The Little Book of Icelandic: On the idiosyncrasies, delights and sheer tyranny of the Icelandic language Paperback – March 30, 2016

I travel to Iceland often and work with Icelanders and so I’ve been trying to learn the language. I love it but it’s very difficult! This is one of the most helpful and enjoyable ways of learning about the language that I’ve encountered yet.

My wife and I recently visited Iceland and we are obsessed with the place now. I saw this gem of a book there but had to wait because of luggage space.As a language nerd, I love everything this book has to offer. Alda explains *everything*, so you literally don't need a word of Icelandic to understand. I will probably buy Alda's whole Little Book series 🍻❤️🇮🇸

Intended as a commentary on the Icelandic language rather than a tutorial. Since my Navy days I have been trying, although not diligently, to learn the rules of the language. It appears that maybe the task is doomed as there seems to be no predictable rules.Consider the peculiarities of English -- the plural of "dog" is "dogs", but the plural of "sheep" is still "sheep". Why is that? I have no idea. Maybe some deep cultural wisdom is contained in it.Anyway, Icelandic has quite a lot of that sort of thing where making a word plural changes it, but so does the reason you are saying the word. If you merely name a place it gets one spelling and sounding; but if you are going there it gets a different spelling and sounding, and so on. The complexity is fascinating.I was pleased to confirm an observation I had made while there; Icelandic can unambiguously answer a negatively phrased question. Do you want to see a movie? Ja (yes). Don't you want to see a movie? (Do you NOT want to see a movie?) Ju (yes; negates the negative and affirms the object).My interest is in human nature; an ancient language carefully preserved has such things as negatively phrased questions but also a way to answer such things unambiguously.Throughout the book Alda Sigmundsottir maintains a delightful and lighthearted sense of humor.

This is an amazingly addictive book on the background of the Icelandic language. It is in English and not intended as a "learn Icelandic" guide. It's more of a linguistic ethnography and in that it is just about perfection. You come away with a complex picture of how the language evolved and how the people view their language. I found it riveting. I do have a smattering of Icelandic language in my background but that is absolutely not necessary to enjoy this book. Earthy and profane at times in a way needed to describe idiom and culture. I loved it.

Alda writes with a humorous style that makes even the convoluted and hard to pronounce Icelandic language interesting and enjoyable. After I read this book I had a better understanding of how the language came to be and how it influences and is influenced by Icelandic culture. Icelandic is the least changed of the Nordic languages and after you read this book you will understand how and why.

I especially appreciated the parts of the book related to Icelandic history and how that has influenced people’s practices in attitudes even today. For example, Iceland had a very high literacy rate even 1000 years ago, in contrast to the European mainland. I thought that the book was less useful in devoting a great deal of space to figures of speech which may shed some light on national character but are unlikely to be used by a traveler who is not fluent in Icelandic, particularly since many of these expressions involved somewhat rude language which a foreigner would likely not have the judgment to know when to use and when not to use.

I learned a lot about my second language and enjoyed the detailed explanations of idiom usage. This is not a bookfod learning beginner icelandic but supplement for more advanced learners, or just those interested in linguistics.

This is a little book that is absolutely filled with witty and useful details on the Icelandic language in all its complexity and peculiar aspects. I've read it through once and need to read it again to get the full flavor of it, but my favorite section is the one on idioms and proverbs. These are the sayings normally unknown by the visitor to Iceland, and in loving this place for its rich literary heritage, my favorite is "Blind is the man who has no books."All of Sigmundsdottir's books are a great introduction to a beautiful country.

Well written and a good introduction to the challenges of learning this unique language.

I am a brazilian who have held a love for Iceland from as far as I can remember. The amazing landscapes, the culture, the traditions always amazed me, as well as the language (so distant from my own "beloved and gentle" mother tongue). Alda's book is a fun and well written firsthand account of the latter. My dream of one day visiting Iceland just increased, and I can't wait to read Alda's other works.

This book is a must to have if you are interested in the Icelandic culture and language.It may help you to understand Icelandic tongue.

This is not a dry treatise on grammatical minutiae: it is a very entertaining account of how Icelandic differs from other European languages including its sisters Danish and Swedish and even Norwegian (most of the original settlers in Iceland came from Norway and brought the dialects spoken at the time in Norway with them and has pretty well preserved the old language except for pronunciation). Highly recommended.

An entertaining and insightful glimpse into the Icelandic language, its history and peculiarities - everything from its paradoxes to the complicated rules for writing poetry to the sixty-plus words for snow. An essential read for anyone interested in the "beloved and gentle" language.