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 desire of most parents is first and foremost to do what is best for their children. Every interview with a mother or father confirms this, every letter written by a parent breathes this deep-seated wish, “I hope I am doing the right thing for my child.” This is real and honest, and at the very base of parenthood.”
—Irma Simonton Black (20th century)
“You shall see men you never heard of before, whose names you don’t know,... and many other wild and noble sights before night, such as they who sit in parlors never dream of.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)