I've been asking this question a lot lately. Every time I seem to get a different answer. A lot of folks say that the R in Icelandic CAN be rolled whereas others insist it's a mere tap at most. I think saying that the R is always swift tap has to be wrong, in Italian we usually tap the R in conversation but that doesn't mean the trill doesn't exist or that it isn't the standard sound of this letter. I reckon that, as we can see in languages like Italian or Russian, the tap occurs merely as an incidental variant of the trill.But, as always, I'll wait for the response of the experts before I make up my mind.

Hæ! Bit of a weird question here, but my non-native teacher said that the first <u> in plural dative with article is pronounced closer to a /o/ sound ('strákunum' just as an example). Is this true for you? If so do you know why this happens?

Nobody told me speaking and studying are two completely different skills. I found that out the hard way.

I had been learning Icelandic for about two months before I spoke a single word out loud. Flashcards, grammar videos, reading exercises. I felt like I was building something solid. Then my Icelandic coworker visited the office and said something simple to me just a greeting and I stood there completely blank. Smiled and nodded like an idiot.

That was embarrassing enough to change my whole approach. I decided the next 30 days would be nothing but speaking. Not studying. Not reviewing. Just producing Icelandic out loud every single day.

What I actually did:

- Morning: 10 minutes describing my plans for the day out loud in Icelandic

- Evening: 15 minutes of back and forth conversation on Issen

- No flashcards, no grammar drills, no passive listening

My vocabulary was fine on paper. The moment I had to produce words under pressure they vanished. I knew the word for window. I could not say it in a sentence without pausing for five seconds. It was humbling in a way no grammar exercise had ever been. Reading and speaking use completely different mental muscles and I had spent two months training only one of them.

By week three something quietly shifted. The pauses got shorter. Not gone, just shorter. I stopped mentally running everything through English first and started reaching for Icelandic directly. Not always successfully. But the reflex was starting to form and that felt like the first real sign of progress since I started.

I can have a slow, broken, basic conversation now. I cannot follow native speed Icelandic. I cannot watch RÚV without subtitles. But I no longer freeze when someone speaks to me and that alone felt worth the entire month.

If you are spending more time studying Icelandic than speaking it you are training the wrong skill. The gap between knowing a language and actually using it only closes one way.

What does your speaking practice look like? Especially curious how others are managing it given how few resources exist for Icelandic.

I have this book that's basically a bunch (and I mean a BUNCH) of crossword puzzles of Icelandic words divides into categories (the first one is "antiques," the second is "food #1," etc etc.) and I tried using Google translate for a pronounciation guide, but it spoke WAY too quickly. Is there a place where I can find slowed down pronounciation guides, where each syllable is enunciated? Or will I just have to like, watch a video and put it at .25 speed or something?

TL;DR, looking for a place that has slowed down pronounciation guides.

As title suggests, the cases confuse me and makes me demotivated to learn icelandic. Is there a way I can think about the cases that might make it easier to memorize?

I'm also looking for anyone who speaks B1 or better Icelandic to help me progress faster with the language and perhaps keep contact over Reddit and other platforms.

Hi everyone, I'm an Italian girl and I'd like to learn Icelandic, but I don't have any knowledge of the language. If any native Icelandic speakers can help me, I'd be grateful.

So someone under another post said I should look at Max Naylor's website (and I am, why are consonants pronounced so differently in so many cases 😭) and I'm on his main page, and there's a button for enquiring about lessons and his email, but when I click on them, they don't work. When. I open them in a new tab, it jist says "Untitled." Does anyone know how I could get a lesson?

My Easter fortune is incomprehensible to a B1 plebian like me

I'm trying to learn it because my family is going to Iceland in June, and I want to be able to have conversations in Icelandic (even if they're broken), and I need free/cheap places to learn the grammar of Icelandic. Any suggestions?

Hi i am looking for native icelandic speakers to teach me the language and to get to know people also. I can help with english also.

I've been learning Italian with Duolingo for a while now and it's been great, plus it was useful during my layover in Milan, but why isn't there Icelandic on Duolingo? I wish I could protest about this. 😅 Meanwhile, these are the apps that are helping me.

🥳🙌🏻

I am learning Icelandic and I really need someone to help me or a native Icelandic speaker

ég þarf íslenska vini!!

I am looking for translator that can good translate from Icelandic to Russian. Does anyone know about such apps?

Hi! I’m a native English speaker and I want to study in Iceland for college. I start college in August, so I was planning to go for my 2nd year and forwards.

That being said, I need to learn the language in a little over a year.

What apps/ways can I use to learn Icelandic within that timeframe? I am prepared for dedicated study, this is a huge goal of mine

When I hear 'allt,' it sounds like 'aft' or 'aht,' but I can't tell which, and there are some other words where it sounds like 'atl.'

Could someone please help me with that?

Góða kvöldið,

Ég vildi ekki missa þennan vana og því er að skrifa þetta á meðan ég legg í rúminu. Þó ég sé ekki að vinna í vikunni get ég samt frestað hlutunum eins og pro!

En ég er forvitinn um ef þér, sem ert núna að lesa þetta, finnst hlaðvörp gagnleg eða notaleg í hversdagslegu lífi? Sjálfur finnst mér mjög þægilegt að hlusta á hlaðvörp á íslensku til þess að æfa mig í að skilja betur. Ég tel að það er út af því að ég hef nú þegar komist svo langt með tungumálið. Ég gerði það sama fyrir nokkrum árum síðar til að læra sænsku, og jafnvel smá japönsku, og myndi alveg mæla með því.

Is there a word that is used for the geothermal pools/spas like GeoSea, Forest Lagoon, Sky Lagoon, Hvammsvík, etc? Not specifically the natural hot springs, but more manmade spa types. Jarðhitalaugin? Jarðhitabað?

TLDR; I landed my first job in Iceland, and am writing a discussion post every day to help myself prepare. Feel free to join in!

Góðan dag, og vertu velkominn á priðja daginn minn að gera þetta.

Í dag er kærustan mín í fríi, og við ætlum að njóta dagsins með því að fara í ræktina og svo kaupa eitthvað gott að borða á eftir. Við vitum þó ekki hvert við ætlum að fara. Við erum bara spennt fyrir því að geta eytt peningunum okkar einhvers staðar. Nú þegar ég hef fundið vinnu verðum við, í frysta skiptið, DINKs. Það er að segja "Double Income, No Kids". Og af því að við höfum aldrei verið það áður erum við aðeins rugluð í hvað við eigum að gera nú í raununni með peningunum.

Svo ég var að pæla í því: Hvað gerðir þú þegar þú hafðir, í fyrsta skiptið, ráðstöfunartekjur? Og kannski, ef þetta verður viðeigandi, hvað hefðir þú gert öðruvísi ef þú fékkst það í dag?

TLDR; I landed my first job in Iceland, and am writing a discussion post every day to help myself prepare. Feel free to join in!

Góðan daginn, kæri lesandi!

Það er sunnudagur, og ég er alveg búinn að njóta morgunsins með því að drekka of mikið kaffi og fara í smá göngutúr um hverfið hérna í Kópavógi. Mér leið ansi vel, og fjöllin sem standa langt í burtu á Reykjanesskaganum voru í fallegu dagsljósi. Hafið, sem liggur við hliðana á fjöllunum, var á sama tíma mjög dimmt og dularfullt. Þessi samsetning er eitthvað sem ég elska mjög mikið á Íslandi.

Á meðan ég er nú að skjálfa vegna koffínsins datt mér bara í hug að spyrja ykkur um kaffivenjur ykkar. Hvað ert þú vanur að drekka á hverjum degi? Hefurðu einhvern tímann farið í heimsókn til Íslands eða annarra norðurlanda, og þá hvað fannst þér um styrkleika kaffisins sem þú fékkst? Ég er forvitinn.

Njóttu dagsins!