• - Indo-European
  • - Germanic languages
    • - Scandinavian languages
      • - West Scandinavian languages
        • - Icelandic

1. Greiner.

Madura hver og er borinn frjls Jafna rum ad viringu og rttindum. Menn eru gddir vitsmunum samvizku og, og ber Theim ad breyta brurlega hverjum vid annan.

Text of Our Father

Fair vor
Fair vor, er himnum Thu wk.
Helgist itt nafn, til komi itt Riki
verdi Thinn Vilja svo himn Jordu week.
Gef oss dag vort daglegt Braud
oss og fyrirgef vorar Skuld,
Ver og svo sem fyrirgefum
Vorum skuldunautum.
EIGI leid Thu oss freistni,
oss fr illu Heldur Frelsi.
Pronunciation and Writing

Icelandic has two characters and two unknown phonemes of the French language:

• , is equivalent to the English in / /; conventional transliteration in French
• , (named , is equivalent to the English in / /; its transliteration conventional French is

Note: While these two phonemes are fully constrictive in English, they are only semi-constrictive in Icelandic, that is to say that the tightening of organs of speech is midway between the constrictive and spirants ( or approximate).

Alphabet

Icelandic diacritics are considered letters in their own right, the alphabet is ordered:

A A A A B b d d d d e e e e F f G g H h I i J j K k L l M m N n O o O o P p R r S s T t U u u u V v X x Y y

The letters Q and W C are only used for foreign words and proper names. Z was replaced by S in 1974.

Vowels and diphthongs

Vowels and diphthongs, sometimes differentiated by diacritical accents are:

• is pronounced like the word
• a is pronounced:
  • before ng, nk, gi: in as his French
  • otherwise: as in French;
• is pronounced like the sound French;
• i pronounce:
  • before ng, nk, gi: like the sound
  • if not: between the sound "e" and its "i" like the "i" in "hit" in English or "ich" in German;
• y ditto;
• is pronounced like the in French;
• idem;
• u is pronounced:
  • before ng and nk: like the sound
  • otherwise the sound is something between u and the French had
• is pronounced like the sound French;
• e is pronounced like the sound in French;
• e is pronounced like IE French;
• o is pronounced like the sound of French;
• is pronounced like sound in French;
• is pronounced like the sound in French like if placed before or
• ey / ei is pronounced as in

Consonants

• g is pronounced:
  • word-initially before a, a, o, o, u, u, o: as in
  • in word-initial before e, i, , y, , , j: as
  • after a front vowel i or j's sound like it
  • otherwise, the intermediate position and end of words: as r normal (free) French;
• f is pronounced:
  • beginning of a word before k, s or t: as its f
  • intermediate position in front of or n: as its p
  • otherwise, as his v;
• am strongly drawn;
• k is pronounced:
  • in word-initial before e, i, , y, y: as ki
  • intermediate position in front of k, l, n: aspirated
  • before s and t: as the g;
• p is pronounced:
  • intermediate position before l, n, p: as
  • otherwise: as a normal p;
• t is pronounced:
  • before l, n, t as
  • otherwise: as a normal t;
• x pronounce

The other consonants are pronounced as in French.

Special Combinations

• to pronounce (eg pronounce
• He decides inducting (eg pronounce
• rn pronounce
• rl pronounce
• nn is pronounced:
  • after , , , , , ei, ey, in:
  • or: nn;
• hv is pronounced
• pt pronounce
• tn and fn, word-final, are retracted, almost silent.

Table of phonemes existing