Story
The modern Icelandic alphabet was created on the basis of a standard that developed in the 19th century. The Danish linguist Rasmus Christian Rask played a major role in the creation.
At the end of the 20th century, the alphabet was changed again. Letter é replaced je. In 1974 the letter z was abolished.
Keyboard layout
see also
Links
- "Íslenska, í senn forn og ný".(Icelandic)
Ú, ú (U with an acute accent) is an extended Latin letter used in the Czech, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, and Slovak alphabets. The letter also appears in the Dutch, Irish, Occitan, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese and Pinyin alphabets as a tone-added variant of the U.
Latin Supplement - 1Latin Complement - 1 or C1 Control Characters and Latin Complement - 1 (English Latin-1 Supplement, C1 Controls and Latin-1 Supplement) is the second block of the Unicode standard. It occupies the ISO 8859-1 80 (U+0080) - FF (U+00FF) range. C1 control characters are not graphemes.
The Unicode block "C1 Control Characters and Latin-1 Complements" has been included in its current version with the same character set since version 1.0 of the Unicode Standard, where it was known as Latin-1.
Old English Latin alphabetThe Old English Latin alphabet or Anglo-Saxon Latin alphabet is one of the two scripts of Old English. As a rule, it consisted of 24 letters and was used for writing in the 9th-12th centuries. Of these, 20 were directly Latin letters, two modifications of Latin letters (Ææ, Ðð), and two graphemes borrowed from the runic alphabet (Þþ, Ƿƿ). The letters K, Q and Z were not used in writing Anglo-Saxon words.
A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T U X Y Ƿ Þ Ð ÆIn 1011, the hagiographer Birtfert (OE Byrhtferð, Eng. Byrhtferth) streamlined the alphabet for numerological purposes. He listed the 24 basic letters of the Latin alphabet, and then 5 more English letters, resulting in an alphabet of 29 characters:
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U X Y Z & ⁊ Ƿ Þ Ð ÆThe sign "ſ" was used instead of s. G had the variant "Ᵹ", in the Middle English period, the letter "ȝ" was used instead.
The Latin alphabet was one of two systems used by the Anglo-Saxons, along with the runic script.
IcelandicIcelandic language (self-name - íslenska) - Indo-European language, the language of the Icelanders, the state language (since 2011 by law) of Iceland, a representative of the Scandinavian group of Germanic languages.
Historically, Icelandic was the westernmost Indo-European language prior to the settlement of the Portuguese in the Azores. Icelandic, Faroese, West Norse and the extinct Norn language formerly made up the West Scandinavian languages, while Swedish, Danish and East Norwegian made up the East Scandinavian languages. Both groups have influenced modern Norwegian. Today, Scandinavian languages are divided into continental (Danish, Swedish and Norwegian) and insular (Icelandic and Faroese).
In most Western European languages, inflection is highly limited - namely, declension. In contrast, Icelandic has a synthetic grammar, retaining 4 cases, being, along with German, one of only two Germanic languages that retained cases, although Icelandic's grammar is more synthetic and conservative. The Icelandic language is characterized by a large number of irregular declensions (declensions not according to the rules). The conservatism of the Icelandic language and its similarity to Old Norse means that modern speakers can easily read the eddas and sagas and other classical Scandinavian literature written in the 10th-13th centuries.
The majority of Icelandic speakers are approximately 320,000 people. - lives in Iceland more than 8000 are in Denmark, of which roughly 3000 are students. Approximately 5,000 people also speak Icelandic in the US and more than 1,400 in Canada, especially in the province of Manitoba. 97% of the Icelandic population consider Icelandic their mother tongue, but outside of Iceland, especially in Canada, the number of speakers is gradually decreasing.
The Arnie Magnusson Institute for Icelandic Studies (Isl. Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum) is a center for the preservation of medieval Icelandic manuscripts; center for the study of the Icelandic language and literature. The Icelandic Language Council, which includes universities, artists, journalists and the Ministry of Culture, Science and Education, consults with the authorities on language policy. Since 1995, on November 16 of each year, Icelandic Language Day has been celebrated in honor of the birthday of the 19th century poet. Jounas Hallgrímsson (Isl. Jónas Hallgrímsson).
Culture of IcelandThe culture of Iceland is the culture of the Icelanders - the main people inhabiting Iceland, which, going back to the traditions of the Vikings, developed under the influence of the pagan religion, and later - Christianity, while not undergoing major changes over the past millennium and retaining its originality. The reason for this is not only and not so much the isolation of the Icelanders from other European peoples, but the main national features of the Icelanders - ethnocentrism and conservatism. However, geographical factors, such as the harsh subarctic climate, long polar days and nights, the scarcity of flora and fauna and being cut off from mainland Europe, and such natural phenomena as frequent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and snowstorms, also could not but affect the culture. this northern people.
Icelandic orthographyThe spelling of the Icelandic language is spelling, a system of rules that determine the uniformity of the means of transmitting speech (words and grammatical forms) in writing in the Icelandic language.
Swedish alphabetThe Swedish alphabet is a writing system for the Swedish language based on the Latin alphabet.
The modern Swedish alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and consists of 29 letters:
The letters Q, W, Z are used:
1) in borrowed words: webb, zon; qu is usually replaced by kv, except for proper names and their derivatives;
2) in some surnames of native Swedish origin: Ahlqvist, Wall, Zetterström, Tydén.
| General information | ||
|---|---|---|
Icelandic(Isl. Íslenska) is, with about 300,000 speakers in Iceland ( Ísland), Canada ( Canada) and USA ( Bandaríki Norður-Ameríku). Compared to other Scandinavian languages, Icelandic is the closest to Old Norse, so Icelandic speakers can easily read the original Old Norse sagas.
The first permanent settlement in Iceland was established by the Vikings from Norway and the Celts from the British Isles in 870. The main language of the settlers was Old Norse, or Dǫnsk tunga. A number of great literary works - sagas - were written by Icelanders during the 12th-13th centuries. Many of these sagas were written by unknown authors in a language that is very similar to Old Norse. The most famous authors of this period were Ari Thorgilsson (1068-1148) and Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241).
In the period from 1262 to the XV century. Iceland was ruled by Norway, and then it became part of Denmark. During the period of Norwegian and Danish rule in Iceland, the language was also used to some extent.
In 1944, Iceland gained independence, and the Icelandic language was revived as the official and literary language. Publishing is now flourishing in Iceland, and Icelanders are considered some of the most dedicated readers and writers in the world.
Icelandic alphabet (íslenska stafrófið)
| A a | Á á | Bb | D d | Ð ð | e e | É é | F f | G g | H h | I i |
| a | á | be | de | ei | e | je | eff | ge | ha | i |
| Í í | Jj | Kk | l l | M m | N n | O o | Ó ó | Pp | R r | S s |
| í | joð | ka | ell | emm | enn | o | ó | pe | err | ess |
| T t | U u | Ú ú | Vv | X x | Y y | Ý ý | Þ þ | Æ æ | Ö ö | |
| te | u | ú | vaff | ex | ufsilon y | ufsilon ý | þorn | æ | ö |
Listen to the Icelandic alphabet
The letters C (se), Q (kú) and W (tvöfalt vaff) are also used, but only in foreign loanwords. The letter Z (seta) is no longer used in Icelandic, except for a newspaper Morgunblairi.
Icelandic pronunciation
Vowels and diphthongs
Consonants
Notes
- Stressed vowels become long:
- in monosyllabic words, where the vowel is at the end of the word;
- before a single consonant;
- before consonant clusters pr, tr, kr, sr, pj, tj, sj, tv or kv - In other positions, stressed vowels are short
- Unstressed vowels are always short
- nn = after a stressed vowel or diphthong
Iceland is a great state with a rich history and the most beautiful nature. The fate of the Icelandic language cannot be called ordinary. Many people know that after the conquest of another state by one state, the language of the defeated state, as a rule, weakens, and then disappears altogether, as happened in Norway when the Danes conquered the country. Despite the fact that the Danes tried to introduce their language into the country, Icelandic not only withstood the onslaught of Danish, but also remained the main spoken and literary language. The rural population simply did not want to accept Danish, only a small part of the educated people could boast of knowledge. In Icelandic they wrote works and letters to each other, and later they began to print books.
Origin
Icelandic is a language with a great history. Refers to the group and the Scandinavian subgroup. The history of the Icelandic language began when the first settlers from Norway settled the Icelandic lands. With the advent of the Vikings came literature. Then, in 1000, Christianity came to the Icelanders, after which writing appeared. A little later, the first Icelandic poetry appeared. The works were a little ambiguous, with intricate plots and complex turns. The Icelandic language has many similarities with Norwegian, and in the 12th century, they were practically the same, since the Scandinavians conquered Iceland. Previously, Icelandic was called because in general everything that concerned the ancient Scandinavians was considered Danish.
Distribution area
In modern times, the Icelandic language is native to more than 450 thousand people, many of whom live in North America, Canada and Denmark. Outside of Iceland, there has been a decline in the number of Icelandic speakers.
General characteristics of the language
One of them is Icelandic. A brief history and general characteristics indicate that it changed very slowly, there are practically no borrowings from other languages. Until now, it retains a similarity with the Old Norse language. The formation of words occurs mainly with the help of word composition and tracing, that is, a literal translation of borrowed foreign words. Iceland even has a special organization that is created to create equivalent names for already existing concepts. After the capture of Icelandic lands by the Danes, the Icelanders made every effort to eliminate the words of a foreign language for them.
An interesting fact is that the country's Constitution does not mention Icelandic as being the working languages of Danish, Swedish and Norwegian. Icelandic students learn two compulsory languages: Danish and English.
An important feature is that the names of Icelanders are made up of the name and patronymic. This is a Scandinavian tradition. The patronymic consists of the father's name in the genitive case and the word "son" or "daughter". Sometimes the mother's name may be used. To avoid confusion, the grandfather's name may be used. Only a small number of people have surnames. Upon marriage, a wife may take her husband's surname, if any.
Dialects
There are only two dialects:
- northern;
- southern.
The difference between the dialects, which characterizes the Icelandic language, the words of which are not much different, makes it clear that the northern and eastern dialects are more like various kinds of jargon, since the dialects are not very well developed. The only difference is that in the southern dialect the consonants p, t, k are pronounced weakly and with preaspiration, while in the northern dialect they are pronounced as deaf and aspirated.
Alphabet
Surely some wanted to know how to learn the Icelandic language, because it is not only beautiful, but also hides great events and stories about the valiant and strong Vikings. The Icelandic alphabet has 32 letters. It is based on a standard alphabet created in the 19th century. A little later, he underwent some changes. Some letters and sounds are unusual for the Russian language, so for Icelandic learners they may seem difficult and incomprehensible.
capital | Small | Transcription | How to read |
ez (z interdental) |
|||
joz (s interdental) |
|||
yu (something between y and yu, as in German ü) |
|||
upsilon and |
|||
upsilon th |
|||
o (something between o and ё, as in German ö) |
The following letters are only used in loanwords.
The latter has not been used for a long time anywhere except in the title of a local newspaper.
Pronunciation
At the moment, compared with the XII-XII century, you can see how the modern structure of the word has changed, how the Icelandic language itself has changed. The pronunciation is somehow different from what it used to be. From nasal vowels, long vowels turned into diphthongs, preaspiration (aspiration) appeared. But one thing remained unchanged - a huge number of inflections. In words, stress balance is maintained. A long consonant must be preceded by a short vowel in a stressed syllable, and a long vowel comes before a short consonant. The pronunciation of consonants is based on tension and preasperation. There are no voiced sounds in the language, and deaf sounds are not so common. The initial syllable is always stressed. Unstressed prefixes are very rare in Icelandic.
Morphology
Those who are going to learn Icelandic should know that the morphology of the language is not much different from Russian. There are plural and singular nouns, as well as feminine, masculine and neuter. Compared to many other Scandinavian languages, which greatly simplified the word-formation system, especially the declension of nouns, Icelandic has remained true to its traditions. Since Iceland is located far outside of Europe, located on the mainland, this made it possible to preserve the similarity of the Old Norse and Icelandic languages.
Icelandic has four cases: nominative, genitive, accusative and dative. Definite nouns have an article, indefinite ones do not. There is a double definiteness, in which the article is added to the noun, dependent on the grammatical basis of the sentence. The structure of the word resembles Russian, that is, a standard prefix is added to the root. The verb has a tense form, voice and mood. There are also strong and weak verbs. They can conjugate by persons and numbers.
Vocabulary
Since the appearance of the language, and this is the 9th century, little has changed in it. This only means that Icelanders can easily read works in Old Norse. With the translation of the New Testament into Icelandic in 1540, its formation and development began. In the 18th century, the Icelanders rebelled to clean up the language and return to the use of the old words. And if Icelandic words were not enough to designate new objects, then it was proposed to create them from ancient Icelandic roots and prefixes. Thanks to modern reforms, Icelandic vocabulary is practically free of borrowings and foreign words. Despite the rapid development of science and technology, the Icelanders are very meticulous about their work and they replace new words with words from their old vocabulary. Now many words that were once out of use have been updated according to all the rules of the Icelandic language, introduced back so that the Icelanders gradually get used to them.
What do we know about Iceland? This is a small island state that lives in isolation from other countries due to its geographical position. in Icelandic less than 400,000 people speak worldwide. Below we present interesting facts about this unusual language.
Found not only in Iceland
Of course, most of the native speakers live directly in Iceland, where it is spoken by about 290 thousand people. At the same time, a little over 8 thousand people live in Denmark, and there are also 5.5 thousand people in the USA, 2.4 thousand people in Canada. In Russia, 233 people “understand” Icelandic.
The language has remained unchanged for many centuries.
Any modern Icelander can boast that he can read the Viking sagas of almost 1000 years ago: during this time the language has not changed much. This is truly a unique linguistic phenomenon.
Difficult pronunciation of familiar letters 
The Icelandic alphabet has 32 letters. This is the English alphabet familiar to many with the addition of the letters á, æ, ð, é, í, ó, ö, þ, ú, ý, but c, q, w, z have disappeared from it. It is very, very problematic to pronounce the sounds corresponding to these letters and their combinations to non-native Icelandic speakers.
Recall the case when the Eyjafjallajökull (Eyjafyatlayokudl) volcano erupted in 2010. Then even the most experienced journalists around the world found it difficult to pronounce the name of the volcano correctly, and the Icelanders only laughed at their attempts.
Most of all, this language is similar to Norwegian. Back in the 12th century, Iceland was conquered by the Scandinavians, and the reins of government of the country lay either in the hands of the Norwegians or the Danes.
Icelandic is not a "monopoly" in the country
It is curious that in the Constitution of Iceland, the Icelandic language is not listed as the official state language. Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are also present in everyday life of the inhabitants. Children in an Icelandic school are required to study Danish and English.
Icelanders - for the preservation of the uniqueness of their language
Icelanders do their best to continue to preserve the authenticity of their language and in every way protect it from borrowing from outside. And although science and technology do not stand still, and every day more and more new words appear in the world (which often wander into other languages in the form of anglicisms), Icelanders have found a way out.In Iceland, there is a special committee that "invents" equivalent words for the names of modern achievements in science and technology.
For example, a mobile phone Icelanders 
"christened" simi - in honor of the magic thread, which is mentioned in the ancient saga as a means of communication.
Words are formed by "folding" roots
The formation of new words in Icelandic occurs by adding existing words and their roots. So, for example, the word geimfari (cosmonaut) is a combination of space and traveler.
In this feature, Icelandic is similar to German, where by adding various roots to each other, absolutely “immense” words can appear.
You will be surprised, but the morphology of this northern language is not much different from Russian. Nouns are plural and singular, as well as masculine, feminine and neuter. The verb has a tense form, voice and mood. He can also conjugate for persons and numbers.
Northern and southern dialects
The Icelandic language even has its own dialects: northern and southern. The difference between the dialects, however, is small: in the northern dialect (hardmaili), the sounds /p, t, k/ are pronounced as voiceless aspirated, and in the southern (linmaili) - initially voiceless /p, t, k/ not at the beginning of the word are pronounced as weak non-respiratory.
These differences are not shown in writing.
Middle name instead of last name
An interesting feature of the Icelandic language is that instead of the usual surnames, the full name of a person uses a patronymic. It consists of the father's name in the genitive case and the word "son" or "daughter". In rare cases, the mother's name may be used. Although, in order to avoid confusion, they prefer to use the name of the grandfather.
