The Little Book of Icelandic

Viac o knihe

Icelandic is one of the oldest and most complex languages in the world. In this book, Alda Sigmundsdóttir looks at the Icelandic language with wit and humor, and how it reflects the heart and soul of the Icelandic people and their culture. Many of the Icelanders' idioms and proverbs, their meaning, and origins are discussed, as is the Icelanders' love for their language and their attempts to keep it pure through the ongoing construction of new words and terminology. There is a section on Icelandic curse words as well as Icelandic slang, which is mostly derived from English. Throughout, this book deconstructs Icelandic vocabulary, and the often-hilarious, almost naive, ways in which words are made. Among the fascinating topics broached in The Little Book of Icelandic: ¿ The Language Committee: how Icelanders struggle to keep their language "pure" ¿ Let's make a word!-How names for new things are constructed ¿ Old letters, strange sounds: wrapping your tongue around the Icelanders' tongue ¿ $#*!%&!"#$%*, or how Icelanders curse ¿ The missing dialects-why Icelandic has none ¿ Which is the prettiest of all: contests to find the most lovely word in Icelandic (and the ugliest!) ¿ Quintessential Icelandic words and phrases (the ones that describe the Icelanders like no others) ¿ Useful phrases to impress your new Icelandic friends! ¿ Klósett-the unexpected origin of the Icelandic word for toilet ¿ and so much more!