Iceland

For those who may be a little daunted at the prospect of reading Icelandic place names (to yourself or out loud!) due to some unusual characters in their vocabulary, we’ve put together a brief guide which we hope makes life a little easier. Once you are familiar with the basics, you should find this handy when browsing this website as well as when travelling in Iceland.

FREQUENTLY USED TERMS
Here we give the spelling, the phonetic pronunciation in brackets then an example of usage and finally, what it means! 

Foss/fossar (foss) Gullfoss – waterfall
Fjordur (f-yor-dur) Isafjordur – fjord
Hraun (ha-rune) Stadarhraun – lava, lava field
Vatn (vat) Myvatn - lake
Jokull (yoh-cull) Vatnajokull – glacier, icecap
Fjall/fjoll (f-yall/f-yoll) Kerlingarfjoll – mountain
Hlid (h-lid) Reykjahlid - gate
Gerdi (ger-dee) Hveragerdi – garden
Strandir (stran-deer) Hornstrandir – beach/coast
Vik (vic) Grindavik – small bay/cove/inlet
Lon (lon) Jokulsarlon - lagoon
Bjarg (b-yarg) Latrabjarg - cliff
Stadir/Stadur (stah-deer/stah-dur) Hallormsstadur – place, spot
Dalur (dah-lur) Modrudalur – valley/dale
Hofn (herp) Hofn – harbour, port 

The official language of Iceland is Icelandic (íslenska), which remains very similar to, although not quite the same as 13th century Norse. Icelandic writing uses the Latin alphabet, but with three characters long ago lost from English: 

Ð, ð (eth) = shown as ‘d’, such as Reykjahlið = Reykjahlid
Þ, þ (thorn) = shown as ‘th’, such as Þingvellir = Thingvellir
æ (a-er) = shown as ‘a e’, such as Arbær = Arbaer 

As for accents over letters, don’t even get us started! Á, Í, É and Ú all change the sound of a word but that is a matter for serious linguists! 

It’s worth bearing in mind that when speaking, the emphasis/intonation is placed on the first syllable – an easy rule to follow! 

HANDY PHRASES – A BIT OF BASIC ICELANDIC!
Although most Icelanders speak excellent English, a few simple words and a little effort is always appreciated! 

Hello Hallo (hal-law) / Hi Hae (high)
Goodbye Bless (bless; often said twice, ‘bless bless’)
Good morning Godan daginn (goh-dhan dahg-in)
Good evening Gott kvold (got kvur-lt)
Good night Goda nott (goh-da noh-t)
Thank you Thakka ther fyrir (thah-ka thyer fi-rir)
Thanks (informal) Takk (tah-k)
Yes Ja (your) or Ju (you; for answering a negative question)
No Nei (nay) 

CLEAR SIGNPOSTING - HOW REFRESHING!
When travelling in Iceland, accommodations are almost always wellsignposted from the road, and other road signs and markings are clear and easy to spot. Keep your eyes peeled for this symbol , which you’ll see where there’s an attraction, place of interest or a cultural/heritage site. For those unmarked secrets and our own personal highlights refer to your complimentary ‘Places to Visit’ booklet, or the comprehensive Landmark Guide to Iceland – which accompanies each Discover the World self-drive holiday! 

SONS AND DAUGHTERS…
Iceland maintains another Norse tradition: the custom of using patronyms rather than surnames. An Icelander’s given name is followed by his or her parent’s first name (usually the father’s), and the suffix -son or -dottir, e.g. Gudrun Petursdottir (Gudrun, Petur’s daughter). Because of the patronymic last names Icelanders usually use first names, for instance phone books are alphabetised by first name rather than last name! This also applies when addressing an individual; Icelanders would never expect to be addressed as Mr or Ms Jonsson/-dottir, no matter how important they might be!