The letters Eth (capital), transliterated as, and Thorn (capital), transliterated as, are widely used in the Icelandic language. Eth is also used in Faroese and Elfdalian, while thorn was used in many historical languages such as Old English. The letters (capital) and (capital) are considered as completely separate letters in Icelandic, and are collated as such, even though they originated as a ligature and a diacritical version respectively.
Icelandic words never start with, which means its capital occurs only when words are spelled in all capitals. The alphabet is as follows:
| Majuscule forms (also called uppercase or capital letters) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Z | Ö | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minuscule forms (also called lowercase or small letters) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | á | b | d | ð | e | é | f | g | h | i | í | j | k | l | m | n | o | ó | p | r | s | t | u | ú | v | x | y | ý | z | þ | æ | ö | |
The above table has 33 letters, including the letter Z which is obsolete but may be found in older texts, e.g. verzlun became verslun.
| Aa | Icelandic: a | in Icelandic pronounced as /aː/ | 10.11% | |
| Áá | Icelandic: á | in Icelandic pronounced as /auː/ | 1.8% | |
| Bb | Icelandic: bé | in Icelandic pronounced as /pjɛː/ | 1.04% | |
| Dd | Icelandic: dé | in Icelandic pronounced as /tjɛː/ | 1.58% | |
| Ðð | Icelandic: eð | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛːθ/ | 4.39% | |
| Ee | Icelandic: e | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛː/ | 6.42% | |
| Éé | Icelandic: é | in Icelandic pronounced as /jɛː/ | 0.65% | |
| Ff | Icelandic: eff | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛfː/ | 3.01% | |
| Gg | Icelandic: ge | in Icelandic pronounced as /cɛː/ | 4.24% | |
| Hh | Icelandic: há | in Icelandic pronounced as /hauː/ | 1.87% | |
| Ii | Icelandic: i | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɪː/ | 7.58% | |
| Íí | Icelandic: í | in Icelandic pronounced as /iː/ | 1.57% | |
| Jj | Icelandic: joð | in Icelandic pronounced as /jɔːθ/ | 1.14% | |
| Kk | Icelandic: ká | in Icelandic pronounced as /kʰauː/ | 3.31% | |
| Ll | Icelandic: ell | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛtːl̥/ | 4.53% | |
| Mm | Icelandic: emm | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛmː/ | 4.04% | |
| Nn | Icelandic: enn | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛnː/ | 7.71% | |
| Oo | Icelandic: o | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɔː/ | 2.17% | |
| Óó | Icelandic: ó | in Icelandic pronounced as /ouː/ | 0.99% | |
| Pp | Icelandic: pé | in Icelandic pronounced as /pʰjɛː/ | 0.79% | |
| Rr | Icelandic: err | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛr̥ː/ | 8.58% | |
| Ss | Icelandic: ess | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛsː/ | 5.63% | |
| Tt | Icelandic: té | in Icelandic pronounced as /tʰjɛː/ | 4.95% | |
| Uu | Icelandic: u | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʏː/ | 4.56% | |
| Úú | Icelandic: ú | in Icelandic pronounced as /uː/ | 0.61% | |
| Vv | Icelandic: vaff | in Icelandic pronounced as /vafː/ | 2.44% | |
| Xx | Icelandic: ex | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛks/ | 0.05% | |
| Yy | Icelandic: ufsilon y | in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈʏfsɪlɔn ɪː/ | 0.9% | |
| Ýý | Icelandic: ufsilon ý | in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈʏfsɪlɔn iː/ | 0.23% | |
| Zz | Icelandic: seta | in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsɛːta/ | ~0% | |
| Þþ | Icelandic: þorn | in Icelandic pronounced as /θɔrtn̥/ | 1.45% | |
| Ææ | Icelandic: æ | in Icelandic pronounced as /aiː/ | 0.87% | |
| Öö | Icelandic: ö | in Icelandic pronounced as /œː/ | 0.78% |
The names of the letters are grammatically neuter (except the now obsolete which is grammatically feminine).
The letters,,,,,,,,,,,, and are considered vowels, and the remainder are consonants.
(Icelandic: sé, in Icelandic pronounced as /sjɛː/), (Icelandic: kú, in Icelandic pronounced as /kʰuː/) and (Icelandic: tvöfalt vaff, in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtʰvœːfal̥t ˌvafː/) are only used in Icelandic in words of foreign origin and some proper names that are also of foreign origin. Otherwise,,, and are replaced by,, and respectively. (In fact, etymologically corresponds to Latin and English in words inherited from Proto-Indo-European: Icelandic Icelandic: hvað, Latin Latin: quod, English what.)
(Icelandic: seta, in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsɛːta/) was used until 1973, when it was abolished, as it was only an etymological detail. It originally represented an affricate pronounced as /link/, which arose from the combinations +, +, +; however, in modern Icelandic it came to be pronounced in Icelandic pronounced as /s/, and since it was a letter that was not commonly used, it was decided in 1973 to replace all instances of with .[2] However, one of the most important newspapers in Iceland, Morgunblaðið, still uses it sometimes (although very rarely), a hot-dog chain, Icelandic: [[Bæjarins Beztu Pylsur]], and a secondary school, Verzlunarskóli Íslands have it in their names. It is also found in some proper names (e.g. Icelandic: Zakarías, Icelandic: Haralz, Icelandic: Zoëga), and loanwords such as Icelandic: pizza (also written Icelandic: pítsa). Older people who were educated before the abolition of the sometimes also use it.
While,,, and are found on the Icelandic keyboard, they are rarely used in Icelandic; they are used in some proper names of Icelanders, mainly family names (family names are the exception in Iceland). is used on road signs (to indicate city centre) according to European regulation, and cm is used for the centimetre according to the international SI system (while it may be written out as sentimetri). Many believe these letters should be included in the alphabet, as its purpose is a tool to collate (sort into the correct order), and practically that is done, i.e. computers treat the alphabet as a superset of the English alphabet. The alphabet as taught in schools up to about 1980 has these 36 letters (and computers still order this way): a, á, b, c, d, ð, e, é, f, g, h, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, o, ó, p, q, r, s, t, u, ú, v, w, x, y, ý, z, þ, æ, ö.
The modern Icelandic alphabet developed from a standard established in the 19th century (primarily by Danish linguist Rasmus Rask). It is ultimately based heavily on an orthographic standard created in the early 12th century by a document referred to as The First Grammatical Treatise, author unknown. The standard was intended for the common North Germanic language Old Norse. It did not have much influence, however, at the time.
The most defining characteristics of the alphabet were established in the old treatise:
The later Rasmus Rask standard was basically a re-enactment of the old treatise, with some changes to fit concurrent North Germanic conventions, such as the exclusive use of rather than . Various old features, like, had actually not seen much use in the later centuries, so Rask's standard constituted a major change in practice.
Later 20th century changes are most notably the adoption of, which had previously been written as (reflecting the modern pronunciation), and the replacement of with in 1973.[3]
This section lists Icelandic letters and letter combinations and their phonemic representation in the International Phonetic Alphabet.[4] [5]
Icelandic vowels may be either long or short, but this distinction is only relevant in stressed syllables: unstressed vowels are neutral in quantitative aspect. The vowel length is determined by the consonants that follow the vowel: if there is only one consonant before another vowel or at the end of a word (i.e., CVCV or CVC# syllable structure), the vowel is long; if there are more than one (CVCCV), counting geminates and pre-aspirated stops as CC, the vowel is short. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule:
| Grapheme | Sound (IPA) | Examples | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long | Short | Before in Icelandic pronounced as /jɪ/[6] | Before or | |||
| a | in Icelandic pronounced as /aː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /a/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ai/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /au/ | Icelandic: taska in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtʰaska/ "handbag" Icelandic: kaka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰaːka/ "cake" Icelandic: svangur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsvauŋkʏr̥/ "hungry" | |
| á | in Icelandic pronounced as /auː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /au/ | Icelandic: fár in Icelandic pronounced as /fauːr̥/ "disaster" | |||
| au | in Icelandic pronounced as /œyː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /œy/ | Icelandic: þau in Icelandic pronounced as /θœyː/ "they" | |||
| e | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛ/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ei/ | Icelandic: skera in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈscɛːra/ "to cut" Icelandic: drekka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtrɛʰka/ "to drink" Icelandic: drengur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtreiŋkʏr̥/ "boy" | ||
| é | in Icelandic pronounced as /jɛː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /jɛ/ | Icelandic: ég in Icelandic pronounced as /jɛːx/ "I" | |||
| ei, ey | in Icelandic pronounced as /eiː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ei/ | Icelandic: skeið in Icelandic pronounced as /sceiːθ/ "spoon" Icelandic: hey in Icelandic pronounced as /heiː/ "hay" | |||
| i, y | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɪː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɪ/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /i/ | Icelandic: sin in Icelandic pronounced as /sɪːn/ "sinew" Icelandic: syngja in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsiɲca/ "to sing" | ||
| í, ý | in Icelandic pronounced as /iː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /i/ | Icelandic: íslenska in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈistlɛnska/ "Icelandic" | |||
| o | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɔː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɔ/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ɔi/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ou/ | Icelandic: lofa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈlɔːva/ "to promise" Icelandic: dolla in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtɔtla/ "pot" | |
| ó | in Icelandic pronounced as /ouː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ou/ | Icelandic: rós in Icelandic pronounced as /rouːs/ "rose" | |||
| u | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʏː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʏ/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʏi/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /u/ | Icelandic: hundur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhʏntʏr̥/ "dog" Icelandic: munkur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈmuŋ̊kʏr̥/ "monk" | |
| ú | in Icelandic pronounced as /uː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /u/ | Icelandic: þú in Icelandic pronounced as /θuː/ "you" | |||
| æ | in Icelandic pronounced as /aiː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /ai/ | Icelandic: læsa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈlaiːsa/ "lock" | |||
| ö | in Icelandic pronounced as /œː/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /œ/ | in Icelandic pronounced as /œy/ | Icelandic: ör in Icelandic pronounced as /œːr/ "scar" Icelandic: hnöttur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈn̥œʰtʏr̥/ "globe" Icelandic: öngull in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈœyŋkʏtl̥/ "hook" | ||
| Grapheme | Phonetic realization (IPA) | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | between and : pronounced as /∅/ | Icelandic: kembt in Icelandic pronounced as /cʰɛm̥t/ "combed [past participle]" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /p/ unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop | Icelandic: bær in Icelandic pronounced as /paiːr̥/ "town" | ||
| d | between or and : pronounced as /∅/ | Icelandic: lands in Icelandic pronounced as /lans/ "land's [genitive]" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /t/ unaspirated voiceless dental stop | Icelandic: dalur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtaːlʏr̥/ "valley" | ||
| ð | between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, word finally: in Icelandic pronounced as /ð̠/ voiced alveolar non-sibilant fricative | Icelandic: eða in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈɛːða/ "or" Icelandic: bað in Icelandic pronounced as /paːð/ "bath" | |
| before a voiceless consonant and before a pause: in Icelandic pronounced as /θ̠/ voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | Icelandic: maðkur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈmaθkʏr̥/ "worm" | ||
| between and, and between and : pronounced as /∅/ | Icelandic: harðna in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhartna/ "to harden" Icelandic: bragðs in Icelandic pronounced as /praxs/ "trick's [genitive], flavour's [genitive]" | ||
| f | word initially or before a voiceless consonant, and when doubled: in Icelandic pronounced as /f/ | Icelandic: fundur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈfʏntʏr̥/ "meeting" Icelandic: haft in Icelandic pronounced as /haft/ "had [past participle]" | |
| between vowels, between a vowel and a voiced consonant, or word finally: in Icelandic pronounced as /v/ | Icelandic: lofa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈlɔːva/ "to promise" Icelandic: horfa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhɔrva/ "look" | ||
| between and a vowel: pronounced as /∅/ | Icelandic: prófa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpʰr̥ou.a/ "test" Icelandic: gulrófa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʏlˌrou.a/ "rutabaga" | ||
| before or : in Icelandic pronounced as /p/ | Icelandic: Keflavík in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈcʰɛplaˌviːk/ "Keflavík" | ||
| fnd | in Icelandic pronounced as /mt/ | Icelandic: hefnd in Icelandic pronounced as /hɛmt/ "revenge" | |
| fnt | in Icelandic pronounced as /m̥t/ (voiceless) | Icelandic: nefnt in Icelandic pronounced as /nɛm̥t/ "named" | |
| g | word initially, before a consonant or,,,,, or ; between a vowel and or ; or after a consonant: in Icelandic pronounced as /k/ unaspirated voiceless velar stop | Icelandic: glápa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈklauːpa/ "to stare" Icelandic: logn in Icelandic pronounced as /lɔkn̥/ "windstill" Icelandic: borg in Icelandic pronounced as /pɔrk/ "city" | |
| word initially, before,,,,,,,, or : in Icelandic pronounced as /c/ unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: geta in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈcɛːta/ "to be able" | ||
| between a vowel and ; or word finally after a vowel: in Icelandic pronounced as /ɣ/ voiced velar fricative | Icelandic: fluga in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈflʏːɣa/ "fly" Icelandic: lag in Icelandic pronounced as /laːɣ/ "layer" | ||
| before or or before a pause: in Icelandic pronounced as /x/ voiceless velar fricative | Icelandic: dragt in Icelandic pronounced as /traxt/ "suit" | ||
| between a vowel and or : in Icelandic pronounced as /j/ palatal approximant | Icelandic: segja in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsɛjːa/ "to say" | ||
| between, and : pronounced as /∅/ | Icelandic: fljúga in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈfljuː.a/ "to fly" | ||
| gj | in Icelandic pronounced as /c/ unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: gjalda in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈcalta/ "to pay" | |
| h | in Icelandic pronounced as /h/ voiceless glottal fricative | Icelandic: hár in Icelandic pronounced as /hauːr̥/ "hair" | |
| hj | in Icelandic pronounced as /ç/ voiceless palatal fricative | Icelandic: hjá in Icelandic pronounced as /çauː/ "next to" | |
| hl | in Icelandic pronounced as /l̥/ voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | Icelandic: hlýr in Icelandic pronounced as /l̥iːr̥/ "warm" | |
| hn | in Icelandic pronounced as /n̥/ voiceless alveolar nasal | Icelandic: hné in Icelandic pronounced as /n̥jɛː/ "knee" | |
| hr | in Icelandic pronounced as /r̥/ voiceless alveolar trill | Icelandic: hratt in Icelandic pronounced as /r̥aʰt/ "fast" | |
| hv | in Icelandic pronounced as /kʰv/ (in Icelandic pronounced as /xv/ among some older speakers in southern Iceland) | Icelandic: hvað in Icelandic pronounced as /kʰvaːθ/ "what" | |
| j | in Icelandic pronounced as /j/ | Icelandic: já in Icelandic pronounced as /jauː/ "yes" | |
| k | word initially, before a consonant or,,,,, or : in Icelandic pronounced as /kʰ/ | Icelandic: kaka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰaːka/ "cake" | |
| word initially, before,,,,,,, or : in Icelandic pronounced as /cʰ/ aspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: keyra in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈcʰeiːra/ "to drive" | ||
| other contexts, before,,,,, or : in Icelandic pronounced as /k/ | Icelandic: skarfur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈskarvʏr̥/ "cormorant" Icelandic: haka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhaːka/ "chin" | ||
| other contexts, before,,,,,,, or : in Icelandic pronounced as /c/ unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: skip in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈscɪːp/ "boat" Icelandic: hroki in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈr̥ɔːcɪ/ "arrogance" | ||
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰk/ | Icelandic: miklir in Icelandic pronounced as /mɪʰklɪr̥/ "great (pl.)" Icelandic: vakna in Icelandic pronounced as /vaʰkna/ "wake up" | ||
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /x/ voiceless velar fricative | Icelandic: október in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈɔxtouːpɛr̥/ "October" | ||
| kj | word initially: in Icelandic pronounced as /cʰ/ aspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: kjöt in Icelandic pronounced as /cʰœːt/ "meat" | |
| other contexts: in Icelandic pronounced as /c/ unaspirated voiceless palatal stop | Icelandic: þykja in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈθɪːca/ "to regard" | ||
| kk | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰk/, in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰc/ | Icelandic: þakka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈθaʰka/ "to thank" Icelandic: ekki in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈɛʰcɪ/ "not" | |
| l | word finally, or next to a voiceless consonant: in Icelandic pronounced as /l̥/ voiceless alveolar lateral approximant | Icelandic: sól in Icelandic pronounced as /souːl̥/ "sun" Icelandic: stúlka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈstul̥ka/ "girl" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /l/ | Icelandic: lás in Icelandic pronounced as /lauːs/ "lock" | ||
| ll | in loan words and pet names: in Icelandic pronounced as /lː/ | Icelandic: bolla in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpɔlːa/ "bun, bread roll" Icelandic: mylla in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈmɪlːa/ "mill" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /tl/ | Icelandic: bolli in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpɔtlɪ/ "cup" Icelandic: milli in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈmɪtlɪ/ "between" | ||
| m | after and before voiceless consonants: in Icelandic pronounced as /m̥/ | Icelandic: lampi in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈlam̥pɪ/ "lamp" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /m/ | Icelandic: mamma in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈmamːa/ "mum" | ||
| n | after and before voiceless consonants: in Icelandic pronounced as /n̥/ | Icelandic: planta in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpʰlan̥ta/ "plant" Icelandic: hnífur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈn̥iːvʏr/ "knife" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /n/ | Icelandic: nafn in Icelandic pronounced as /napn̥/ "name" | ||
| ng | before : in Icelandic pronounced as /ŋ/ | Icelandic: kringla in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰriŋla/ "disc" Icelandic: gangs in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkauŋs/ "movement's [genitive]" | |
| in most cases: in Icelandic pronounced as /ŋk/, in Icelandic pronounced as /ɲc/ | Icelandic: vængur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈvaiŋkʏr̥/ "wing" Icelandic: engi in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈeiɲcɪ/ "meadow" | ||
| nk | in Icelandic pronounced as /ŋ̊k/, in Icelandic pronounced as /ɲ̊c/ | Icelandic: hönk in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈhœyŋ̊k/ "coil, loop" Icelandic: banki in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpauɲ̊cɪ/ "bank" | |
| nn | after accented vowels or diphthongs: in Icelandic pronounced as /tn̥/ | Icelandic: steinn in Icelandic pronounced as /steitn̥/ "rock" Icelandic: fínn in Icelandic pronounced as /fitn̥/ "fine" | |
| elsewhere: in Icelandic pronounced as /nː/ | Icelandic: finna in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈfɪnːa/ "to find" | ||
| p | word initially: in Icelandic pronounced as /pʰ/ aspirated voiceless bilabial stop | Icelandic: par in Icelandic pronounced as /pʰaːr̥/ "pair" | |
| other contexts: in Icelandic pronounced as /p/ unaspirated voiceless bilabial stop | Icelandic: spara in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈspaːra/ "to save" Icelandic: kápa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰauːpa/ "coat" | ||
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /f/ voiceless labiodental fricative | Icelandic: September in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsɛftɛmpɛr̥/ "September" Icelandic: skips in Icelandic pronounced as /scɪfs/ "ship's [genitive]" | ||
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰp/ | Icelandic: epli in Icelandic pronounced as /ɛʰplɪ/ "apple(s)" Icelandic: vopn in Icelandic pronounced as /vɔʰpn̥/ "weapon(s)" | ||
| pp | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰp/ | Icelandic: stoppa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈstɔʰpa/ "to stop" | |
| r | word initially and between vowels: in Icelandic pronounced as /r/ (voiced alveolar trill or tap) | Icelandic: rigna in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈrɪkna/ "to rain" Icelandic: læra in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈlaiːra/ "to learn" | |
| before and after voiceless consonants and before a pause: in Icelandic pronounced as /r̥/ (voiceless alveolar trill or tap) | Icelandic: svartur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsvar̥tʏr̥/ "black" | ||
| rl | in Icelandic pronounced as /tl̥/, occasionally in Icelandic pronounced as /rtl̥/ | Icelandic: karlmaður in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈkʰatl̥ˌmaːðʏr̥/ "man" | |
| rn | in Icelandic pronounced as /tn̥/, occasionally in Icelandic pronounced as /rtn̥/ | Icelandic: þorn in Icelandic pronounced as /θɔtn̥/ "the name of the letter Þ" | |
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /rn/ | Icelandic: vernd in Icelandic pronounced as /vɛrnt/ "protection" | ||
| s | in Icelandic pronounced as /s/ | Icelandic: sósa in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsouːsa/ "sauce" | |
| sl | in Icelandic pronounced as /stl̥/ | Icelandic: rusl in Icelandic pronounced as /rʏstl̥/ "garbage" | |
| sn | in Icelandic pronounced as /stn̥/ | Icelandic: býsna in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpistn̥a/ "extremes" | |
| t | word initially: in Icelandic pronounced as /tʰ/ aspirated voiceless dental stop | Icelandic: taka in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtʰaːka/ "take" | |
| before : in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰt/ | Icelandic: Atli in Icelandic pronounced as /aʰtlɪ/ "Attila" Icelandic: rytmi in Icelandic pronounced as /rɪʰtmɪ/ "rhythm" Icelandic: vatn in Icelandic pronounced as /vaʰtn̥/ "water" | ||
| elsewhere: in Icelandic pronounced as /t/ unaspirated voiceless dental stop | Icelandic: stela in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈstɛːla/ "to steal" Icelandic: skutur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈskʏːtʏr̥/ "stern" | ||
| tt | in Icelandic pronounced as /ʰt/ | Icelandic: detta in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈtɛʰta/ "to fall" | |
| v | in Icelandic pronounced as /v/ | Icelandic: vera in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈvɛːra/ "to be" | |
| x | in Icelandic pronounced as /ks/ | Icelandic: lax in Icelandic pronounced as /laks/ "salmon" | |
| z | in Icelandic pronounced as /s/ | Icelandic: beztur in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈpɛstʏr̥/ "the best" (former orthography) Icelandic: Zakarías in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈsaːkʰariːas/ "Zachary" | |
| þ | in Icelandic pronounced as /θ̠/ voiceless alveolar non-sibilant fricative | Icelandic: þú in Icelandic pronounced as /θuː/ "you" Icelandic: Aþena in Icelandic pronounced as /ˈaːθɛna/ "Athens" |
The alphabet is included in Unicode. Historically, ISO 8859-1 was the most used code page, followed by Windows-1252, which extends the Icelandic alphabet with e.g. the euro sign. ISO 8859-15 also extends the alphabet, but with the euro in a different place.