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Icelandic pronunciation

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LL
1) Between two vowels and between a vowel and N or R it is pronounced like DL (e.g. in fullur or hellna or allra)
2) In loan words it is pronounced like LL (e.g. pilla or Kalli)

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RN
Behind a vowel it´s pronounced like RDN (e.g. örn, barn)

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G
1) In the beginning of a word in front of A, Á, O, Ó, U, Ú, Ö and consonants it is pronounced like a hard G (e.g. góð)
2) In the middle of words in front of A, Á, O, Ó, U, Ú, Ö, Ð, R, S, T and at the end of a word it sounds like the CH – sound of the Scottish word ’loch’, but very much softer, almost like a French or German R (e.g. aga)
3) In the middle of the word in front of all the other consonants it sounds like hard GG (e.g. nagl)
4) In the beginning of a word in front of E, I, Í, Y, Ý, Æ, EI, EY it sounds like GY (e.g. gefa)
5) In the middle of a word in front of E, I, Í, Y, Ý, Æ, EI, EY, J it sounds like Y or rather like EEY (e.g. segja or bogi
6) Between L and D, T, N or S as well as between R and Ð, T or N it’s silent (e.g. bólgna, mergð)

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If you’ll take the name Sigur you use the CH-sound (no. 2) – no G- or Y-sound here!

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EY
that’s pronounced like EY in the English word grey. (e.g. leyfa)

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Æ
that’s pronounced like I in the English word find (e.g. læknir)

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Á
that´s pronounced like OW in the English word cow (e.g. ást)

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AU
that´s pronounced like ÖJ in the Swedish word möjlig or a little bit like EUIL in the French word fauteuil (e.g. raust)

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Regards, Satu

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