before NG / NK is pronounced like an AU sound just like the Á (so að ganga sounds like ath gaunga and it means to walk) - É is an YE sound (normal i sound + normal e sound) - E is a normal e sound (full e sound) - Í / Ý is a normal i sound - I / Y is a half i sound (this sound is very similar to how the i is pronounced in most English words like fit and chips and this, so it’s sort of like a weak i that goes more towards an e sound, but it isn’t a full e sound, and it isn’t a full i sound either, so it’s right between an i sound and an e sound)

[@fghonorato]

That is the best way to learn ANY language... "Hear some music and read the lyrics" I can read a loooot of languages just because i can sing and love the music in different languages ;)

[@bryandavidson4414]

I love Trapped (Ófærð). I’m in the middle of the second season right now.

[@MerryOlSoulGigglesmith]

Thor - Thow-rrr (I believe) say Thor to practice rolling r's. Hrafna has a video on saying Thor. 😉 I'm Scottish and rolling my r's takes a lot of practice, but practice makes perfect.

[@elianekeller8504]

Would really love a separate video on Icelandic musicians! I already know a lot of amazing Icelandic bands and singers but I feel like there are so many more that I'm missing on! It's really mind-blowing how such a small island has so much good music!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

Skáld has the best and prettiest songs in Icelandic and Norse - they are super epic and áddìctive, and they are the best introduction to Icelandic / Norse / Old Icelandic and other Germanic languages, so I highly recommend learning all the lyrics (from the lyric videos) to all the Skáld songs!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

By the way, the Rs is Icelandic and Norse are not supposed to be harsh / rolled / thrilled Rs like the RRs in Spanish, they are actually supposed to be soft normal Rs, which are referred to as a tap, not a thrill, like some of the Rs used in Brazilian Portuguese! Sometimes the Rs in videos are thrilled to emphasize the words, but it’s not how Icelandic normally sounds, and I highly recommend using a soft normal R in Icelandic / Norse and Spanish and other languages, as R is one of those problematic sounds that only sound good when pronounced softly and fast, so, just barely touching the Rs and saying them as fast as possible, so that they don’t become thrilled, because if one tries to prolong an R sound, it will automatically become a thrill, which sounds like a motor or engine sound, and why would one want to sound as an engine, when one can sound soft and refined and modern! I highly recommend learning the prettiest languages ever created Icelandic / Norse / Dutch / Norwegian / Gothic / Welsh 2gether, as they are as pretty / refined / poetic as English and are way too pretty not know!

[@FrozenMermaid666]

If one is learning Icelandic, here are some of the most important sounds + pronunciation rules in Icelandic, as Icelandic has one of the easiest / prettiest / coolest pronunciations ever, having a category 1 pronunciation with super cool modern sounds! - the eth letter ð is an approximant of the letter D (a less obvious D similar to the D in the Spanish word nada and like the TH in the English words this and that) and the thorn letter þ is an approximant of T (a less obvious T that’s sort of lisped, and it is the same sound as the TH in the English words think and thing, though it sounds closer to a normal T sound in Icelandic) More pronunciation rules and sounds in Icelandic... - the HV is pronounced KV - the NN is pronounced as a TN if it comes after Æ and after EI / EY and after a long vowel such as Á / É / Í / Ó / Ú (but it is a normal N sound if it comes after the short vowels A / E / I / O / U and in inn word combinations, and I recommend adding a very soft breathy H sound to the ‘inn’ word ending in masculine words to make it a bit different from the word ending ‘in’ which is the feminine word ending, like I do, as I pronounce the inn more like ihn in masculine nouns and masculine adjectives that have the inn word ending, which represents the definite article in nouns, tho there are also three articles that aren’t added to the noun, namely hinn and hin and hið, so, one can say hinn stormur or stormurinn and hinn storm or storminn as both mean the storm in nominative and accusative) - the LL is usually pronounced TL in most words and if the LL is at the end of the word it sounds more like a weak T sound - the RN is pronounced with an extra soft ‘nasal’ T sound between the R and the N (so a word like þarna sounds like thartna) - the FL / FN letter combinations are pronounced PL / PN (so F becomes a P sound if it’s before an L or an N) - the G is ultra soft in short words like ég and mig etc, so it is pronounced more like an H sound (so ég sounds like yeh) and the G in the middle of the words is kinda soft (in words like segja / saga / segir etc it is a soft G that is still a G sound and not an H) and the Gs and GGs can also sound like Ks in many of the words if they are at the end of the word or even in the middle of the word and sometimes even at the beginning of the word (same as in Old Norse) tho Gs are usually pronounced like a normal G sound if they are at the beginning of the word (except for a few words) - the KK / TT etc is pronounced more like HK / HT as a soft breathy H sound is included before the K / T sound when there is a double consonant and even when there are two different consonants (for example, ekki sounds like ehki and óútreiknanlegt sounds like outreihnanleht etc) - the letter F is usually pronounced like a V if it’s in the middle of the word or at the end of the word (so leyfa sounds like leyva) and it is pronounced like a normal F sound if it’s at the beginning of the word or very close to the beginning of the word (for example, if a words starts with af, the af is pronounced af, not av) The diphthongs and umlauts and vowels in Icelandic... - AU is pronounced EOI (normal e sound + normal o sound + normal i sound said 2gether fast in one sound) - EI / EY are pronounced EI / EY (same as they are spellt) - the Æ / æ is usually pronounced ai in most Icelandic words (but hvenær seems to be pronounced kvenar and not really kvenair, so it depends on the word) - Ö is an EO sound (normal e sound + normal o sound said 2gether in one sound, like the œ in the French word cœur) - Ó is usually pronounced OU - O is usually pronounced UO and sometimes as an O sound (depending on the word) - Ú is a normal u sound - U is a more rounded YU sound (like the u in the French word mur and it is also the same sound as the Ü in Hungarian and German and the same sound as the UU in Dutch in words like muur and duur) tho in some words it is pronounced like a normal U sound (especially at the beginning of the word in words like ungur, and when there are multiple Us in the same word it’s usually the last U that is pronounced like YU and most other Us are pronounced like a normal U sound in that kind of words) - Á is an AU sound in almost every word (there are only a few exceptions) - A is a normal a sound and the A before NG / NK is pronounced like an AU sound just like the Á (so að ganga sounds like ath gaunga and it means to walk) - É is an YE sound (normal i sound + normal e sound) - E is a normal e sound (full e sound) - Í / Ý is a normal i sound - I / Y is a half i sound (this sound is very similar to how the i is pronounced in most English words like fit and chips and this, so it’s sort of like a weak i that goes more towards an e sound, but it isn’t a full e sound, and it isn’t a full i sound either, so it’s right between an i sound and an e sound)

[@FrozenMermaid666]

By the way, I am upper intermediate level in both Old Norse and Icelandic, and I have the right Norse pronunciation, which is the most logical, and by the way, I will use DH for the TH sound in the English words this and that, which is the approximant of D and not the approximant of T like the TH in the English word think, and I will use AO for the ‘closed’ A sound that is like an A and O sound said 2gether in one sound (similar to the A sound in Hungarian) that melts into a soft O sound! For example... - hvat sounds like hvat or vat or kvat - mæra sounds like mera - ávast sounds like avast - nágrindr sounds like naogrind:r - líkligr sounds like liklig:r or likliguhr - frænda sounds like freinda or freoynda or frenda - þat sounds like that - ræðir sounds like reidhir - hárr sounds like haruhr or har:r (could have also been har / harr) - gæfr sounds like gev:r or gevuhr - hverfa sounds like hverva or verva or kverva (any of them or all 3 could’ve been used) Also... - hæll sounds like heyl - saltr sounds like solt:r - mæla sounds like mala - drápa sounds like drapa or dropa - kæra sounds like kaera or kaira - ferr sounds like fer:r - jafna sounds like yavna - hœgri sounds like heoyri - girðing sounds like girdhing - hádegi sounds like haodegi - ørendislaust sounds like eorendislaust The word... - verr sounds like ver - ekki sounds like eki or ehki - þverra sounds like thverra - gegna sounds like gekna - vefja sounds like vevya - yfir sounds like ɪvɪr as in Icelandic - ætla sounds like etla - ofn sounds like ovn - náliga sounds like naoliga - sauma could have been pronounced either saima or seoyma like in Icelandic or both or even sauma as it is written - ofleti sounds like ofleti The emphasis of stress in Norse languages such as Norse and Icelandic etc is always at the beginning of the word - for compound words made of multiple smaller words, one should add a bit of stress at the beginning of each word that the compound word is made of and the most stress always at the beginning of the compound word... I don’t think there was any fixed way of pronouncing the diphthongs, and it’s most likely that the pronunciation of diphthongs such as AU would differ depending on the word, including pronunciations such as ai / au / ao / eoy / oy / ey etc, and it may have also differed depending on the region and accent, and the Æ in Norse can have many pronunciations, depending on the word, so it can sound like e / ei / a / eoy / oey / uey / ai / ea / ae etc, depending on what sound sounds best and the most natural and easiest to say in each word, so one should use one’s intuition a lot in Norse... The Rs are always different depending on the region and depending of the speaker in every language, but in Germanic languages, a soft normal R is usually used by most speakers and by younger speakers, and I highly recommend using a soft normal R in Norse and in all other languages that aren’t English as soft Rs have the best and most refined sound, soft Rs that are pronounced as fast as possible being the types of Rs that truly suit such refined languages as Norse and the other Germanic languages, whereas hard or prolonged or thrilled Rs sound very harsh and unrefined... By the way, it’s also important to know that in Norse and Icelandic the G is usually pronounced like a K sound, especially at the end of the word, and in many words the G is pronounced K even in the middle of the word, and there are also some words where the G is pronounced as a K even when it is at the beginning of the word, so it is normal to hear a lot of K sounds when there is a G in spelling - for example, lots of speakers of Icelandic will pronounce even the G in góðan (góðan daginn) as a soft K sound, without even realizing, and this pronunciation rule comes from Norse!

[@boland73]

I’m actually happy for when she gets a sponsor for a video, love to see the success! ❤️

[@milenaszlamka6004]

I think we should create a group called "Grrr" for the sexy R-roller languages 😂

[@anthonyp9591]

a lot of european languages roll the r

[@lucijamarevic2596]

@@anthonyp9591 croatian is one of them😊✌🏽

[@XelenaX-wg2jr]

YES PLEASE

[@tompeled6193]

The English approximant R is unique.

[@andubarosanu6897]

Romanian rolls the r too

[@beltair6956]

I'm definetly checking yout tutorials on Icelandie, got me hooked on it! You are very very good as a teacher, thank you so much!

[@eeeo2196]

I really like how Swedish and your language sound. Stay safe ^^

[@CallMeSnake.]

woopwoop sverige

[@Sleepless3]

So no love for the rest of the North-Germanic languages?

[@absoliutlyorganic]

I am learning swedish now, icelandic is just like next level. Maybe in future i try icelandic as well.

[@Ilprontiraisa]

absoliutlyorganic yey swedish 😁 i can see some words similar so understand some icelandic sometimes

[@aleksandervaldal]

Norsk rævpuler alle og alt annet! Hold motet oppe og hold avstand

[@jeejeeje]

I live in Finland, and I'm trying to learn icelandic. So that R is easy to say :D

[@TheNikz0rrr]

sama

[@Henneish]

Mä tuun saksasta ja mulla on sama jutta

[@fiuttello]

But Icelanders struggle to say SKRZYPCE or BRZOSKWINIA properly sounding like a toothless granny XD

[@lauti1]

I could also recommend a series called "trapped" it's an Icelandic one available in Netflix

[@richardnagele5877]

Thank you soooooo much for this video, i use Disney icelandic, Tangeled , Fozen, Princess and the frog, and Inside out are of great quality, though some of the english translation is wrong, so you'll have to check on google translate, i check on fb in a group called icelandic learners, where native speakers are very very helpful. Well i hope this helps someone.

[@carlissantillan1225]

Hey! Can you teach us the pronunciation of the most visited or famous places in Iceland, or traditional Icelandic food? That would be very interesting!

[@Agonymous]

Did you saw The Valhalla Murders? I will start watching it this week with subs.

[@Daniel-ld5gx]

Ég er að læra íslensku við Háskólann á Akureyri og myndskeiðin þín hjálpa mér :)

[@karenfriebel7680]

Thanks, Hrafna! So happy I found and subscribed to your videos last month! We have a trip to Iceland scheduled later this year, hopefully it will be OK to go by then. Can you help me with this odd question? Is there a prevailing sentiment among Icelanders about Vikings? Would it be OK or endearing or inappropriate or somehow insulting to wear a shirt with a Viking depicted on it, or the name Vikings on it? I don’t want to be culturally or politically incorrect! Thanks, if you can help answer this for me! 🙂

[@gregory7958]

Icelandic phonetic is extremely similar to the standard Brazilian Portuguese one 🤔. Björk sang with a Brazilian musician a song in Brazilian Portuguese and her pronunciation was almost perfect, considering that she never studied the language

[@hunterchalmers8423]

Very helpful you should do more of these to help us understand and in time speak Icelandic more fluently.

[@jonyrose8575]

Hrafna It'd be incredible if u keep teaching us icelandic¡ greetings from Colombia

[@theintp1732]

Komdu sæl og blessuð, Hrafna! Ég eingöngu tala reiprennandi ensku, en að vissu marki, ég get líka talað sænsku, dönsku, norsku, smá litháísku, pólsku, íslensku, og mjög smá þýsku og rússnesku.

[@ardordeleon]

Hallo Hafrna! The Valhalla Murders (Brot) is available on Netflix too. At least in Mexico. That's another option.

[@scrotube]

It was fun to watch in Icelandic with the narrator

[@y.s.7805]

Everyone: Icelandic is so difficult to learn! Me: wildly laughs in Slovene

[@rocketleague2136]

Y. S. tako je brate

[@checkcheck1579]

try ilonggo or ilocano

[@popcorn5866]

Slovene is easier 😂

[@lucijamarevic2596]

Also in croatian✌🏽

[@y.s.7805]

@@checkcheck1579 I've checked with Wikipedia, ilonggo is very impressive! But still, when you compare Icelandic and Slovene, the latter has sufficiently crazier grammar (and in some dialects, pronounciation).

[@GunnarCreutz]

Here are some Icelandic films and TV series I have watched: Land og synir (1980), Hrafninn flýgur (1984), I skugga hrafnsins (1988), Hvíti víkingurinn (1991), Bíódagar (1994), Málmhaus (2013), Ofærð (TV series 2015), Hrútar (2015), Hvítur hvítur dagur (2019), Héraðið (2019), and Vitjanir (TV series 2022). Ofærð is the best of them. Hrafninn flýgur is great when you just have started to learn Icelandic because of the sparse dialog (some of the actors may have a Scandinavian accent thou).

[@theocartron5416]

Thank you for this video, i'm a french student in history, I work on the cod war between Iceland and great britain, I love Iceland and i try to learn Icelandic, so your video help me so much. Good continuation.

[@EEE80]

Keep up the good work. From finland!!

[@itzymidzy6341]

I actually learned to roll my tongue when I was 8 just by saying "Thriller" a couple of times. idk how it happened really 😂

[@obrunopueyo]

Please learn Brazilian Portuguese :) your accent is the best xD

[@texasmagpie]

Great videos!!! I love learning about places from the people that live there. I like to see the cultural differences. Have you thought about doing some videos on the historical sites of Iceland? My only historical knowledge of your fantastic country comes from reading Sagas of the Icelanders, so it would be interested in hearing about some historical things from a local person. Keep up the good work!!

[@izabellakeegan305]

Some movies I recommend are Kurteist fólk, (Polite People) Glanni Glæpur Í Latabæ (Robbie Rotten In LazyTown), Áfram Latibær, (Go LazyTown) and Jóhannes. Polite People and Jóhannes are for adults while Gianni Glæpur Í Latabæ and Áfram Latibær are child friendly. They are both more like stage plays than movies, and both include Icelandic music that is easy to follow. Both plays are available on KZbin with English subtitles while Polite People is available on Tubi TV for free. I found Jóhannes on a blog called stefankarlarchives ran by Mizoon Cat (She has a KZbin channel and has the link to the blog in most of her videos’ descriptions). They both include English subtitles as well. They are all very entertaining and help you pronounce Icelandic words and help understand what they mean. If any of you watch/ have watched them, I wanna hear your experiences! :^)

[@individual7922]

You can watch your favorite movie in icelandic language like 100 times, i did the same when i learned english, i watched Friends may times

[@virtualvivi]

You should soon make a video on how to pronounce the Norse names/words in The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim :3 Also!! I recommend the Latibær plays here on KZbin! They are still up atm and they are subbed! Glanni Glæper í Latabæ is my favorite ♡

[@vasilissaroglou4243]

hello from greece! please make a video to talk about art,or what kind of movies you like and why,would be awsome

[@silverwindss596]

actually, it depends on what language is your native. for me for example, it's not so hard. a lot of grammar is logical for me, but that's probably because my language is much more complicated, complex and harder to learn. it's a matter of perspective ;)

[@neotrekkerz]

Takk fyrir! Ég hef verið að læra íslensku í þrír mánuðir og allt hjálpar. Tungumálið þitt er erfitt en fallegt. Hope I didn’t butcher that too much. Take care and thanks again for the suggestions!

[@astrocardenasmosqueda8295]

Could you teach us how to properly sat the word: "Jarl"? Thank you so much, love your videos. Saludos desde México.

[@aleksandervaldal]

You say it like "jaarl". The way they pronounce "jarl borg" in vikings is quite accurate. Espcially when he say it himself, being norwegian and all. Be safe over there! Viva la Mexico :)

[@MDCCLXXVI1990]

The "Hrafn" btw is my all-time favorite bird

[@mjay6317]

My husband and I want to go to Iceland soon, so I’m trying to learn the language. The only problem (aside from the fact that this language is hard af to learn), is that I can’t roll my R’s 😩. Apparently being able to roll your R’s is genetic.

[@hopelessfool6722]

It’s not genetic, you just never used rolled R’s and don’t know how to use your mouth to articulate it

[@baradres]

Wow! I didn't know you Icelanders pronounce the strong R same as we Spaniards do! I'm going to start learning Icelandic, if you ever want to learn some Spanish, le me know for I'm a Spanish teacher :). Great job you are doing with the channel, keep it up!

[@Rosi_in_space]

Why not a try "Short stories in Icelandic" by Olly Richards.

[@AliceGiuliaSpringer]

Ég elska Ísland! Thank u for the tips! 🇮🇸❤️

[@tomastuma5866]

I listen to Kaelan Mikla and Sólstafir. Really good Icelandic bands.

[@eschewobfuscate]

I am American and I naturally speak English, but being from California, I also hablo poco español. Icelandic is THE most fascinating language I’ve ever heard! I would listen to you tell me in detail about how to jump off a bridge!

[@justinebailey135]

This has nothing to do with speaking Icelandic but I love your eyeliner in this video! I’ve notice you do this look often and I love how it looks. My husband and I have been watching your videos for info on Iceland for our trip in May!

[@edwardcal7524]

Hæ hrafna, i love your videos and this was actually really helpful, my icelandic is not good at all am trying to self teach myself since am usually busy at work am also using your advice for thrilling r's cause thats the hardest part for me...hopefully you keep posting educational videos like this. takk takk

[@teishafrank4951]

Not sure if someone said this or not but most of the movies and tv shows you mentioned are on Amazon Prime Video. Thanks for the list!!

[@TIZITAHAR]

That list of songs you listed is just awesome!! Takk from Algeria :)

[@BigHeavyLove]

Harsh R is just down the ocean in Scotland too! Although only in proper Scots speakers

[@nataliehall1646]

This was insanely helpful, thank you so much.

[@zoemovelle78]

I tend to find most of the pronunciations easy, it’s just remembering the word 😂

[@vegasheathen_2993]

Thank you very much. Very much appreciated.

[@geilerguerbis1511]

I like to listen to Skalmöld or Falkenbach.

[@marctelfer6159]

The really emphatically rolled "r"s in Miðgarðsormur. Love it :D Seen them live twice now. I was hoping for a third, but the hiatus occurred.

[@gilboapeer2053]

Hrafna thank you so much! Your videos are very helpful. I discovered that there is an american researcher named Jackson Crawford who also have videos about Icelandic and old norse. He also translated the Poetic Edda and narrates it on an audiobook version. Any chance you can record the voice commands for waze in Icelandic? your voice is perfect for this beutiful language. Your #1 fan in Israel, Gil.

[@kennybenoit1627]

Trapped is on Netflix and there is The Valhalla murders which is another Icelandic tv show

[@Paulsn_]

you would be so great as a teacher! i like how you explain things in a simple way so one can easily understand what you mean☺️ i really enjoy listening to you!

[@zeldamachina6305]

Ég elska Ísland!!!! Halló Hrafna, Hvernig hefurðu það?

[@lynnmaners9165]

Reading comic books in the language is also good, since most of the dialog is accompanied by action. “Andrés Önd” is Donald Duck in Icelandic.

[@vincenzocapuzziello3466]

I know a trick to improve your /r/ sound: try to say many times the word "TLA" pronouncing it as /tla/, starting slowly and then increasing the speed. Using this exercise you can train your tongue to vibrate, and produce the /r/ sound. Note that you have to pronounce the word "TLA" with the phonemes /tla/, which is different from the English pronunciation

[@nipulaliahmed342]

Great information

[@itsmaria_sdr]

Thank you for giving my name as an example on how to roll your R. In Greece we also roll our R. Btw I'm learning icelandic for 5 months now with Drops (I've already done all of your tips and it really helped me) .Also I've made a KZbin video in which I tried out icelandic tongue twisters.So I would really appreciate it if you could watch it and write in the comments how I did. ❤🇬🇷

[@icelandicjourney]

Hæ Hrafna, unfortunately I can't understand native speakers even if I know the words🤔 The language is spoken pretty fast. The key is to have audio and text in Icelandic at the same time but unfortunately there are not many interesting sources. My best source currently is the book Short Stories in Icelandic by Olly Richards along with an Audible version. Kær kveðja!

[@TheAirlock]

I'm up to this challenge. Any Icelandic tongue-twisters?

[@sachab6098]

I have no idea how to roll my r, but as a french learner I used to not know how to pronounce the French r and now I can easily, so it is possible. :) fun fact, in New Brunswick, CA and northern Maine, USA the francophones roll their r's a bit!

[@Gordominus]

Vilhjálmur Vilhjálmsson has a very nice and clear voice. I found his songs great for language learning.

[@evaklent8958]

You're one of my fave youtubers!💗 Always be the best version of your self!

[@akehapkap6143]

You just got a new subscriber. I speak Danish, Norwegian and English and I understand Swedish but tho don't speak it so well, unless I'm around Swedish people. Icelandic is so beatyful ❤️ Rolling tounge. Put your tounge at the top of your mouth, right behind your front teeth. Rrrr

[@natehills1]

So, I'm a huge fan of Nordic and Viking history and I started a playlist on Spotify of Nordic music. I came across this song called Herr Mannelig and it's an awesome sounding song. From what I gather, this chick really wants to marry him. I'm just curious if that song is in Icelandic. Made me think of you. 😍

[@Cingearth]

going back to see the other side of iceland next year! norweign and icelandic are similar !

[@annuntirith7314]

As a native English speaker, I always trill my 'r's and I'm the only person I know who does it. I come from Kent and I read somewhere that the rural Kentish accent originally maintained its trilled 'r', which might explain why I do it. In Old English, the 'r' was trilled always too, so it seems to be a common phoneme in Germanic languages, as far as I am aware. I just thought that was interesting enough to say about my experience with trilled 'r's

[@jordanschriver4228]

I have one rather important question: Do these lessons assume that the learner is neurotypical? Because I'm autistic, and things like special interests, a black-and-white worldview, and social disabilities could get in the way of learning a probabilistic neurotypical language.

[@이유동-w9h]

I was lucky enough to catch a screening of Hvitur, Hvitur Dagur while in Iceland last September and let me tell you, it was a profound experience for me. Ingvar Sigurdsson, whom I also know from Ofaerd, is such a talented actor :D

[@memsom]

The Court and Cover Story are both on UK Channel 4 streaming service under “Walter presents” World Drama

[@Brandon-sk5bh]

What you do is awesome

[@iNTERS22]

I love your videos! I hope one day to learn Icelandic! Keep it up! :)

[@vancetoepke5022]

I’m a native English speaker but can roll my rs and have since I was young. As someone who grew up on the Mexican border and took high school Spanish and am now learning Gaelic and interested in Iceland/ic I feel like the Spanish rolled r is softer than the Gaelic/ Icelandic rolled r.

[@Sojourner1981]

Very helpful, thank you so much!

[@josefinekristiansen1802]

This video was so helpful, thank you!

[@aranwe7190]

Thx Hrafna and I love your Chanel 😊

[@j.s.c.4355]

I spent two years in Central America and only learned to roll my R’s when I was trying to imitate a Scottish accent. That is a potential tip for English speakers, especially those from England. Attempt to imitate Scots. And you will learn to roll your R..

[@luisgamez4689]

No sé por que me hace sentir bien sabiendo que no somos los únicos que hacemos el "rr" saludosdesde México y United States Just wanted to know if u could understand this

[@modykuki6020]

Oh my god😄, 2:36 it is typical polish R articulation. When you said Maria i think for a moment you are Pole🤣 Yup it is very hard for foreigners. Someone in country have a problem for articultion r, i think it it 5% of society. Greetings, you’re very cool and nice person🥰

[@vusalbayramli4510]

By the way i am from Azerbaijan and i also study english and graduate from the english course couple of months ago.but i have no ability as speaking english fluently.and nevertheless i do my best to learn english always.

[@Ryccio91]

I also suggest "Valhalla murders" on netflix to watch in icelandic with subtitles in english (or whatever is your native language), it is a very well made crime series.

[@liamwhitnell7911]

Irish and Icelandic are very similar in terms of phrase structures. For example "why did she eat" rather becomes "why eat she". I never understood why so many people found Icelandic so difficult until I noticed this (apologies if I sound like a snob, I just thought it was interesting).

[@tintin9689]

Manískur by AUÐUR feat. GDRN has a slow singing part and you can see her mouth move while she sings on the video (that’s how i figured out how to pronounce þyngdarafl lol). also she’s pretty and has a nice voice so 10/10

[@sara-sx7gm]

how did you learn English? your english is so fluent

[@miguelbanos6544]

In the part of songs, I recommend you Raddirnar by Greta Salóme and Ekkó by Nína, I LOVE that songs 💓

[@TheZuluBrat]

Very helpful are you going to do more videos on teaching?

[@Mr-br1wm]

I just enjoy your charming voice ❤️

[@rifelaw]

Seagull's Laughter (Mávahlátur) is another good movie.

[@faustianrevival3816]

One of the hardest languages* in the world (re: thumbnail)

[@DontMindMe_]

My biggest issue with watching Icelandic movies is that, they speak way to fast for me to decipher word from word. Also, comparing dialogue in a movie to teaching videos on YT is that people speaking in movies speak more modern “slangish” meaning the mesh words more often than breaking it down. So harddddd

[@MDCCLXXVI1990]

So many languages in the "Hardest language to learn" category. Mandarin (and all the Chinese languages), Swedish, Finnish, Icelandic, Japanese, Gaelic etc etc etc etc...

[@kw7434]

Why swedish? I mean they don't even have verb conjugations by person, and it is rlly easy to learn

[@MDCCLXXVI1990]

@@kw7434 I talk Swedish and even I think it's hard lol. I just heard that as a kid that Swedish is hard for the Slavic people who came here in the 90's because it's one of the hardest to learn if you don't speak a Germanic language before. But yeah, there are much harder languages to learn for sure. But it's not easy, that's for sure.

[@kw7434]

@@MDCCLXXVI1990 yeah I mean the vocabulary is a bit hard. Like I speak dutch B1 and norwegian A2 and yeah I can tell the most difficult thing in those language is te vocabulary in itself

[@liamodonovan3437]

Love you're white shirt hrfna you look beautiful icelandic is a beautiful language it's a language i would love to learn and a country i would love to visit love you hrfna ( you have a beautiful name )