Translate

Friday, May 15, 2015

Icelandic

Bazflyers think the Icelandic language must have some of the most unpronounceable place names on the planet. At least it seems like that for a monolingual touring Kiwi. Fortunately, most Icelanders are not monolingual and seamlessly transition between their own colourful tongue and English. When asked they are ever willing to assist with Icelandic pronunciation of place names. 

We quickly assimilated that any word ending with "foss" was related to the name of a waterfall of which there are many. Here is a photo of Gullfoss.


Pingvellis ( pronounced 'Thing-vellis') is a UNESCO World Heritage site and location of the longest running Parliament in the world. It is also a memorable geological landscape.


Geysir is actually the source for the English word "Geyser" and is pronounced precisely the same. An English word right out of the Icelandic dictionary....!



No comments:

Post a Comment