Teach Yourself Icelandic - 2 Audio CDs and Book
Brand New (still shrink wrapped): 2 CDs and Book
Using a combination of book and CDs, Teach Yourself Icelandic is the course for anyone who wants to progress quickly from the basics to understanding, speaking and writing Icelandic with confidence. Although aimed at beginners, it is equally suitable for those wishing to brush up existing knowledge. A story runs throughout the book to keep the language in context and make the book enjoyable and easy to use. Key structures and vocabulary are introduced in 12 thematic units progressing from introducing yourself to looking for a flat. The emphasis is on communication throughout with important language introduced through dialogues on the recording.
The pack contains the book and approximately two hours of accompanying listening material in CD format.
* Enjoyable to use - the storyline running through the book keeps new language in context
* Comprehensive - covers a wide range of topics and language structures
Table of Contents:
Pronunciation
01 Bjorn's family
02 Klaus arrives from Germany
03 Bjorn shows Klaus around Reykjavik
04 Bjorn, Klaus and their friends go to the cinema
05 Bjorn and Klaus go to visit Inga
06 Klaus and Inga buy some groceries
07 Klaus goes to the bank
08 Inga helps Klaus look for a flat
09 Bjorn, Klaus and Gudrun go to Akureyri over the weekend
10 Bjorn and Klaus buy a birthday present for Gudrun
11 Klaus starts university
Icelandic-English vocabulary
English-Icelandic vocabulary
Taking it further
About the Author
Hidur Jonsdottir is a PhD student of Linguistics and Modern Icelandic and teaches Icelandic at Cambridge University.
About the Icelandic Language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the language of Iceland. Its closest relatives are Faroese and certain Norwegian dialects such as Telemark dialect and Sognamål. While most West European languages have greatly reduced levels of inflection, particularly in regards to noun declension, Icelandic retains an inflectional grammar comparable to that of Latin (a member of the group of Italic languages, which shares the Indo-European roots of Germanic) or, more closely, Old Norse and Old English. The main difference between Icelandic and Latin lies in the treatment of the verb. Nouns, adjectives, pronouns and other word classes are handled in a similar way. In particular it may be mentioned that Icelandic possesses quite a few instances of oblique cases without any governing word, much like Latin.
The vast majority of Icelandic speakers live in Iceland. There are about 8,165 speakers of Icelandic living in Denmark, of whom approximately 3,000 are students. The language is also spoken by 5,655 people in the USA and by 2,385 in Canada (mostly in Gimli, Manitoba). 97% of the population of Iceland consider Icelandic their mother tongue, but in communities outside Iceland the usage of the language is declining. Extant Icelandic speakers outside Iceland represent recent emigration in almost all cases except Gimli, which was settled from the 1880s onwards. The Icelandic constitution does not mention the language as the official language of the country. Though Iceland is a member of the Nordic Council, the Council uses only Danish, Norwegian and Swedish as its working languages, though it publishes material in Icelandic . Under the Nordic Language Convention, since 1987, citizens of Iceland have the opportunity to use Icelandic when interacting with official bodies in other Nordic countries without being liable for any interpretation or translation costs. The Convention covers visits to hospitals, job centres, the police and social security offices, however the Convention is not very well known and is mostly a recommendation. The countries have committed themselves to providing services in various languages, but citizens have no absolute rights except for criminal and court matters.
The state-funded Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies serves as a centre for preserving the medieval Icelandic manuscripts and studying the language and its literature. The Icelandic Language Council, made up of representatives of universities, the arts, journalists, teachers, and the Ministry of Culture, Science and Education, advises the authorities on language policy. The Icelandic Language Fund supports activities intended to promote the Icelandic language. Since 1995 November 16 each year, the birthday of 19th century poet Jónas Hallgrímsson is celebrated as Icelandic Language Day. |
