Icelandic orthography

Icelandic orthography is the way in which Icelandic words are spelt and how their spelling corresponds with their pronunciation.

Alphabet

Eth	Thorn
A handwriting extract; the Icelandic letters ð & þ are visible

The Icelandic alphabet is a Latin alphabet including some letters duplicated with acute accents; in addition, it includes the letter eth Ðð, transliterated as d, and the runic letter thorn Þþ, transliterated as th (see picture); Ææ and Öö are considered letters in their own right and not 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 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.

Sometimes the glyphs are simplified when handwritten, for example æ (considered a separate letter, originally a ligature) may be written as ae, which can make it easier to write cursively.

The alphabet consists of the following 32 letters.

Letter	Name	IPA	Frequency
Aa	a	[aː]	10.11%
Áá	á	[äu̯]	1.8%
Bb	bé	[pjɛː]	1.04%
Dd	dé	[tjɛː]	1.58%
Ðð	eð	[eɛ̯ð̠]	4.39%
Ee	e	[eɛ̯]	6.42%
Éé	é	[jɛː]	0.65%
Ff	eff	[ɛfː]	3.01%
Gg	ge	[cjɛː]	4.24%
Hh	há	[häu̯]	1.87%
Ii	i	[ɪː]	7.58%
Íí	í	[iː]	1.57%
Jj	joð	[joɔ̯ð̠]	1.14%
Kk	ká	[kʰäu̯]	3.31%
Ll	ell	[ɛtːl̥]	4.53%
Mm	emm	[ɛmː]	4.04%
Nn	enn	[ɛnː]	7.71%
Oo	o	[oɔ̯]	2.17%
Óó	ó	[ou̯]	0.99%
Pp	pé	[pʰjɛː]	0.79%
Rr	err	[ɛrː]	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	[ɛxs]	0.05%
Yy	ypsilon y	[ˈʏfsɪlɔn ɪː]	0.9%
Ýý	ypsilon ý	[ˈʏfsɪlɔn iː]	0.23%
Þþ	þorn	[θ̠ɔrːtn̥]	1.45%
Ææ	æ	[ai̯]	0.87%
Öö	ö	[œː]	0.78%

Deleted letter

Letter	Name	IPA
Zz	seta	[seɛ̯ta]

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.

The letters C (sé, [sjɛː]), Q (kú, [kʰuː]) and W (tvöfalt vaff, [ˈtʰvœfal̥t ˌvafː]) are only used in Icelandic in words of foreign origin and some proper names that are also of foreign origin. Otherwise, c, qu, and w are replaced by k/s/ts, hv, and v respectively. (In fact, hv etymologically corresponds to Latin qu and English wh in words inherited from Proto-Indo-European: Icelandic hvað, Latin quod, English what.)

The letter Z (seta, [ˈsɛta]) was used until 1973, when it was abolished, as it was only an etymological detail. It originally represented an affricate [t͡s], which arose from the combinations t+s, d+s, ð+s; however in modern Icelandic it came to be pronounced [s], and as it was a rare letter anyway it was decided in 1973 to replace all instances of z with s. However, one of the most important newspapers in Iceland, Morgunblaðið, still uses it sometimes (although very rarely), and a secondary school, Verzlunarskóli Íslands has it in its name. It is also found in some proper names, and loanwords such as pizza. Older people, who were educated before the abolition of the z sometimes also use it.

While the letters C, Q, W, and Z are found on the Icelandic keyboard, they are rarely used in Icelandic; they are used in some proper names of Icelanders, mainly family names (family names are the exception in Iceland). Many consider the letters should be part of the Icelandic alphabet, as the alphabet is first and foremost a tool to collate words and names, and not having these letters in the alphabet makes it impossible to alphabetize names like Carl and Walter that are well known in Iceland. The alphabet, as taught in Icelandic schools until c. 1980, consisted of 36 letters: 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:

• Use of the acute accent (originally to signify vowel length).
• Use of þ, also used in the Old English alphabet as the letter thorn.

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.

Function of symbols

This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations, and how to pronounce them using a narrow International Phonetic Alphabet transcription.

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 (i.e., a [VC] syllable), the vowel is long; if there are more than one ([VCC]), including geminates, 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.

The chart below is incomplete:

Vowels

Grapheme	Sound (IPA)			Examples
	Long	Short	Before [ŋ]
a	[äː]	[ɐ]	[äu̯]	taska [ˈtʰɐsːkɐ] "handbag, suitcase" kaka [ˈkʰäːkɐ] "cake" svangur [ˈsväu̯ŋːkʏr] "hungry"
á	[äu̯]			fár [fäu̯r] "damage"
au	[œy̯]			þau [θœy̯] "they"
e	[eɛ̯]	[ɛ]	[ɛi̯]	skera [ˈskeɛ̯rɐ] "to cut" drekka [ˈtrɛʰkːɐ] "to drink" drengur [ˈtrɛi̯ŋːkʏr] "boy"
é	[jɛː]	[jɛ]		ég [jɛːɣ] "I"
ei, ey	[ɛi̯]			skeið [skɛi̯ð] "spoon"
i, y	[ɪ]		[i]	sin [sɪːn] "sinew" syngja [ˈsinːkjɐ] "to sing"
í, ý	[i]			íslenska [ˈiːstɬɛnskɐ] "Icelandic"
o	[oɔ̯]	[ɔ]		lofa [ˈloɔ̯vɐ] "promise" dolla [ˈtɔtːlɐ] "pot"
ó	[ou̯]			rós [rou̯s] "rose"
u	[ʏ]		[u]	hundur [ˈhʏnːtʏr] "dog" munkur [ˈmuŋ̊ːkʏr] "monk"
ú	[u]			þú [θuː] "you"
æ	[äi̯]			læsa [ˈläi̯sɐ] "lock"
ö	[œ]		[œy̯]	ör [œːr] "scar" öngull [ˈœy̯ŋːkʏtɬ] "hook"

Consonants

Grapheme	Phonetic realization (IPA)	Examples
b	In most cases: [p⁼] unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop	bær [päi̯r] "town"
	Between m and d, t, s, or g: ∅	kembt [cʰɛm̥tʰ] "combed [past participle]"
d	In most cases: [t⁼] unaspirated voiceless alveolar stop	dalur [ˈtäːlʏr] "valley"
	Between l or n and g, n, l, k, or s: ∅	lands [lanːs] "land [genitive case]"
ð	between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, or at end of word: [ð̠] voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative	eða [ˈeɛða] "or" bað [paːð] "bath"
	before a voiceless consonant and before a pause: [θ̠] voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative	maðkur [ˈmaθ̠ːkʏr] "maggot"
	Between r and n, and between g and s: ∅	harðna [ˈharːtna] "harden" bragðs [braxːs] "trick [genitive case]"
f	At the beginning of a word or before a voiceless consonant, and when doubled: [f]	fundur [ˈfʏnːtʏr] "meeting" haft [hafːt] "had [past participle]"
	Between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, or at the end of a word: [v]	lofa [ˈloɔ̯vɐ] "promise" horfa [ˈhɔrːva] "look"
	between ó and a vowel: ∅	prófa [ˈpʰr̥ou̯.ɐ] "test" gulrófa [ˈkʏlˌrou̯.ɐ] "rutabaga"
	before l or n: [p⁼]	Keflavík [ˈcʰɛpːlɐvik]
fnd	[mt]	hefnd [hɛmːt]
fnt	[m̥t] (voiceless)	nefnt [nɛm̥ːt]
g	beginning of word, before a consonant or a, á, é, o, ó, u, ú and ö; or between vowel and l or n: [k⁼] unaspirated voiceless velar stop	glápa [ˈkläu̯pɐ] "have a look" logn [lɔkːn] "calm (weather)"
	beginning of word, before e, i, í, j, y, ý, æ, ei or ey: [c⁼] unaspirated voiceless palatal stop	geta [ˈceɛtɐ] "can"
	between a vowel and a, u, ð, l or r; or at end of word: [ɣ] voiced velar fricative	fluga [ˈfl̥ʏːɣɐ] "fly" lag [läːɣ] "song"
	before t or s or before a pause: [x] voiceless velar fricative	dragt [traxːt] "suit"
	between a vowel and j or i [j] palatal approximant	segja [ˈsɛjːɐ] "to say"
	between á, ó, ú, and a or u ∅	fljúga [ˈfl̥juː.ɐ] "to fly"
gj	[c⁼] unaspirated voiceless palatal stop	gjalda [ˈcalːtɐ] "to pay"
h	[h] voiceless glottal fricative	hár [häu̯r] "hair"
hj	[ç] voiceless palatal fricative	hjá [çäu̯] "next to, with"
hl	[l̥] voiceless alveolar lateral approximant	hlýr [l̥iːr] "warm"
hr	[r̥] voiceless alveolar trill	hratt [r̥aʰtː] "fast"
hv	[kʰv] ([xv] among some older speakers in southern Iceland)	hvað [kʰväːð] "what"
j	[j]	já [jäu̯] "yes"
k	beginning of word, before a consonant or a, á, é, o, ó, u, ú and ö: [kʰ]	kaka [ˈkʰäːkɐ] "cake"
	beginning of word, before e, i, í, y, ý, æ, ei or ey: [cʰ] aspirated voiceless palatal stop	keyra [ˈcʰɛi̯rɐ] "drive" kynskiptingur [ˈcʰɪːnskɪfːtiŋkʏr] "transsexual"
	before t [x] voiceless velar fricative	október [ˈɔxːtou̯pɛr] "October"
kj	beginning of word: [cʰ] aspirated voiceless palatal stop	kjöt [cʰœːt] "meat"
	all other contexts: [c⁼] unaspirated voiceless palatal stop	þykja [ˈθɪcːjɐ] "to be regarded"
kk	[ʰk]	þakka [ˈθaʰkːɐ] "thank"
l	in most cases: [l]	lás [läu̯s] "lock"
	at end of word, or next to a voiceless consonant: [l̥] voiceless alveolar lateral approximant	sól [sou̯l̥] "sun" , stúlka [ˈstul̥ːkɐ] "girl"
ll	in most cases: [tl]	bolli [ˈpɔtlɪ] "cup" milli [ˈmɪtlɪ] "between"
	in loan words and pet names: [lː]	bolla [ˈpɔlːɐ] mylla [ˈmɪlːɐ] "mill"
m	in most cases: [m]	mamma [ˈmamːɐ] "mum"
	after and before voiceless consonants [m̥]	lampi [ˈlam̥ːpɪ] "lamp"
n	in most cases: [n]	nafn [napːn̥] "name"
	after and before voiceless consonants [n̥]	planta [ˈpʰl̥an̥ːtɐ] "plant" hnífur [ˈn̥iːvʏr] "knife"
	before g or k [ŋ]	vængur [ˈväi̯ŋːkʏr] "wing"
nn	after accented vowels or diphthongs: [tn̥]	steinn [stɛi̯tːn̥] "rock" fínn [fitːn̥] "elegant"
	all other contexts [nː]	finna [ˈfɪnːɐ] "to find"
p	beginning of word: [pʰ] aspirated voiceless bilabial stop	par [pʰäːr] "pair"
	after a voiceless sound: [p⁼] unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop	spara [ˈspäːrɐ] "save"
	before s, k or t: [f] voiceless labiodental fricative	September [ˈsɛftɛmpɛr] "September" skips [skɪfːs] "ship [genitive case]"
	before n: [ʰp]	vopn [vɔʰpːn̥] "weapon"
pp	[ʰp]	stoppa [ˈstɔʰpːɐ] "to stop"
r	at the beginning of words and between vowels: [r] (voiced alveolar trill)	rigna [ˈrɪkːnɐ] "to rain" læra [ˈläi̯rɐ] "to learn"
	before and after voiceless consonants and before a pause [r̥] (voiceless alveolar trill)	svartur [ˈsvar̥ːtʏr] "black"
rl	[rtl̥]	karlmaður [ˈkʰarːtl̥maðʏr] "man"
rn	[rtn̥]	þorn [θɔrːtn̥] "the name of the letter þ"
s	[s]	sósa [ˈsou̯sɐ] sauce
sl	[stl̥]	rusl [rʏsːtl̥] "garbage"
sn	[stn̥]	bysna [ˈpɪsːtn̥ɐ] "overflow"
t	beginning of word: [tʰ] aspirated voiceless alveolar stop	taka [ˈtʰäːkɐ] "take"
	after voiceless sound: [t⁼] unaspirated voiceless alveolar stop	stela [ˈsteɛ̯lɐ] "steal"
tt	[ʰt]	detta [ˈtɛʰtːɐ] "to fall"
v	[v]	vera [ˈveɛ̯rɐ] "to be"
x	[xs] or [ks]	lax [laxs] "salmon"
z	[s]	beztur [ˈpɛsːtʏr] "best" (former orthography) Zakarías [ˈsakɐriːɐs] "Zachary"
þ	[θ̠] see ð above	þú [θ̠uː] "you" Aþena [ˈäθ̠enɐ] "Athens"

See also

• Icelandic Encyclopedia A-Ö
• N-rule

External links

• Guidelines for phonetic transcription