Icelandic pronunciation

From UniLang Wiki

[edit]

Alphabet

Graph Sound
A a a
Á á au
B b b, p
D d d
Ð ð ð
E e e
É é je
F f f, v, p, b
G g g, gj, γ, γj
H h h, x
I i I
Í í i
J j j
K k k, hk
L l l, ł
M m m
N n n
O o o
Ó ó ou
P p p, hp
R r r, d
S s s
T t t, ht
U u Y
Ú ú u:¿
V v v
X x ks
Y y I
Ý ý i:
Z z s
Þ þ θ
Æ æ ai
Ö ö ø
[edit]

Pronunciation

Grapheme Phonetic realization Examples
a long: [äː] open central unrounded vowel

short: [ɐ]

taska "handbag, suitcase"

kaka "cake"

á [äu̯] fár "damage"
au [œy̯] þau "they"
b [p⁼] unaspirated voiceless bilabial plosive bær "town"
d [t⁼] unaspirated voiceless alveolar plosive dalur "valley"
ð between vowels or at end of word:
[ð̠] voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative
eða "or"

bað "bath"

before a voiceless consonant:
[θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative
maðkur "maggot"
e long: [eɛ̯]

short: [ɛ]

drekka "drink"
é [jɛ] ég [jɛːɣ] "I"
ei, ey [ɛi̯] skeið "spoon"
f normally:
[f]
around vowels:
[v]
lofa "promise"
between ó and a vowel:
Ø
prófa [prou̯ɐ] "test"

gulrófa "rutabaga"

before l or n:
[p⁼]
Keflavík
fnd [mt] hefnd [hɛmt]
fnt [m̥t] (voiceless) nefnt [nɛm̥t]
g beginning of word, before a, á, é, j, o, ó, u, ú and ö; or between vowel and l or n:
[k⁼] unaspirated voiceless velar plosive
glápa "look"

logn "calm (weather)"

beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
[c⁼] unaspirated voiceless palatal plosive
geta "can"

gulrófa "rutabaga"

after vowels; before a, u, ð or r; or at end of word:
[ɣ] voiced velar fricative
fluga "fly"

lag "song"

before t or s
[x] voiceless velar fricative
dragt "suit"
after a vowel and before j or i
[j] palatal approximant
segja "to say"
between á ó ú and a or u
Ø
fljúga "to fly"
hv [kʰv] (older speakers say [xv]) hvað "what"
i [ɪ] sin "sinew"
í [i] íslenska "Icelandic"
j [j] já yes
k [kʰ] kynskiptingur "transsexual"
beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey:
[cʰ] aspirated voiceless palatal plosive
keyra "drive"
kk [ʰk] þakka "thank"
l in most cases:
[l]
lás "lock"
at end of word:
[l̥] voiceless alveolar lateral approximant
sól "sun"
ll in most cases:
[tl]
bolli "cup"

milli "between"

in loan words and pet names:
[lː]
bolla "bun"

mylla "mill"

m in most cases:
[m]
mamma "mom"
after and before voiceless consonants
[m̥]
lampi "lamp"
n in most cases:
[n]
nafn "name"
after and before voiceless consonants
[n̥]
planta "plant"

hnifur "knife"

nn after accented vowels or diphthongs:
[tn̥]
steinn "rock"

fínn "elegant"

all other contexts
[nː]
finna "to find"
o long: [oɔ̯]

short: [ɔ]

lofa "promise"
ó [ou̯] rós "rose"
p beginning of word:
[pʰ] aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive
par "pair"
after a voiceless sound:
[p⁼] unaspirated voiceless bilabial plosive
spara "save"
before s, k or t:
[f] voiceless labiodental fricative
September "September"

skips "ship's"

pp [ʰp] stoppa "stop"
r at the beginning of words and between vowels:
[r] (voiced alveolar trill)
rigna "to rain"

læra "to learn"

before and after voiceless consonants and at the end of a pause
[r̥] (voiceless alveolar trill)
hratt "fast"

svartur "black"

rl [rtl̥] karlmaður "man"
rn [rtn̥] þorn "the name of the letter þ"
s [s] sósa sauce
t beginning of word:
[tʰ] aspirated voiceless alveolar plosive
taka "take"
after voiceless sound:
[t⁼] unaspirated voiceless alveolar plosive
stela "steal"
u [ʏ] hundur "dog"
ú [u] þú "you"
v [v] vera "to be"
x [xs lax "salmon"
þ [θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative þú

Aþena "Athens"

æ [äi̯] læsa "to lock"
ö [œ] ör "scar"

An overview with mp3 samples can be found at BRAGI. The page is only in Icelandic though.


>> Languages >> Icelandic

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