And today, we are going to talk about Icelandic. Because I have neglected you and my duty in this area for far too long. Now, normally I'm not all about the videos in my posts, or pictures for that matter-- as those of you who have been following me for a while know well!-- but today, today I have some videos to share with you in my quest to spread and share my love of Icelandic with the world.
Firstly, did you know that you can learn Icelandic with Bambi? You totally can.
Secondly, if you haven't listened to I'll Make A Man Out of You in Icelandic, you are missing out. This song is awesome in every language, I know, but it lends itself to Icelandic exceptionally well, I think! Possibly because it's coming from one "warrior" culture to another-- but it's easily the least awkwardly retranslated song I've seen on youtube to date. (I have dreams of one day understanding these songs without need for re-translation. And also owning the movies in Icelandic--if anyone knows where I can get them, please let me know!!)
I probably should have started with this one-- it's an actual learn to speak Icelandic video, and it's all about simple greetings. From there you can find a bunch more, including a pretty hilarious one about Romantic Phrases which includes a variation of "get away from me."
Now, I could do this all day really-- but let me leave you with this song from Hercules in Icelandic: I Won't Say I'm in Love. Do yourself a favor and ignore the translation into English because the only song that's more awkward retranslated back into English is Colors of the Wind (So. Bad.). Just LISTEN to the language and the words. (This version doesn't have the distraction of English but embedding is disabled, so sorry!)
So there you have it-- Icelandic Love to get us back into the spirit of things. Please note that my self-discipline to not read The Hunger Games does not extend to keeping me from watching all these Icelandic videos and totally derailing myself from Helen for the rest of the day. If I give Thor an inch, he takes a mile, and right now he's kind of elbowed Theseus out of the spotlight.
As always, you can learn Icelandic online for free through the University of Iceland, which by now should really be offering to hire me for all my work promoting their program. Or at least maybe some free airfare to visit? because Iceland Wants To Be My Friend, Really. The internet doesn't lie!
That's pretty cool. Where do you find this stuff?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see you're distraction tactics are working so well to keep you from Hunger Games.
You'll cave. You just have to so I feel better about my own distractions!
........dhole
Mostly I find this stuff by luck. A friend found the Bambi link for me, when I first started extolling the excellence of Icelandic, along with the Basic Greetings tutorial, and it all kind of snowballed from there. Youtube has some great resources buried in it! I'll let you know when/if I break and end up tearing into the Hunger Games. I had a moment of temptation tonight, but I managed to stop myself!
ReplyDeleteAs a relatively new follower of this blog I haven't really got to explore it a lot yet, but your obsession with Icelandic makes me giggle. It's a fascinating language, indeed! Norwegian is my native language, and even though the two languages took different paths sometime shortly after the Viking Era (or maybe sometime in the last century - Icelandic has been re-morphed into what it used to be in the olden days, hasn't it?), I can still understand a fair share of it. Some of the words I can only read, some of them I can only understand when spoken (the funny letters throw me off all the time).
ReplyDeleteGood luck in battling Thor, though! He paid us a visit the other night, and shook us up pretty badly. I think Mjøllnir hit the area I live in about 11 000 times in about two hours, according to the weather man...
Very cool!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the blog, Cruella! You're right that Icelandic has preserved a lot of the elements of Old Norse-- it's kind of the Latin of the Scandinavian languages, which is maybe why it's so appealing to me. I'm hoping to use it as a stepping stone to Old Norse and then hopefully to be able to read the Sagas in the original language. Languages are like a cultural map, and I really look forward to getting to see the world through the lens of Icelandic :)
ReplyDeleteThor and I have a kind of truce! He doesn't smite me, and I write books about him. haha.
Tessa: I'm glad you liked it!
Cool. I am definitely going to have to learn some Icelandic online. My ancestors are Icelandic. I'm a viking girl at heart.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!! It is definitely fun to learn, I think. Well worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back, Amalia. You were missed. Love the vids. Great to watch and listen to, but I'm hopeless at languages. Been trying to learn French for ten years. When I'm forced to speak it, it always comes out Spanish. :)
ReplyDeleteSo when are you visiting Iceland? You must find a way.
I'm not great with languages either, VR, believe me. but I'm determined with Icelandic!
ReplyDeleteI'm tentatively planning something for next year, but it depends on some elements that are outside of my control, so we'll see. Fingers crossed! Maybe I should start accepting donations to fund my trip so I can get there sooner :P
Dude, you made me snort Dr. Pepper up my nose. "Get away from me!" That's frickin' classic. I heart you.
ReplyDelete:D :D :D yeah. I thought it was pretty funny myself the first time I watched the video. I was like "Wait, what?!"
ReplyDeleteHow freaking cool! I love languages, I never really thought about Icelandic before. I'll have to check out that UoI program. Thanks :)
ReplyDeleteYES! another convert! High 5, LT! :)
ReplyDeleteHigh 5!
ReplyDeleteObviously, I haven't been around much, because if I had, I totally would have commented on the awesomeness that is the Icelandic videos you picked to share with us. I want to learn Icelandic. I am going to have to find time to fit learning for free, online, into my schedule!
ReplyDeleteYay! haha. Sarah you are so funny. Let me know if you do and we can do it togetherish!
ReplyDelete(That would be totally awesome!)
ReplyDelete