The Little Book of Icelandic: On the idiosyncrasies, delights and sheer tyranny of the Icelandic language
by Alda Sigmundsdottir
On This Page
Description
Icelandic is one of the oldest and most complex languages in the world. In this book, Alda Sigmundsdóttir looks at the Icelandic language with wit and humor, and how it reflects the heart and soul of the Icelandic people and their culture. Many of the Icelanders' idioms and proverbs, their meaning, and origins are discussed, as is the Icelanders' love for their language and their attempts to keep it pure through the ongoing construction of new words and terminology. There is a section on show more Icelandic curse words as well as Icelandic slang, which is mostly derived from English. Throughout, this book deconstructs Icelandic vocabulary, and the often-hilarious, almost naive, ways in which words are made. Among the fascinating topics broached in The Little Book of Icelandic: • The Language Committee: how Icelanders struggle to keep their language "pure" • Let's make a word!-How names for new things are constructed • Old letters, strange sounds: wrapping your tongue around the Icelanders' tongu... show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
This book can be read by readers who are not going to learn Icelandic. It's very entertaining and contains a lot of interesting stories about words, language adaptation and phrases. But I think it's' main strength will be as a supplement for people who are trying to learn Icelandic. Why? Because there is so much packed into this little book. It gets you excited about Icelandic. It makes you curious about Icelandic. It makes you want to know more about Icelandic. In other words, it motivates the Icelandic learner to press ahead in spite of the difficulties and obstacles.
What a lovely read. The Little Book of Icelandic is full of interesting tidbits and insights. I had a hard time putting it down.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
17+ Works 323 Members
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 439.69 — Language German & related languages Other Germanic languages Old Norse, Icelandic and Faroese Icelandic and Faroese
- LCC
- PD2408 — Language and Literature Germanic languages. Scandinavian languages Germanic North Germanic. Scandinavian Modern Icelandic
Statistics
- Members
- 41
- Popularity
- 713,997
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (4.25)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 3
- ASINs
- 1
