Letter Names
The names of the letters are:
Letter | Name | IPA | Typical sound value |
---|---|---|---|
Aa | a | between English 'father' and 'cat' | |
Áá | á | the "ow" in "cow" | |
Bb | bé | 'p' with no puff of air. | |
Dd | dé | 't' with no puff of air. | |
Ðð | eð | the "th" in "the" (always medially, not initially). | |
Ee | e | "eh" like the "e" in "end" | |
Éé | é | a shorter sounding "yeah" | |
Ff | eff | (same as in English sometimes, see notes) | |
Gg | gé | (same as in English sometimes, see notes) | |
Hh | há | (same as English) | |
Ii | i | the "i" in "win" | |
Íí | í | the "e" in "we" | |
Jj | joð | said as a "y" or an aspirated "y" (see notes) | |
Kk | ká | 'k' with a puff of air. | |
Ll | ell | (same as in English) | |
Mm | emm | (same as in English) | |
Nn | enn | (same as in English) | |
Oo | o | the "our" in "four" (British English) | |
Óó | ó | "oh" | |
Pp | pé | 'p' with a puff of air. | |
Rr | err | rolled, as in Spanish, but slightly more delicately | |
Ss | ess | always an unvoiced "s" never a voiced "z" sound | |
Tt | té | 't' with a puff of air. | |
Uu | u | 'i' in 'in' but rounded. | |
Úú | ú | like the "ou" in "you" | |
Vv | vaff | similar to English 'v' | |
Xx | ex | like the hard German "ch" followed by an s | |
Yy | ypsilon y | same as 'i' | |
Ýý | ypsilon ý | same as 'í' | |
Þþ | þorn | "th" as in "thing" (commonly initially, with some exceptions) | |
Ææ | æ | "eye" | |
Öö | ö | "e" in "end" but rounded, from the middle of the mouth |
Read more about this topic: Icelandic Alphabet
Famous quotes containing the words letter and/or names:
“The prince was getting tired.
He began to feel like a shoe salesman.
But he gave it one last try.
This time Cinderella fit into the shoe
like a love letter into its envelope.”
—Anne Sexton (19281974)
“If marriages were made by putting all the mens names into one sack and the womens names into another, and having them taken out by a blindfolded child like lottery numbers, there would be just as high a percentage of happy marriages as we have here in England.... If you can tell me of any trustworthy method of selecting a wife, I shall be happy to make use of it.”
—George Bernard Shaw (18561950)