Icelandic orthography

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Eth
Þorn
A handwriting extract; the Icelandic letters ⟨ð⟩ & ⟨þ⟩ are visible.

The Icelandic orthography uses a

ligature or diacritical version of their respective letters. Icelanders call the ten extra letters (not in the English alphabet), especially thorn and eth, séríslenskur ("specifically Icelandic" or "uniquely Icelandic"), although they are not. Eth is also used in Faroese and Elfdalian, and while thorn is no longer used in any other living language, it was used in many historical languages, including Old English. Icelandic words never start with ⟨ð⟩, which means the capital version ⟨Ð⟩ is mainly just used when words are spelled using all capitals
.

The alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:

Icelandic alphabet
An Icelandic speaker reciting the alphabet in Icelandic
Problems playing this file? See media help.
Majuscule forms
(also called uppercase or capital letters)
A Á B D Ð E É F G H I Í J K L M N O Ó P R S T U Ú V X Y Ý Þ Æ Ö
Minuscule forms
(also called lowercase or small letters)
a á b d ð e é f g h i í j k l m n o ó p r s t u ú v x y ý þ æ ö
Names of letters
Letter Name IPA Frequency[1]
Aa a [aː] 10.11%
Áá á [auː] 1.8%
Bb bé [pjɛː] 1.04%
Dd dé [tjɛː] 1.58%
Ðð eð [ɛːθ] 4.39%
Ee e [ɛː] 6.42%
Éé é [jɛː] 0.65%
Ff eff [ɛfː] 3.01%
Gg ge [cɛː] 4.24%
Hh há [hauː] 1.87%
Ii i [ɪː] 7.58%
Íí í [iː] 1.57%
Jj joð [jɔːθ] 1.14%
Kk ká [kʰauː] 3.31%
Ll ell [ɛtːl̥] 4.53%
Mm emm [ɛmː] 4.04%
Nn enn [ɛnː] 7.71%
Oo o [ɔː] 2.17%
Óó ó [ouː] 0.99%
Pp pé [pʰjɛː] 0.79%
Rr err [ɛr̥ː] 8.58%
Ss ess [ɛsː] 5.63%
Tt té [tʰjɛː] 4.95%
Uu u [ʏː] 4.56%
Úú ú [uː] 0.61%
Vv vaff [vafː] 2.44%
Xx ex [ɛks] 0.05%
Yy y [ɪː] 0.9%
Ýý ý [iː] 0.23%
Þþ þorn [θɔrtn̥] 1.45%
Ææ æ [aiː] 0.87%
Öö ö [œː] 0.78%
Obsolete letter
Letter Name IPA Frequency
Zz seta [ˈsɛːta]

The names of the letters are grammatically neuter (except the now obsolete ⟨z⟩ which is grammatically feminine).

The letters ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩ and ⟨ö⟩ are considered vowels, and the remainder are consonants.

⟨c⟩ (sé,

Latin ⟨qu⟩ and English ⟨wh⟩ in words inherited from Proto-Indo-European
: Icelandic hvað, Latin quod, English what.)

⟨z⟩ (seta,

Verzlunarskóli Íslands
have it in their names. It is also found in some proper names (e.g. Zakarías, Haralz, Zoëga), and loanwords such as pizza (also written pítsa). Older people who were educated before the abolition of the ⟨z⟩ sometimes also use it.

While ⟨c⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨w⟩, and ⟨z⟩ are found on the

collate (sort into the correct order), and practically that is done, i.e. computers treat the alphabet as a superset of the English alphabet. The alphabet as taught in schools up to about 1980[citation needed
] has these 36 letters (and computers still order this way): a, á, b, c, d, ð, e, é, f, g, h, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, o, ó, p, q, r, s, t, u, ú, v, w, x, y, ý, z, þ, æ, ö.

History

The modern Icelandic alphabet has developed from a standard established in the 19th century, by the Danish linguist Rasmus Rask primarily. It is ultimately based heavily on an orthographic standard created in the early 12th century by a document referred to as The First Grammatical Treatise, author unknown. The standard was intended for the common North Germanic language, Old Norse. It did not have much influence, however, at the time.

The most defining characteristics of the alphabet were established in the old treatise:

The later Rasmus Rask standard was basically a re-enactment of the old treatise, with some changes to fit concurrent North Germanic conventions, such as the exclusive use of ⟨k⟩ rather than ⟨c⟩. Various old features, like ⟨ð⟩, had actually not seen much use in the later centuries, so Rask's standard constituted a major change in practice.

Later 20th century changes are most notably the adoption of ⟨é⟩, which had previously been written as ⟨je⟩ (reflecting the modern pronunciation), and the replacement of ⟨z⟩ with ⟨s⟩ in 1973.[3]

Spelling-to-sound correspondence

This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations and their phonemic representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.[4][5]

Vowels

Icelandic vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: unstressed vowels are neutral in quantitative aspect. The vowel length is determined by the consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant before another vowel or at the end of a word (i.e., CVCV or CVC# syllable structure), the vowel is long; if there are more than one (CVCCV), counting geminates and pre-aspirated stops as CC, the vowel is short. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule:

  1. A vowel is long when the first consonant following it is [p t k s] and the second [v j r], e.g. esja, vepja, akrar, vökvar, tvisvar.
  2. A vowel is also long in monosyllabic substantives with a genitive -s whose stem ends in a single [p t k] following a vowel (e.g. ráps, skaks), except if the final [p t k] is assimilated into the [s], e.g. báts.
  3. The first word of a compound term preserves its long vowel if its following consonant is one of the group [p t k s], e.g. matmál.
  4. The non-compound verbs vitkast and litka have long vowels.
Vowels
Grapheme Sound (IPA) Examples
Long Short Before
⟨gi⟩ [jɪ][6] 		Before
⟨ng⟩ or ⟨nk⟩
a [aː] [a] [ai] [au] taska [ˈtʰaska] ⓘ "handbag"
kaka [ˈkʰaːka] ⓘ "cake"
svangur [ˈsvauŋkʏr̥] "hungry"
á [auː] [au] fár [fauːr̥] ⓘ "disaster"
au [œyː] [œy] þau [θœyː] ⓘ "they"
e [ɛː] [ɛ] [ei] skera [ˈscɛːra] "to cut"
drekka [ˈtrɛʰka] ⓘ "to drink"
drengur [ˈtreiŋkʏr̥] "boy"
é [jɛː] [jɛ] ég [jɛːx] ⓘ "I"
ei, ey [eiː] [ei] skeið [sceiːθ] ⓘ "spoon"
hey [heiː] "hay"
i, y [ɪː] [ɪ] [i] sin [sɪːn] ⓘ "sinew"
syngja [ˈsiɲca] "to sing"
í, ý [iː] [i] íslenska [ˈistlɛnska] ⓘ "Icelandic"
o [ɔː] [ɔ] [ɔi] [ou] lofa [ˈlɔːva] ⓘ "to promise"
dolla [ˈtɔtla] "pot"
ó [ouː] [ou] rós [rouːs] ⓘ "rose"
u [ʏː] [ʏ] [ʏi] [u] hundur [ˈhʏntʏr̥] ⓘ "dog"
munkur [ˈmuŋ̊kʏr̥] "monk"
ú [uː] [u] þú [θuː] ⓘ "you"
æ [aiː] [ai] læsa [ˈlaiːsa] ⓘ "lock"
ö [œː] [œ] [œy] ör [œːr] ⓘ "scar"
hnöttur [ˈn̥œʰtʏr̥] "globe"
öngull [ˈœyŋkʏtl̥] "hook"

Consonants

Consonants
Grapheme Phonetic realization (IPA) Examples
b between ⟨m⟩ and ⟨d, t, s, g⟩:
∅
 kembt [cʰɛm̥t] "combed [past participle]"
in most cases:
voiceless bilabial stop
 bær [paiːr̥] ⓘ "town"
d between ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩ and ⟨g, n, l, k, s⟩:
∅
 lands [lans] "land's [genitive]"
in most cases:
voiceless dental stop
 dalur [ˈtaːlʏr̥] ⓘ "valley"
ð between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, word finally:
[ð̠] voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative
 eða [ˈɛːða] ⓘ "or"
bað [paːð] ⓘ "bath"
before a
voiceless consonant
and before a pause:
[θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative
 maðkur [ˈmaθkʏr̥] ⓘ "worm"
between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨n⟩, and between ⟨g⟩ and ⟨s⟩:
∅
 harðna [ˈhartna] "to harden"
bragðs [praxs] "trick's [genitive], flavour's [genitive]"
f word initially or before a voiceless consonant, and when doubled:
[f]
 fundur [ˈfʏntʏr̥] "meeting"
haft [haft] "had [past participle]"
between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, or word finally:
[v]
 lofa [ˈlɔːva] ⓘ "to promise"
horfa [ˈhɔrva] "look"
between ⟨ó⟩ and a vowel:
∅
 prófa [ˈpʰr̥ou.a] ⓘ "test"
gulrófa [ˈkʏlˌrou.a] ⓘ "rutabaga"
before ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩:
[p]
 Keflavík [ˈcʰɛplaˌviːk] ⓘ "Keflavík"
fnd [mt] hefnd [hɛmt] ⓘ "revenge"
fnt [m̥t] (voiceless) nefnt [nɛm̥t] ⓘ "named"
g word initially, before a consonant or ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩; or between vowel and ⟨l⟩ or ⟨n⟩:
voiceless velar stop
 glápa [ˈklauːpa] ⓘ "to stare"
logn [lɔkn̥] ⓘ "windstill"
word initially, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨j⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩:
voiceless palatal stop
 geta [ˈcɛːta] ⓘ "to be able"
between a vowel and ⟨a, u, ð, l, r⟩; or word finally:
[ɣ] voiced velar fricative
 fluga [ˈflʏːɣa] ⓘ "fly"
lag [laːɣ] ⓘ "layer"
before ⟨t⟩ or ⟨s⟩ or before a pause:
[x] voiceless velar fricative
 dragt [traxt] "suit"
between a vowel and ⟨j⟩ or ⟨i⟩:
palatal approximant
 segja [ˈsɛjːa] "to say"
between ⟨á, ó, ú⟩, and ⟨a, o, u⟩:
∅
 fljúga [ˈfljuː.a] "to fly"
gj [c] unaspirated voiceless palatal stop gjalda [ˈcalta] "to pay"
h [h] voiceless glottal fricative hár [hauːr̥] "hair"
hj [ç] voiceless palatal fricative hjá [çauː] "next to"
hl
alveolar lateral approximant
 hlýr [l̥iːr̥] "warm"
hn [n̥] voiceless alveolar nasal hné [n̥jɛː] "knee"
hr [r̥] voiceless alveolar trill hratt [r̥aʰt] "fast"
hv [kʰv] ([xv] among some older speakers in southern Iceland) hvað [kʰvaːθ] ⓘ "what"
j [j] já [jauː] "yes"
k word initially, before a consonant or ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩:
[kʰ]
 kaka [ˈkʰaːka] ⓘ "cake"
word initially, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩:
[cʰ] aspirated voiceless palatal stop
 keyra [ˈcʰeiːra] "to drive"
other contexts, before ⟨a⟩, ⟨á⟩, ⟨é⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨ó⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨ú⟩ or ⟨ö⟩:
[k]
 skarfur [ˈskarvʏr̥] "cormorant"
haka [ˈhaːka] "chin"
other contexts, before ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨í⟩, ⟨y⟩, ⟨ý⟩, ⟨æ⟩, ⟨ei⟩ or ⟨ey⟩:
voiceless palatal stop
 skip [ˈscɪːp] "boat"
hroki [ˈr̥ɔːcɪ] "arrogance"
before ⟨l, m, n⟩:
[ʰk]
 miklir [mɪʰklɪr̥] "great (pl.)"
vakna [vaʰkna] "wake up"
before ⟨t⟩:
[x] voiceless velar fricative
 október [ˈɔxtouːpɛr̥] "October"
kj word initially:
voiceless palatal stop
 kjöt [cʰœːt] "meat"
other contexts:
[c] unaspirated voiceless palatal stop
 þykja [ˈθɪːca] "to regard"
kk [ʰk], [ʰc] þakka [ˈθaʰka] ⓘ "to thank"
ekki [ˈɛʰcɪ] "not"
l word finally, or next to a voiceless consonant:
alveolar lateral approximant
 sól [souːl̥] ⓘ "sun"
stúlka [ˈstul̥ka] "girl"
in most cases:
[l]
 lás [lauːs] ⓘ "lock"
ll in loan words and pet names:
[lː]
 bolla [ˈpɔlːa] ⓘ "bun, bread roll"
mylla [ˈmɪlːa] ⓘ "mill"
in most cases:
[tl]
 bolli [ˈpɔtlɪ] ⓘ "cup"
milli [ˈmɪtlɪ] ⓘ "between"
m after and before voiceless consonants:
[m̥]
 lampi [ˈlam̥pɪ] "lamp"
in most cases:
[m]
 mamma [ˈmamːa] "mum"
n after and before voiceless consonants:
[n̥]
 planta [ˈpʰlan̥ta] "plant"
hnífur [ˈn̥iːvʏr] "knife"
in most cases:
[n]
 nafn [napn̥] "name"
ng before ⟨d, l, s⟩:
[ŋ]
 kringla [ˈkʰriŋla] "disc"
gangs [ˈkauŋs] "movement's [genitive]"
in most cases:
[ŋk], [ɲc]
 vængur [ˈvaiŋkʏr̥] "wing"
engi [ˈeiɲcɪ] "meadow"
nk [ŋ̊k], [ɲ̊c] hönk [ˈhœyŋ̊k] "coil, loop"
banki [ˈpauɲ̊cɪ] "bank"
nn after accented vowels or diphthongs:
[tn̥]
 steinn [steitn̥] "rock"
fínn [fitn̥] "fine"
elsewhere:
[nː]
 finna [ˈfɪnːa] "to find"
p word initially:
voiceless bilabial stop
 par [pʰaːr̥] ⓘ "pair"
other contexts:
[p] unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop
 spara [ˈspaːra] ⓘ "to save"
kápa [ˈkʰauːpa] "coat"
before ⟨s, k, t⟩:
[f] voiceless labiodental fricative
 September [ˈsɛftɛmpɛr̥] "September"
skips [scɪfs] "ship's [genitive]"
before ⟨l, m, n⟩:
[ʰp]
 epli [ɛʰplɪ] "apple(s)"
vopn [vɔʰpn̥] "weapon(s)"
pp [ʰp] stoppa [ˈstɔʰpa] ⓘ "to stop"
r word initially and between vowels:
[r] (voiced alveolar trill or tap)
 rigna [ˈrɪkna] "to rain"
læra [ˈlaiːra] "to learn"
before and after voiceless consonants and before a pause:
tap
)
 svartur [ˈsvar̥tʏr̥] "black"
rl [tl̥], occasionally [rtl̥][note 1] karlmaður [ˈkʰatl̥ˌmaːðʏr̥] "man"
rn [tn̥], occasionally [rtn̥][note 1] þorn [θɔtn̥] "the name of the letter Þ"
before ⟨d⟩:
[rn]
 vernd [vɛrnt] "protection"
s [s] sósa [ˈsouːsa] "sauce"
sl [stl̥] rusl [rʏstl̥] "garbage"
sn [stn̥] býsna [ˈpistn̥a] "extremes"
t word initially:
voiceless dental stop
 taka [ˈtʰaːka] ⓘ "take"
before ⟨l, m, n⟩:
[ʰt]
 Atli [aʰtlɪ] "Attila"
rytmi [rɪʰtmɪ] "rhythm"
vatn [vaʰtn̥] "water"
elsewhere:
[t] unaspirated voiceless dental stop
 stela [ˈstɛːla] ⓘ "to steal"
skutur [ˈskʏːtʏr̥] "stern"
tt [ʰt] detta [ˈtɛʰta] "to fall"
v [v] vera [ˈvɛːra] "to be"
x [ks] lax [laks] "salmon"
z [s] beztur [ˈpɛstʏr̥] "the best" (former orthography)
Zakarías [ˈsaːkʰariːas] "Zachary"
þ [θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative þú [θuː] "you"
Aþena [ˈaːθɛna] ⓘ "Athens"

Code pages

Besides the alphabet being part of

ISO 8859-15
also extends it, but with the euro in a different place.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b The pronunciation change rl→[tl̥] and rn→[tn̥] occurred in the 14th century, pronouncing them as [rtl̥] and [rtn̥] is a more recent development that may have been influenced by the orthography.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Icelandic Letter Frequencies". Practical cryptography. Archived from the original on 2023-05-31.
  2. ^ Kvaran, Guðrún (2000-03-07). "Hvers vegna var bókstafurinn z svona mikið notaður á Íslandi en því svo hætt?" [Why was the letter z used so much in Iceland but then stopped?]. Vísindavefurinn (in Icelandic). Retrieved 2023-05-24.
  3. ^ Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur. "Stafsetning og greinarmerkjasetning" [Spelling and punctuation] (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2021-04-23. 2. og 3. grein fjalla um bókstafinn z, brottnám hans úr íslensku, og ýmsar afleiðingar þess. z var numin brott úr íslensku ritmáli með auglýsingu menntamálaráðuneytisins í september 1973 (ekki 1974, eins og oft er haldið fram).
  4. ISBN 0-415-05768-X
    .
  5. ISBN 9780801863578
    .
  6. ^ Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur (2020). "A Short Overview of the Icelandic Sound System Pronunciation Variants and Phonetic Transcription: IPA Version" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-03-14.
  7. ^ Óskarsson, Vesturliði (2001). "Íslensk málsaga" [Icelandic language history]. Málsgreinar (in Icelandic). Archived from the original on 2023-03-02.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Icelandic_orthography&oldid=1219467406"