Finally, yours was the first video that actually got me to understand how to properly pronounce the unique TL sound for LL. I watched several other videos on youtube trying to recreate and figure out how to make that sound with my mouth until now. Very difficult for a native english speaker to pick up. Thanks!
Yay! That makes me super happy to hear :) I know it's a weird and difficult sound, but it can be done! Congratz on reaching this milestone in your Icelandic studies ^.^
It is technically a T sound that’s right before the L sound, and when the LL is at the end of the word the L sound becomes really soft and almost silent or it isn’t really pronounced and the sharp T sound is more obvious, and when the LL is inside the word it sounds more like a normal T + normal L sound, but at the end of the word it definitely sounds sharper like a shaper T sound, and the L sound isn’t really pronounced, so it’s kinda silent at the end of the word, so, the LL in most Icelandic words is pronounced TL with a T sound that is sort of plosive maybe...?! Not sure how to describe this type of T or D tho... Because there are multiple ways to pronounce Ts and Ds etc, but it sounds a bit ‘sharper’ than a regular T that’s used in most languages, and Faroese also has this DL or TL pronunciation of the double L, and in Faroese it is closer to a D sound, but in Icelandic it is closer to a T sound! And to me the LL / TL sounds just like the NN sound, so maybe the NN sound is the same...?! I’m not sure tho... But both sound kinda plosive and sharper than regular sounds! Re the words full and fullur, I use a normal L sound when saying these, and I highly recommend that all use a normal L in these words as well, because words that have F and vowels such U or O right after it definitely sound way better in combination with an L sound than they do with a T sound, and even in English there are words such as future that aren’t really one of the best English words due to the letter combinations used in spelling with F followed by an U vowel that has a T right after the U which isn’t a good letter combination in general, and it’s actually a loanword from French maybe, but luckily the English pronunciation is not really with a T sound in that word, so in pronunciation it actually sounds good, but in spelling not so much, and, this is because the vowels U and O are some of the problematic vowels that don’t look / sound good when they are in combination with certain consonants in the same word, so only certain consonants go well with these two vowels when they are between two consonants!
Thanks so much Ása I can finally make the ll side of mouth sound thanks to you! Took a while but I kept watching this video and walking around frightening my dog trying to make this sound and then last night suddenly it clicked. very grateful. You are a superb teacher and I will always remember what you teach. Bless bless Davið
I think the sound of the "Icelandic LL" is the same as one of the native languages from my country, México, which is the language Nahuatl. In this language, this sound is represented with "-tl" at the end of words. Fortunately, I knew this pronounciation already!
This has, so far, been my favorite lesson. Not only informative and helpful, but it made me laugh because you are so good at this and you make fun out of it. I'm a right-sider by the way. Thank you. I wish I could work with you in my new home... Iceland!!!
Ása, thank you so, so much for making these videos!! I've been trying to learn Icelandic since 2017 and it's just so hard to say anything correctly if you're just using books, and no videos (which are rare anyway) have been nearly as detailed and helpful as yours. You're an amazing teacher. I'm so glad I found your channel. Takk fyrir
If I had learnt this vedio from my beginning, I would be less frustrated. 😂.I love you! You are really a great Icelandic teacher who knows foreign students very well and tries to demostrate them how the sound is made and give the sample words with the certain sounds. At least I have gained a bit confidence when I say halló, fjall , sæl ,sæll,kjóll , allt …afterwards. Thank you for your wonderful lecture s.😊
Thank youuuuuu! I've been struggling with the double L for a while! The explanation of how the sound is built was just the puzzle piece I missed!!! ❤❤❤ Greetings from Latvia!
It is technically a T sound that’s right before the L sound, and when the LL is at the end of the word the L sound becomes really soft and almost silent or it isn’t really pronounced and the sharp T sound is more obvious, and when the LL is inside the word it sounds more like a normal T + normal L sound, but at the end of the word it definitely sounds sharper like a shaper T sound, and the L sound isn’t really pronounced, so it’s kinda silent at the end of the word, so, the LL in most Icelandic words is pronounced TL with a T sound that is sort of plosive maybe...?! Not sure how to describe this type of T or D tho... Because there are multiple ways to pronounce Ts and Ds etc, but it sounds a bit ‘sharper’ than a regular T that’s used in most languages, and Faroese also has this DL or TL pronunciation of the double L, and in Faroese it is closer to a D sound, but in Icelandic it is closer to a T sound! And to me the LL / TL sounds just like the NN sound, so maybe the NN sound is the same...?! I’m not sure tho... But both sound kinda plosive and sharper than regular sounds! Re the words full and fullur, I use a normal L sound when saying these, and I highly recommend that all use a normal L in these words as well, because words that have F and vowels such U or O right after it definitely sound way better in combination with an L sound than they do with a T sound, and even in English there are words such as future that aren’t really one of the best English words due to the letter combinations used in spelling with F followed by an U vowel that has a T right after the U which isn’t a good letter combination in general, and it’s actually a loanword from French maybe, but luckily the English pronunciation is not really with a T sound in that word, so in pronunciation it actually sounds good, but in spelling not so much, and, this is because the vowels U and O are some of the problematic vowels that don’t look / sound good when they are in combination with certain consonants in the same word, so only certain consonants go well with these two vowels when they are between two consonants!
@@FrozenMermaid666 Hey! Yes I agree that the double LL is similar to TL or DDL, so that is a good way to "cheat" is to just say TL instead of trying the LL sound, that is only subtly different. But an Icelandic person definitely pronounces TL different from LL, but maybe the difference is not really clear to foreigners, and using TL will almost always be understandable. I don't agree, however, on not using the Icelandic double LL for full and fullur... Maybe you think it is prettier to use normal L, and that may be true, but it is not correct Icelandic. In both full and fullur you should always use the Icelandic double LL (or TL), at least if you want to pronounce words correctly.
It’s probably a very small difference, but technically they are both a type of T sound, aren’t they? But the regular TL is more normal, while the way natives pronounce LL is, with a sharper version of T in it, like a ‘plosive’ T maybe? It’s hard to explain! But it definitely sounds very similar to a more normal T when spoken faster, from what I noticed, but when pronouncing the words slowly, the sharper sound becomes more obvious, almost like a click-like T sound! I sort of figured out how to do the plosive T sound, but I have to practice it more because I am not used to it yet and it feels kind of strange at first! Re the pronunciation of fullur, pronunciation rules and other rules in general can be changed all the time, as languages are constantly improved in certain ways, just as new words are created whenever a new item is made, and in some languages the English word is used, while in other languages a new word is created that is different from the English word, so what is considered correct now may not be considered correct in the future - I don’t always do what is considered correct, especially in such cases, or in a case where the spelling isn’t as good as it could be etc, or even when a language doesn’t have certain words, I tend to create new words for those concepts or things myself, and it’s also the fact that many times what is considered correct in general isn’t really correct from a logical standpoint, so I tend to go with the most logical definitions of correctness in general, and when it comes to languages, it is sort of similar in a way, because the most correct rules would be the ones that make each word sound / look the best it could sound / look in general, so it’s a way of improving certain words that need to be improved, and even the language creators had this idea, especially the creators of the really pretty languages such as Germanic languages / Celtic languages etc, which follow the most logical rules qua word-construction / pronunciation / aspect etc, as opposed to just being randomly made with random letters that don’t go well 2gether, and, they were designed in such a way that everything is in perfect harmony in general, so almost all Germanic words have really great letter combinations, and the pronunciation was also decided based on the word itself aka the pronunciation that had the best sound for each word for almost all the words, so almost all Germanic words have great spelling and also great pronunciation, and there are very few exceptions where a few words don’t have the best pronunciation they could have or don’t have the best spelling they could have, and I am not sure why that is, but I suppose this is due to the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of words in a Germanic language, so my guess is, the language creator or the last dude / linguist that modified the words might have not paid too much attention to the pronunciation or spelling of a few words because one can get really tired after going thru many thousands of words, so it’s easy to not notice something in a certain word that could be improved, which would explain why even really well-constructed languages such as the Germanic languages (that aren’t randomly created at all and that follow very logical patterns / rules) have a few words that aren’t perfect yet, and, those are the type of words that need some improvement, so it’s always good to suggest what could be improved in a word’s pronunciation or spelling etc!
I don’t find the LL sound hard to make, to be honest, I would say the NN sound is the one sound that is real tricky, as all other sounds used in Icelandic are very easy to pronounce, and to figure out how to make them, but I am still not 100% sure about the NN sound, because sometimes it sounds like this LL sound, and sometimes it sounds like it’s a very quiet nasal N whose placement is in the back of the nose or higher up inside the mouth, unlike the regular N which feels more like its placement is more towards the center of the mouth! It sounds like a ‘whispered’ click-like N sometimes, so it could also be a type of ‘voiceless’ N or something like that, and I also noticed that in some words it sounds different, while in words like einn it sounds more like the LL sound, so it doesn’t always sound ‘voiceless’ or quiet! Hearing this sound a lot in many different words with very loud and clear pronunciation would definitely help learners figure out how to make it faster, so I would highly suggest making videos such as vocab videos with mostly words that include the NN sound and even vocab videos that only include words with the NN sound and that include words with both NN and LL sounds, and also including the grammatical gender (m or f or n) of the nouns if possible, they would be so helpful for a learner / beginner, and another real good video idea would be, a series of vocab videos with that would cover all Icelandic verbs, especially the most used 1.000 verbs, and a series of videos on different preposition uses and different conjunction uses, and a series of videos covering the Icelandic idioms / phrases / slang etc, as verbs and prepositions and conjunctions are among the most useful types of words to know, especially as a beginner / intermediate, and it’s not easy to find videos that teach them, and idioms / phrases / slang etc are also very important, as one cannot really understand natives or understand many of the sentence without know them!
Feels a bit like the click LL is very close - not identical but really close - to the Welsh 'LL'. If you've ever been to Llanelli or Llangollen then I *think* you're going to get how to say Gullfoss etc.
Thank you so much for making your video series. I'm trying to learn Icelandic on my own and your videos are really helpful. I thought I would start by learning the numbers using an app. When I got to the number 11, I was blown away. I really had no connections between what the app was saying and the spelling in front of me. In my mind I hear the double L as a TL with the breath. I struggled through it and I'm thinking the number 11 (for me and probably incorrect) could be pronounced as "etliva" (saying "et", breath between the T and L, and with a "liver" kind of sound but replacing the "er" with an "a" sound). Thanks a gain for your great work. I'm very slowly working through all your videos (kind of just started) and I really appreciate your efforts.
The key thing is to *not* release your tongue, like you would do in the etliva spelling. Keep your tongue also up against the roof of your mouth (behind the teeth), when doing the LL sound. This is a tough sound, most foreigners take some time to get it right, but it can be done - I promise! Good luck, and I hope you have fun learning Icelandic!
I love these pronunciation lessons and how clear they are! Since you are familiar with Italian, would you say that the “soft -ll sound” like in “allt” is similar or same as for Italian when we have “gl”, like in “aglio”?
Actually now that you mention it, yes these are similar! I would say the main difference is that the Icelandic is breathier. Basically in "allt" my teeth are about 50% closer compared to when I say "aglio". Meaning that the airflow is slightly more "forced" out between my teeth (through the side, not front), while the Italian is more forceless, if that makes sense. (This is obviously with the caveat that my Italian is non-native and not perfect). Hope this helps!
Well, you can do it through both sides at once, but usually one side is significantly favoured, and in casual speak people usually only use one side. But which side that is depends on the person :)
Icelandic "Ellefu" no doubt means the same thing as the Old English "endleofen" (modern English "eleven") which is 'one left'. Old English has the same rule for voicing F in the middle of a word. Around 1066, some of the Anglo-Saxon fighters were called "housekarl" rather than "hūswer" because of Norse influence. So, we see "karl" in some part of the history of the series of languages called English by those who spoke them (even if they spelled it Englisc).
I have no idea where "ellefu" comes from, and the origin of the word is not obvious (like often is the case with Icelandic words), so you could be right. It has undoubtedly the same origin as the English eleven and danish elleve Funny! I didnt know karl exists in any form of old English.
In principle yes... but I don't think this will be an issue for you because of the following reasons. Usually the r-sound is quite short, and you can make it ´soft´-rolling (almost hidden) without much issue. More importantly you will (almost) never have to use the word ´jarl´ since we don't have those in Iceland. For ´karl´ there is a colloquial pronunciation that is ´kall´ . This is so common that it is sometimes even spelled like this (when emphasising the colloquialness). ´Kall´ is by far the most common pronunciation of karl, for the reasons you just named - it's a bit cumbersome to pronounce the rl combo. However, jarl is never pronounced like that (skipping r), and if you have the name "Karl" (male name), then you always have to pronounce the R - sorry if this sounds random, I really do not make the rules. But, most guys named Karl, have the nickname Kalli (with international ll), so hopefully this will not cause you too many problems!
@@letslearnicelandic405 Vá great reply þakk fyrir Ása! Very interesting indeed you are a great teacher you know all the tricks😀 I will print your reply out and put it in my lessons so I never forget again. I know I'll never convince somebody I'm actually Icelandic but at least I'll sound like I'll have I've had good teachers
@@b43xoit Pretty much, yes. the position of the mouth + where the sound escapes is VERY similar to the international single N (try saying N while holding your nose - it's impossible)... the main difference is just that the air force is stronger and more abrupt, hence creating a sound of its own.
@@letslearnicelandic405 Hello! I love your videos. I am starting to learn because I'm visiting my sister this year. This seems a joke, about the bad cold, I have also heard like they are really tired or exhausted when speaking (as if they were short of breath) but I thnik it's because they're using a lot these sounds and aspirations.
@@letslearnicelandic405 þakk Ása! sorry það tók mig 11 mánuði að svara🥲😀 núna skil ég þegar ég horfði aftur á 'L' myndbandið þitt og lærði um mjúka L. Þú ert goðsögn Ása!
Ahh... You are right, it kind of does. I had never thought about it :) (I think I am the person learning most from doing these lectures). I think we use a slight hint of an a-sound at the end to elongate the o-sound. When we have a short o it is usually not there, like Olli (nickname) or hollur ("healthy") then it's a quick o with no a-sound. But (apparently) when we have a long o-sound we have a slight hint of an a-sound to it, to make it longer. Then in my lecture it was more obvious because I was over enunciating and speaking super slowly. Normally I wouldn't worry about including it or not if you are learning Icelandic. But you are right, it is still kind of always there :)
I know you didn't ask for correction of your English, but I'm going to offer one anyway. We have the verb "to pronounce", and one would expect that if English followed any rules, the associated noun would be "pronounciation", but it is not. It's "proNUNciation".
I already know that (see the title of the lesson)... but I often make mistakes with this when thinking about other things... A classical part of being a non-native speaker.
![Icelandic Pronunciation - G [EP.07]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/j1HjovuGAcM/mqdefault.jpg)
![Icelandic Pronunciation - G [EP.07]](/img/tr.png)
![Icelandic Pronunciation - N [EP.05]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E9KtB4Dho_w/mqdefault.jpg)
![Icelandic Pronunciation - X, M, R, S, J, and H [EP.03]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n49qdbNyJ7M/mqdefault.jpg)
Finally, yours was the first video that actually got me to understand how to properly pronounce the unique TL sound for LL. I watched several other videos on youtube trying to recreate and figure out how to make that sound with my mouth until now. Very difficult for a native english speaker to pick up. Thanks!
Yay! That makes me super happy to hear :)
I know it's a weird and difficult sound, but it can be done!
Congratz on reaching this milestone in your Icelandic studies ^.^
It is technically a T sound that’s right before the L sound, and when the LL is at the end of the word the L sound becomes really soft and almost silent or it isn’t really pronounced and the sharp T sound is more obvious, and when the LL is inside the word it sounds more like a normal T + normal L sound, but at the end of the word it definitely sounds sharper like a shaper T sound, and the L sound isn’t really pronounced, so it’s kinda silent at the end of the word, so, the LL in most Icelandic words is pronounced TL with a T sound that is sort of plosive maybe...?! Not sure how to describe this type of T or D tho... Because there are multiple ways to pronounce Ts and Ds etc, but it sounds a bit ‘sharper’ than a regular T that’s used in most languages, and Faroese also has this DL or TL pronunciation of the double L, and in Faroese it is closer to a D sound, but in Icelandic it is closer to a T sound! And to me the LL / TL sounds just like the NN sound, so maybe the NN sound is the same...?! I’m not sure tho... But both sound kinda plosive and sharper than regular sounds! Re the words full and fullur, I use a normal L sound when saying these, and I highly recommend that all use a normal L in these words as well, because words that have F and vowels such U or O right after it definitely sound way better in combination with an L sound than they do with a T sound, and even in English there are words such as future that aren’t really one of the best English words due to the letter combinations used in spelling with F followed by an U vowel that has a T right after the U which isn’t a good letter combination in general, and it’s actually a loanword from French maybe, but luckily the English pronunciation is not really with a T sound in that word, so in pronunciation it actually sounds good, but in spelling not so much, and, this is because the vowels U and O are some of the problematic vowels that don’t look / sound good when they are in combination with certain consonants in the same word, so only certain consonants go well with these two vowels when they are between two consonants!
You do very good you job. Thanks
Thank you !I did it
Frábær kennsla. Takk fyrir. Mjög gagnlegt til að senda erlendum vinum, þeim til hjálpar 😊
Very helpful to learn Icelandic pronunciation thank you ❤
Takk fyrir hjálpina. Ég hlaka tíl að sjá næsta myndband þin.
i need 10 years to learn it! but it was very good explained. Thank you Άsa
Thanks so much Ása I can finally make the ll side of mouth sound thanks to you! Took a while but I kept watching this video and walking around frightening my dog trying to make this sound and then last night suddenly it clicked. very grateful. You are a superb teacher and I will always remember what you teach. Bless bless Davið
Yay! I'm so proud of you - You did well!
@@letslearnicelandic405 thanks Ása 😀🙏🇦🇺🇮🇸
@Wulfgar Skald What wonderful new! I love to hear about your progress! Yes I am still in Italy.
Thanks for this, very helpful!
YOU'RE AN AMAZING TEACHER!!!! today is my first day 🤣 I decided I should learn how to pronounce bands I like lol. Thank you!!!
Ooh nice! There are plenty of good Icelandic bands!
Good luck and thanks for the kind words!
@@letslearnicelandic405 They're the best 😭😭😭😭
Àsa, your videos are so helpful, thank you! You are a great teacher.
Thank you so much ❤
Well, this is fascinating. Thanks for your work!
Thank you so much. I've been learning Icelandic quiet a bit now but still couldn't really figure out how those unique sounds were pronounced.
Glad I could help!
A somewhat tedious subject but he showed it in a simple way, greetings.
genuinely thanks this is the one that helped me get it
Yay! I'm so happy to hear that, and L is a hard one so you get a ☆
I think the sound of the "Icelandic LL" is the same as one of the native languages from my country, México, which is the language Nahuatl. In this language, this sound is represented with "-tl" at the end of words. Fortunately, I knew this pronounciation already!
Ah that is so fascinating! I had no idea! Thanks for sharing ❤️
This has, so far, been my favorite lesson. Not only informative and helpful, but it made me laugh because you are so good at this and you make fun out of it. I'm a right-sider by the way. Thank you. I wish I could work with you in my new home... Iceland!!!
Yay! Welcome to the team of right-siders 😊
Thank you, I am glad you could have a laugh, good luck with your Icelandic! Gangi þér vel!
Ása, thank you so, so much for making these videos!! I've been trying to learn Icelandic since 2017 and it's just so hard to say anything correctly if you're just using books, and no videos (which are rare anyway) have been nearly as detailed and helpful as yours. You're an amazing teacher. I'm so glad I found your channel. Takk fyrir
I am so glad that you find it useful!
Best of luck! / Gangi þér vel!
Wonderful lesson... very enlightening, many thanks for this!
THANK you for your great content!!
You are very welcome!
If I had learnt this vedio from my beginning, I would be less frustrated. 😂.I love you! You are really a great Icelandic teacher who knows foreign students very well and tries to demostrate them how the sound is made and give the sample words with the certain sounds.
At least I have gained a bit confidence when I say halló, fjall , sæl ,sæll,kjóll , allt …afterwards. Thank you for your wonderful lecture s.😊
I'm so happy that it helped! If you have progress with pronouncing the L/LL sounds then it is all downhill from here - good luck!
I’ve always used the right side for double L , just came naturally 🙂
That's amazing! Just like for the natives - it comes without thinking :)
Leftie. Same for my Icelandic Amma.
Thank youuuuuu! I've been struggling with the double L for a while! The explanation of how the sound is built was just the puzzle piece I missed!!! ❤❤❤ Greetings from Latvia!
Ah how fantastic, finding the missing puzzle is always very satisfying.
Congratulations with your progress ❤
It is technically a T sound that’s right before the L sound, and when the LL is at the end of the word the L sound becomes really soft and almost silent or it isn’t really pronounced and the sharp T sound is more obvious, and when the LL is inside the word it sounds more like a normal T + normal L sound, but at the end of the word it definitely sounds sharper like a shaper T sound, and the L sound isn’t really pronounced, so it’s kinda silent at the end of the word, so, the LL in most Icelandic words is pronounced TL with a T sound that is sort of plosive maybe...?! Not sure how to describe this type of T or D tho... Because there are multiple ways to pronounce Ts and Ds etc, but it sounds a bit ‘sharper’ than a regular T that’s used in most languages, and Faroese also has this DL or TL pronunciation of the double L, and in Faroese it is closer to a D sound, but in Icelandic it is closer to a T sound! And to me the LL / TL sounds just like the NN sound, so maybe the NN sound is the same...?! I’m not sure tho... But both sound kinda plosive and sharper than regular sounds! Re the words full and fullur, I use a normal L sound when saying these, and I highly recommend that all use a normal L in these words as well, because words that have F and vowels such U or O right after it definitely sound way better in combination with an L sound than they do with a T sound, and even in English there are words such as future that aren’t really one of the best English words due to the letter combinations used in spelling with F followed by an U vowel that has a T right after the U which isn’t a good letter combination in general, and it’s actually a loanword from French maybe, but luckily the English pronunciation is not really with a T sound in that word, so in pronunciation it actually sounds good, but in spelling not so much, and, this is because the vowels U and O are some of the problematic vowels that don’t look / sound good when they are in combination with certain consonants in the same word, so only certain consonants go well with these two vowels when they are between two consonants!
@@FrozenMermaid666 Hey! Yes I agree that the double LL is similar to TL or DDL, so that is a good way to "cheat" is to just say TL instead of trying the LL sound, that is only subtly different. But an Icelandic person definitely pronounces TL different from LL, but maybe the difference is not really clear to foreigners, and using TL will almost always be understandable.
I don't agree, however, on not using the Icelandic double LL for full and fullur... Maybe you think it is prettier to use normal L, and that may be true, but it is not correct Icelandic. In both full and fullur you should always use the Icelandic double LL (or TL), at least if you want to pronounce words correctly.
It’s probably a very small difference, but technically they are both a type of T sound, aren’t they? But the regular TL is more normal, while the way natives pronounce LL is, with a sharper version of T in it, like a ‘plosive’ T maybe? It’s hard to explain! But it definitely sounds very similar to a more normal T when spoken faster, from what I noticed, but when pronouncing the words slowly, the sharper sound becomes more obvious, almost like a click-like T sound! I sort of figured out how to do the plosive T sound, but I have to practice it more because I am not used to it yet and it feels kind of strange at first! Re the pronunciation of fullur, pronunciation rules and other rules in general can be changed all the time, as languages are constantly improved in certain ways, just as new words are created whenever a new item is made, and in some languages the English word is used, while in other languages a new word is created that is different from the English word, so what is considered correct now may not be considered correct in the future - I don’t always do what is considered correct, especially in such cases, or in a case where the spelling isn’t as good as it could be etc, or even when a language doesn’t have certain words, I tend to create new words for those concepts or things myself, and it’s also the fact that many times what is considered correct in general isn’t really correct from a logical standpoint, so I tend to go with the most logical definitions of correctness in general, and when it comes to languages, it is sort of similar in a way, because the most correct rules would be the ones that make each word sound / look the best it could sound / look in general, so it’s a way of improving certain words that need to be improved, and even the language creators had this idea, especially the creators of the really pretty languages such as Germanic languages / Celtic languages etc, which follow the most logical rules qua word-construction / pronunciation / aspect etc, as opposed to just being randomly made with random letters that don’t go well 2gether, and, they were designed in such a way that everything is in perfect harmony in general, so almost all Germanic words have really great letter combinations, and the pronunciation was also decided based on the word itself aka the pronunciation that had the best sound for each word for almost all the words, so almost all Germanic words have great spelling and also great pronunciation, and there are very few exceptions where a few words don’t have the best pronunciation they could have or don’t have the best spelling they could have, and I am not sure why that is, but I suppose this is due to the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of words in a Germanic language, so my guess is, the language creator or the last dude / linguist that modified the words might have not paid too much attention to the pronunciation or spelling of a few words because one can get really tired after going thru many thousands of words, so it’s easy to not notice something in a certain word that could be improved, which would explain why even really well-constructed languages such as the Germanic languages (that aren’t randomly created at all and that follow very logical patterns / rules) have a few words that aren’t perfect yet, and, those are the type of words that need some improvement, so it’s always good to suggest what could be improved in a word’s pronunciation or spelling etc!
I don’t find the LL sound hard to make, to be honest, I would say the NN sound is the one sound that is real tricky, as all other sounds used in Icelandic are very easy to pronounce, and to figure out how to make them, but I am still not 100% sure about the NN sound, because sometimes it sounds like this LL sound, and sometimes it sounds like it’s a very quiet nasal N whose placement is in the back of the nose or higher up inside the mouth, unlike the regular N which feels more like its placement is more towards the center of the mouth! It sounds like a ‘whispered’ click-like N sometimes, so it could also be a type of ‘voiceless’ N or something like that, and I also noticed that in some words it sounds different, while in words like einn it sounds more like the LL sound, so it doesn’t always sound ‘voiceless’ or quiet! Hearing this sound a lot in many different words with very loud and clear pronunciation would definitely help learners figure out how to make it faster, so I would highly suggest making videos such as vocab videos with mostly words that include the NN sound and even vocab videos that only include words with the NN sound and that include words with both NN and LL sounds, and also including the grammatical gender (m or f or n) of the nouns if possible, they would be so helpful for a learner / beginner, and another real good video idea would be, a series of vocab videos with that would cover all Icelandic verbs, especially the most used 1.000 verbs, and a series of videos on different preposition uses and different conjunction uses, and a series of videos covering the Icelandic idioms / phrases / slang etc, as verbs and prepositions and conjunctions are among the most useful types of words to know, especially as a beginner / intermediate, and it’s not easy to find videos that teach them, and idioms / phrases / slang etc are also very important, as one cannot really understand natives or understand many of the sentence without know them!
Excellent ❤
Feels a bit like the click LL is very close - not identical but really close - to the Welsh 'LL'. If you've ever been to Llanelli or Llangollen then I *think* you're going to get how to say Gullfoss etc.
Yes, I know very little about Welsh, but I have heard this before, so you are not alone in thinking this.
Thank you so much for making your video series. I'm trying to learn Icelandic on my own and your videos are really helpful. I thought I would start by learning the numbers using an app. When I got to the number 11, I was blown away. I really had no connections between what the app was saying and the spelling in front of me. In my mind I hear the double L as a TL with the breath. I struggled through it and I'm thinking the number 11 (for me and probably incorrect) could be pronounced as "etliva" (saying "et", breath between the T and L, and with a "liver" kind of sound but replacing the "er" with an "a" sound).
Thanks a gain for your great work. I'm very slowly working through all your videos (kind of just started) and I really appreciate your efforts.
The key thing is to *not* release your tongue, like you would do in the etliva spelling. Keep your tongue also up against the roof of your mouth (behind the teeth), when doing the LL sound. This is a tough sound, most foreigners take some time to get it right, but it can be done - I promise!
Good luck, and I hope you have fun learning Icelandic!
Wonderful
You are amazing at teaching
Thank you so much ♡
Thanks! Fantastic teacher...gracias desde Madrid ( el español y el italiano son muy parecidos y seguro que lo puedes entender)
No te preocupes, hablo español 🙂
Gracias!
Takk fyrir! Voy a Islandia en noviembre y me he comprado el libro “learning icelandic” by arđur einardsdóttir….🤓 pero me he suscrito a tu canal!
@@ariesinsomne6058 😄
I love these pronunciation lessons and how clear they are! Since you are familiar with Italian, would you say that the “soft -ll sound” like in “allt” is similar or same as for Italian when we have “gl”, like in “aglio”?
Actually now that you mention it, yes these are similar!
I would say the main difference is that the Icelandic is breathier. Basically in "allt" my teeth are about 50% closer compared to when I say "aglio". Meaning that the airflow is slightly more "forced" out between my teeth (through the side, not front), while the Italian is more forceless, if that makes sense.
(This is obviously with the caveat that my Italian is non-native and not perfect).
Hope this helps!
I had never heard that icelanders tend to pronounced the "clicked" l sound through the side HAHA that's so interesting!
Well, you can do it through both sides at once, but usually one side is significantly favoured, and in casual speak people usually only use one side. But which side that is depends on the person :)
like in nahuatl
Really helpful 😻
I'm glad it was useful! Thanks for watching ♥
Icelandic "Ellefu" no doubt means the same thing as the Old English "endleofen" (modern English "eleven") which is 'one left'. Old English has the same rule for voicing F in the middle of a word.
Around 1066, some of the Anglo-Saxon fighters were called "housekarl" rather than "hūswer" because of Norse influence. So, we see "karl" in some part of the history of the series of languages called English by those who spoke them (even if they spelled it Englisc).
I have no idea where "ellefu" comes from, and the origin of the word is not obvious (like often is the case with Icelandic words), so you could be right. It has undoubtedly the same origin as the English eleven and danish elleve
Funny! I didnt know karl exists in any form of old English.
Oh god
Just one q Ása- in jarl og karl do we trill the r as usual? I can't seem to get it in with the ll sound. Takk
In principle yes... but I don't think this will be an issue for you because of the following reasons.
Usually the r-sound is quite short, and you can make it ´soft´-rolling (almost hidden) without much issue.
More importantly you will (almost) never have to use the word ´jarl´ since we don't have those in Iceland. For ´karl´ there is a colloquial pronunciation that is ´kall´ . This is so common that it is sometimes even spelled like this (when emphasising the colloquialness). ´Kall´ is by far the most common pronunciation of karl, for the reasons you just named - it's a bit cumbersome to pronounce the rl combo.
However, jarl is never pronounced like that (skipping r), and if you have the name "Karl" (male name), then you always have to pronounce the R - sorry if this sounds random, I really do not make the rules. But, most guys named Karl, have the nickname Kalli (with international ll), so hopefully this will not cause you too many problems!
@@letslearnicelandic405 Vá great reply þakk fyrir Ása! Very interesting indeed you are a great teacher you know all the tricks😀 I will print your reply out and put it in my lessons so I never forget again. I know I'll never convince somebody I'm actually Icelandic but at least I'll sound like I'll have I've had good teachers
My NN is too LL. Icelanders I suppose must have to make sure their noses are really clear before they speak. What if you have a bad cold?
With a bad cold you simply cannot do the strong NN. Simple as that. LL is fine with a cold.
(NN+cold will sound closer to DD)
Also contrary to the LL, NN has absolutely NO air/sound escaping from the sides - I hope that helps!
Good luck!
@@letslearnicelandic405 So NN has 100% of the air passing through the nose?
@@b43xoit Pretty much, yes. the position of the mouth + where the sound escapes is VERY similar to the international single N (try saying N while holding your nose - it's impossible)... the main difference is just that the air force is stronger and more abrupt, hence creating a sound of its own.
@@letslearnicelandic405 Hello! I love your videos. I am starting to learn because I'm visiting my sister this year. This seems a joke, about the bad cold, I have also heard like they are really tired or exhausted when speaking (as if they were short of breath) but I thnik it's because they're using a lot these sounds and aspirations.
Ása, is bolta pronounced with the l like a doulble l?
No, it is with the soft L that is like a breath out of the side of your mouth with a soft breathy L-sound. Hope this helps!
@@letslearnicelandic405 þakk Ása! sorry það tók mig 11 mánuði að svara🥲😀 núna skil ég þegar ég horfði aftur á 'L' myndbandið þitt og lærði um mjúka L. Þú ert goðsögn Ása!
question, why does "o" in "hola" and "loka" sound like "oa"?
Ahh... You are right, it kind of does. I had never thought about it :) (I think I am the person learning most from doing these lectures). I think we use a slight hint of an a-sound at the end to elongate the o-sound. When we have a short o it is usually not there, like Olli (nickname) or hollur ("healthy") then it's a quick o with no a-sound. But (apparently) when we have a long o-sound we have a slight hint of an a-sound to it, to make it longer. Then in my lecture it was more obvious because I was over enunciating and speaking super slowly. Normally I wouldn't worry about including it or not if you are learning Icelandic. But you are right, it is still kind of always there :)
Review her first mention of unaccented O. She very explicitly and repeatedly shows an opening of the mouth. This makes "oa".
I know you didn't ask for correction of your English, but I'm going to offer one anyway. We have the verb "to pronounce", and one would expect that if English followed any rules, the associated noun would be "pronounciation", but it is not. It's "proNUNciation".
I already know that (see the title of the lesson)... but I often make mistakes with this when thinking about other things... A classical part of being a non-native speaker.
What to do if you have no teeth 😮
Wow, I hadn't thought of that! Not sure to be honest. Pray to god for help maybe?