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Vopnafjörður Councilmember Criticised For Speaking English
At a recent council meeting in Vopnafjörður, Progressive and Unaffiliated Party representative and council member Bobana Micanovic was criticised for speaking English, RÚV reports. On February 10, Bobana announced that she will not seek reelection, citing communication issues and the behaviour of…
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Ask An Expert: Why Do Icelanders Switch Their ‘W’s And ‘V’s In English?
If you’ve spent time speaking English with an Icelander, you may have noticed some of their letters get mixed up. Somehow ‘vikings’ become ‘wikings’ and ‘west’ becomes ‘vest.’ We were curious if there is a scientific–or better yet, linguistic–answer to this consonant…
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English Words As Slang Doubles Among Icelandic Youth Over Past 20 Years
In a masters thesis written by Icelandic specialist Ragnheiður Jónsdóttir, she discloses that the use of English words as slang by young Icelanders has been on the rise, RÚV reports. She is nonetheless not worried about the future of the Icelandic language.…
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22% Of Icelandic Children Show Difficulties In Reading Their Own Language
The richness of Icelandic children’s lexicon, as well as their level of comprehension of their own language, has been dangerously decreasing during the past hundred years. In 2015, it was calculated through the so-called PISA test (Programme for International Student Assessment) that Iceland…
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The Eccentric Trad Society of Ölsmiðjan
Once a week, after schoolyards fall quiet and workdays end, a handful of musicians climb the stairs of a whitewashed Reykjavík pub. They hail from England, Scotland, France, the United States, and Iceland too, and the cases under their arms hold guitars,…
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Quirky Culture: The President’s Socks
Forget speeches, foreign tours and bureaucratic preamble. Iceland’s president, Guðni Th. Jóhannnesson, is now addressing the nation through his socks. On 21 March, World Down Syndrome Day, Guðni joined thousands of individuals across the world to raise awareness for the condition by…
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Use Of English At Keflavík Airport Exception To Nordic Norm
English has now taken place of prominence on signs at Keflavík International Airport, bucking a trend that persists across Nordic airports. Vísir reports that travelers may have noticed many new changes to the look of the airport, amongst them that English is…
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English Page On Becoming Icelandic Citizen “Unavailable”
There is as yet no English language content for the steps required to gain Icelandic citizenship. A spokesperson for the Directorate of Immigration says updating the page had not been a priority. If you pay a visit to the official website of…
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“RASSGAT” – Ragnar Egilsson Explains Words!
So we have a word, which is this word: “rassgat”. It 100% literally means “asshole”, as in “the hole part of the general ass area”. But unlike “asshole” in English, the word is never used to refer to a person that is…
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The Universal Language Of Laughter And Dance
If you don’t speak Icelandic, your access to the arts in Iceland is limited and superficial. You can enjoy music, watch movies with subtitles, or, if you’re like me, sit through stand up comedy and poetry listening for tone, cadence, and emotion.…
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![[ˈkwarˌerˈeɪjaˌfjatl̥aˌjœːkʏɬ] Or, Why Is Icelandic Considered Difficult To Learn?](https://grapevine.is/wp-content/uploads/Scan.jpg)
[ˈkwarˌerˈeɪjaˌfjatl̥aˌjœːkʏɬ] Or, Why Is Icelandic Considered Difficult To Learn?
For most English-speaking tourists, the Icelandic language might be another in a long list of quaint novelties experienced from behind the padding of a tour group decked out in matching rain slickers: a bunch of tongue-air and whisper-sounds in the distance as…
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University of Iceland: A New Linguistic Area
A new linguistic area has developed at the University of Iceland, where Icelandic and English are used equally, says a professor, as reported by RÚV. The professor adds that this causes problems for a large number of teachers and students, which remain…
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So What’s This Lack Of Army I Keep Hearing About?
Iceland has no army. It does operate a Coast Guard, which does have four ships, three of which are combat-ready vessels. The Coast Guard has a wide variety of guns at its disposal, from cannons to handguns. But it is not really…