Understanding the Icelandic Language & Providing Professional Icelandic Interpreters and Translators
Global Interpreting understands the importance of working in the Icelandic language. For over 10 years, Global Interpreting has worked with the Icelandic language as well as hundreds of other from around the word. We are a one stop full language service provider. Offering Over the Phone, Video Remote, Face to Face, Transcription, Document and Website Translation in 150 languages including American Sign Language (ASL) nation and worldwide.
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.
Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Traditionally, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the colonization of the Americas. Icelandic, Faroese, as well as Norwegian formerly comprised West Nordic; Danish and Swedish comprised East Nordic. The Nordic languages are now divided into Insular Nordic and mainland Scandinavian languages. Norwegian is now grouped with Danish and Swedish because of its mutual intelligibility with those languages due to its heavy influence from them over the last millennium, particularly from Danish.
Most Western European languages have greatly reduced levels of inflection, particularly noun declension. Contrarily, Icelandic retains an inflectional grammar comparable to that of Latin and that of the medieval Germanic languages including Old Norse and Old English. The main difference between Icelandic and Latin inflectionally is in verbs. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs are handled similarly in both languages. Icelandic possesses many instances of oblique cases without any governing word, like Latin. For example, many of the various Latin ablatives have a corresponding Icelandic dative.
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.
Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Traditionally, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the colonization of the Americas. Icelandic, Faroese, as well as Norwegian formerly comprised West Nordic; Danish and Swedish comprised East Nordic. The Nordic languages are now divided into Insular Nordic and mainland Scandinavian languages. Norwegian is now grouped with Danish and Swedish because of its mutual intelligibility with those languages due to its heavy influence from them over the last millennium, particularly from Danish.
Most Western European languages have greatly reduced levels of inflection, particularly noun declension. Contrarily, Icelandic retains an inflectional grammar comparable to that of Latin and that of the medieval Germanic languages including Old Norse and Old English. The main difference between Icelandic and Latin inflectionally is in verbs. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and adverbs are handled similarly in both languages. Icelandic possesses many instances of oblique cases without any governing word, like Latin. For example, many of the various Latin ablatives have a corresponding Icelandic dative.
Phonology
Icelandic has very minor dialectal differences phonetically. The language has both monophthongs and diphthongs, and consonants can be voiced or unvoiced.
Voice plays a primary role in the differentiation of most consonants including the nasals but excluding the plosives. The plosives b, d, and g are voiceless and differ from p, t and k only by their lack of aspiration. Perspiration occurs before geminate p, t and k. It does not occur before geminate b, d or g. Pre-aspirated tt is analogous etymologically and phonetically to German and Dutch cht (compare Icelandic nótt, dóttir with German Nacht, Tochter and Dutch nacht, dochter)
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The Icelandic language is an important language worldwide. It is vital to understand the general nature and specific idiosyncrasies of Icelandic. For over 10 years Global Interpreting has provided outstanding Icelandic translators, over the phone, face to face and conference interpreters nation and worldwide.