The Icelandic Language
When visiting an country where a foreign languge is spoken, it can be good to prepare and learn a few things about the language.
Modern Icelandic is very similar to Old Norse, the language that was spoken in Scandinavia when Iceland was settled. Due to the isolation of the country, the language became well preserved and Icelanders can read the old sagas without too much trouble. Icelandic is of Germanic origin, the same language familly as English, German, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian, and shares many words with these languages.
Linguistic traditions
The most curious fact about Icelandic is the naming tradition. Family names are not very common in Iceland. Last names are commonly the name of the father of the child, with 'son' or 'dóttir' added.
For example, if Eiríkur has a son, called Leifur, his full name would be Leifur Eiríksson. If Eiríkur has a daughter, called Freydís, she would then be Freydís Eiríksdóttir.
Special characters
Written Icelandic uses accented characters as well as 3 extra characters. Icelanders are used to substituting these characters for the English equivalents, mainly in small devices like mobile phones and palmtop computers. These characters are not always easily available on computers.
Extra characters and their substitutions:
Þ,þ Thorn. Substituted with Th.
Ð,ð Eth. Substituted with d.
Æ, æ. Substituted with AE or ae.
Accented characters
Á, á
É, é
Í, í
Ó, ó
Ú, ú
Ý, ý
Ö, ö
When accented characters need to be substituted, just write their English equivalent without the accent.
Endings of street names:
stræti = street
gata = street
braut = wide road, usually used for main roads etc. Sæbraut, Miklabraut.
vegur = road
Other words that are good to know:
Góðan dag = Literally means 'Good Day', but is used from morning til evening.
Gott kvöld = Good evening
Takk, Takk fyrir, Þakka þér = Thank you
Bjór = Beer
Bar = Bar
Veitingastaður = Restaurant
Verslun = Shop
Verslunarmiðstöð = Shopping mall / Shopping centre
Miðbær = City / Town Center
Bíll = Car
Flugvél = Airplane
Flugvöllur = Airport
Fríhöfn = Duty Free
Safn = Museum
Rúta = Coach
Strætó = Local bus
Leigubíll = Taxi
Bílaleiga = Car Rental
Vínbúð = Alcohol store
Sundlaug = Swimming Pool
Sturta = Shower
Skál! = Cheers!
Netkaffi = Internet Café
Klósett = Toilet, WC