Icelandic alphabet
The modern Icelandic alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:
Majuscule Forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A | Á | B | D | Ð | E | É | F | G | H | I | Í | J | K | L | M | N | O | Ó | P | R | S | T | U | Ú | V | X | Y | Ý | Þ | Æ | Ö | |
Minuscule Forms (also called lowercase or small letters) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
a | á | b | d | ð | e | é | f | g | h | i | í | j | k | l | m | n | o | ó | p | r | s | t | u | ú | v | x | y | ý | þ | æ | ö |
It is based upon a Latin alphabet with diacritics, in addition it includes the two runic letters eth Ðð and thorn Þþ. It should be noted that æ and ö are considered letters in their own right and not a ligature or diacritical version of their respective letters.
Often the glyphs are simplified when handwritten, for example ð may be written as a d with a horizontal line (đ) and the ligature æ (considered a separate letter) may be written as ae, both of which can make it easier to write cursively.
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History
The modern Icelandic alphabet has developed from a standard established in the 19th century, by the Danish linguist Rasmus Rask primarily. It is ultimately based heavily on an orthographic standard created in the early 12th century by a mysterious document referred to as The First Grammatical Treatise, author unknown. The standard was intended for the common language of Scandinavia, alias Old Norse. It did not have much influence, however, at the time.
The most defining characteristics of the alphabet were established in the old treatise:
- Use of the acute accent (originally to signify vowel length).
- Use of þ, also used in the Old English alphabet as the letter thorn, a language which the astute grammarian described as "more or less the same" as Old Norse.
The later Rasmus Rask standard was basically a re-enactment of the old treatise, with some changes to fit concurrent Germanic conventions, such as the exclusive use of k rather than c. Various old features, like ð, had actually not seen much use in the later centuries, so Rask's standard constituted a major change in practice.
Later 20th century changes are most notably the adoption of é, which had previously been written as je (reflecting the modern pronunciation), and the abolition of z in 1974.
Letter names
The names of the letters are:
Letter | Name | Pronunciation in IPA |
---|---|---|
Aa | a | [a] |
Áá | á | [au̯] |
Bb | bé | [pjɛ] |
Dd | dé | [tjɛ] |
Ðð | eð | [ɛð̠] |
Ee | e | [ɛ] |
Éé | é | [jɛ] |
Ff | eff | [ɛfː] |
Gg | gé | [cɛ] |
Hh | há | [hau̯] |
Ii | i | [ɪ] |
Íí | í | [i] |
Jj | joð | [jɔð̠] |
Kk | ká | [kʰau̯] |
Ll | ell | [ɛtl̥] |
Mm | emm | [ɛmː] |
Nn | enn | [ɛnː] |
Oo | o | [ɔ] |
Óó | ó | [ou̯] |
Pp | pé | [pʰjɛ] |
Rr | err | [ɛr] |
Ss | ess | [ɛs] |
Tt | té | [tʰjɛ] |
Uu | u | [ʏ] |
Úú | ú | [u] |
Vv | vaff | [vafː] |
Xx | ex | [ɛxs] |
Yy | ufsilon y | [ʏfsɪlɔn ɪ] |
Ýý | ufsilon ý | [ʏfsɪlɔn i] |
Zz | z | [z] |
Þþ | þorn | [θ̠ɔtn̥] |
Ææ | æ | [ai̯] |
Öö | ö | [œ] |
Notes
The letters C (sé, [sjɛ]), Q (kú, [kʰu]) and W (tvöfalt vaff, [ˈtʰvœfal̥t ˌvafː]) are only used in Icelandic in words of foreign origin and some proper names. The letter Z (seta, [ˈsɛta]) was used until 1974, when it was abolished, as it was only an etymological detail. However, one of the most important newspapers in Iceland, the Morgunblaðið, still uses it sometimes (although very rarely), and a secondary school, Verzlunarskóli Íslands has it in its name. It is also found in some proper names of people. Older people, who were educated before the abolition of the z sometimes also use it.
Phonology
The letters a, á, e, é, i, í, o, ó, u, ú, y, ý, æ and ö are considered vowels, and the remainder are consonants.
Letter frequencies
The most common letters in Icelandic are n and a[1].
Letter | Frequency |
---|---|
n | 9.395% |
a | 9.395% |
i | 8.563% |
r | 8.543% |
e | 6.369% |
s | 5.434% |
ð | 5.013% |
t | 4.872% |
u | 4.766% |
g | 4.299% |
l | 3.891% |
m | 3.365% |
k | 3.115% |
f | 2.582% |
h | 2.266% |
v | 2.223% |
o | 2.019% |
þ | 1.592% |
á | 1.549% |
b | 1.365% |
í | 1.338% |
The list above shows the letter frequencies for more letters in order of descending frequency.
References
- ^ www.cryptogram.org/cdb/words/frequency.html - Letter frequencies. Retrieved 23 April 2007.
External links
- (Icelandic) „Íslenska, í senn forn og ný“.
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Use | Alphabet • Phonology • Orthography • Grammar • Vocabulary | |
Names | Patronymic names • Street names • List of exonyms | |
History and literature | History • Literature • Proverbs • Sagas • Poetic Edda • Skaldic poetry | |
Promotion and purism | Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies • Icelandic Language Day • • • Icelandic Language Institute • Linguistic purism | |
Miscellany | Icelandic Sign Language |