It's intrinsically impossible to quantify just how difficult one language is to learn compared to another, as there are simply too many factors involved, the most important of which may be the learner's native tongue. For the "typical" speaker of English, if such a person exists, languages like Japanese and Arabic are usually considered the most difficult languages to pick up. And that's with good reason-- these are languages with complex and wildly different writing systems and which are completely unrelated to English, meaning that helpful cognates are nowhere to be found. Icelandic, by contrast, is a Germanic language, just like English (and German, Dutch, Swedish, and several others), which uses many of the same letters that we all learned in kindergarten. Yet, despite this, it not infrequently finds its way onto lists of the most difficult languages for English speakers to acquire. Why is this so?
For starters, Icelandic does actually use several letters that English doesn't-- they are ö, æ, ð, and þ. Four extra letters are no biggie, though; what's far more problematic for many learners is the pronunciation. Icelandic makes frequent use of vowel sounds simply not found in English, such as the /œ/ sound represented by ö in words like björn (bear) and the /øi/ sound represented by the au in austur (east). Consonants aren't any easier; the letter g can be pronounced in at least four different ways, depending on the other letters surrounding it; similarly, f can sound like either an English f, v, or p in different circumstances. And, for whatever reason, the h in pronouns like hvað (what) is pronounced like an English k, but like an English h in most other words. Consonantal clusters like ll and nn may look innocuous, but they too are highly problematic, as they should be pronounced as if a /t/ sound is desperately trying to jam itself in there. Those two sounds were actually among the last that I could master. Perhaps you think I'm exaggerating? If so, try reading the subtitles as you listen to this clip from the Icelandic Lion King, and you'll see for yourself how quirky the pronunciation can sometimes be.
This, of course, is all severely complicated by Icelandic's tendency to produce obscenely long compound words, all of which are stressed on the very first syllable. The one that everyone knows [but doesn't know how to say] is Eyjafjallajökull ("Island Mountain Glacier"), the volcano that erupted in 2010 and reminded the rest of the world that Iceland exists.* But it's just one of many, and is in good company with the likes of sinfóníuhljómsveit (symphony orchestra), þjóðernisrembingur (chauvinism), and vísindaskáldsögusjónvarpsþáttur (science fiction TV show). And then of course there's this monster: vaðlaheiðarvegavinnuverkfærageymsluskúraútidyralyklakippuhringur-- a perfectly valid but detrimentally unwieldy word invented precisely to show the ridiculous power of compounding in Icelandic. It means "a ring of keys to the door of a toolshed at Vaðlaheiði," which is a mountain in northern Iceland. Native speakers, of course, will see all of the root words in there, which makes saying these compounds pretty easy for them. For us outsiders, though, it's more than a little daunting!
Add to this Icelandic's archaic system of grammar, complete with hundreds of inflectional endings and a fair amount of "irregularities," and you have a very challenging language despite all of the Germanic cognates that should put it on the easy side of things for English speakers. Still, the challenge is a big part of the fun for me, and that's why I've decided to tackle this charming little island language. I have no immediate plans to go to Iceland (though that would probably be nice), and I don't know anyone who speaks or even cares about the language. For me, it's all about the fun and not about the practicality. But when you're dealing with a linguistic behemoth like this, it's important to really keep up with the vocabulary!
That's why I've created this blog. I've tried all of the traditional methods-- thematic word lists, flash cards, and audio recordings when I'm sleeping. I've read the books, watched the self-help videos on YouTube, and browsed Wiktionary. And, while I've certainly picked up a lot of vocabulary this way, it's all too easy for all of these hard-learned words to fade away from memory after long periods of disuse. And that's a very real problem when you're teaching a language to yourself without any practical reason to do so or any accessible means to practice with other people. This blog, in essence, is my attempt to fight against this lexical atrophy. I've found that it's much harder to forget a word if there's a picture and a story attached to it. And so, my goal is to update this blog each and every day with a shiny, new Icelandic word hand-picked from my orðabók (dictionary) or perhaps the internet. Each word will, in turn, be accompanied by a witty anecdote to help it stay fresh in my mind. Maybe it will be about etymology, or about Nordic culture, or perhaps it will be tangental at best-- Icelandic has lots to offer!
As such, this blog is really something that I'm doing for myself, hence the title of this post-- handa mér ("for me"). However, maybe you will find it interesting too, for all I know. After all, there must be a reason that you stumbled on over, so you're welcome to stay if you'd like! Maybe you're bored at work and need a quick distraction. Or maybe you're a word nerd who likes picking up cool new factoids. Or perhaps you want to impress your Icelandic ladyfriend or boy-toy. Or, even better, maybe you're a wayward fellow learner trying hard to master this quirky, offbeat, wonderful beast of a language. Whoever you are, if this interests you, please feel free to stick around! Just keep in mind that, although this blog could perhaps be for you too (that's what ef til vill handa þér líka means), it's primarily handa mér. :-)
~Anthony
P.S. If you're really interested in this, I explain my methods for picking and listing words here.
*If you still can't pronounce Eyjafjallajökull, click here to hear someone else say it [and witness another example of that tricky ll sound at the end].
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