Icelandic alphabet
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The modern Icelandic alphabet consists of the following 32 letters:
It is based upon a Latin alphabet with diacritics, in addition it includes the runic letter thorn Þþ (pictured to the right). Æ and ö are considered letters in their own right and not a ligature or diacritical version of their respective letters. Often the glyphs are simplified when handwritten, for example ð may be written as a d with a horizontal line (đ) and the ligature æ (considered a separate letter) may be written as ae, both of which can make it easier to write cursively.  
HistoryThe modern Icelandic alphabet has developed from a standard established in the 19th century, by the Danish linguist Rasmus Rask primarily. 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 language of Scandinavia, alias 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 Germanic conventions, such as the exclusive use of k rather than c. Various old features, like ð, 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 é, which had previously been written as je (reflecting the modern pronunciation), and the abolition of z in 1974. Letter namesThe names of the letters are:
Image:KB Iceland.svg
The Icelandic keyboard layout.
NotesThe letters a, á, e, é, i, í, o, ó, u, ú, y, ý, æ and ö are considered vowels, and the remainder are consonants. The letters C (sé, [sjɛ]), Q (kú, [kʰu]) and W (tvöfalt vaff, [ˈtʰvœfal̥t ˌvafː]) are only used in Icelandic in words of foreign origin and some proper names that are also of foreign origin. The letter Z (seta, [ˈsɛta]) was used until 1974, when it was abolished, as it was only an etymological detail. However, one of the most important newspapers in Iceland, the Morgunblaðið, still uses it sometimes (although very rarely), and a secondary school, Verzlunarskóli Íslands has it in its name. It is also found in some proper names of people. Older people, who were educated before the abolition of the z sometimes also use it. The Icelandic F is said as it is in English at the start of words and between vowels. Before L or N it changes to B while "fnd" is said as the English M and "fnt" is said as an English "hm". The Icelandic G is pronounced like a hard English G at the beginning of words. At the end of a word it is said like a soft G from the back of the throat (like a soft German "ch"). It is also pronounced this way between non-accented vowels but it is not pronounced between accented vowels. After a vowel and before a J it is pronounced like the Icelandic J ("y"). After a vowel and before a T or S it is pronounced like a hard German "ch". The Icelandic J is pronounced like an English "y" at the beginning of words. Elsewhere it is aspirated before the "y". (aspiration sounds like a smooth release of air at the end of a sound so an aspirated "t" would sound like "t-hh") Letter frequenciesThe most common letters in Icelandic are n and a[1].
The list above shows the letter frequencies for more letters in order of descending frequency. See also
References
External linksfr:Alphabet islandais hu:Izlandi ábécé is:Íslenska stafrófið pl:Alfabet islandzki sv:Isländska alfabetet tg:Алифбои исландӣ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
