#23: Þáttur

Often, learning new vocabulary is a simple matter of memorization and retention: all you really need to know is hundur means "dog," köttur means "cat," et cetera. But when you encounter a word that has numerous different meanings, things can get a little tricky. Today's word is one of those-- it's þáttur, and it basically means "part," but it also has a large handful of situation-specific uses which I'll touch on here (skip to the end if you want a quick summary of them).

Read More

#11: Dægurlag

One of the biggest travesties in modern civilization is when a pop song lives on well after its natural expiration date. Most scholars agree (probably; I haven't asked them yet) that we'd be slightly closer to world peace if only Ice, Ice Baby had been pulled from the radio a little sooner. And often, the only thing that makes hearing Gangnam Style or Call Me Maybe being blasted throughout the mall bearable is the comforting thought that it will all be over soon. And, fortunately, that's usually how it goes... one hardly ever hears something like Who Let the Dogs Out? or Dragostea din Tei anymore. Apparently, Icelanders seem to have shared this sentiment when they came up with their own word for "pop song," dægurlag.

Read More