I was looking for a free alternative to Duolingo and it turns out I can get free self-guided online language courses through the library. Of course I can! Honestly, man. Libraries. Use them, love them, defend them 📚❤️
Interested in learning Icelandic? The club I’m associated with is putting on language classes. The lessons are virtual, taught by an Icelander. They start April 7th. Sign up at the link below! #Icelandichttps://www.icct.info/language-classes
https://ruby.social/@henrik/111810653719161544
henrik@ruby.social - We talked about the Icelandic word for “computer” at work (“tölva”, a portmanteau for something like “number witch” or “prophetess of numbers”) and I’m curious if there is one for LLMs!
I asked a LLM and it suggested “málfræðitroll” which supposedly means “linguistics troll” 👌
We talked about the Icelandic word for “computer” at work (“tölva”, a portmanteau for something like “number witch” or “prophetess of numbers”) and I’m curious if there is one for LLMs!
I asked a LLM and it suggested “málfræðitroll” which supposedly means “linguistics troll” 👌
Many Icelanders tend to think that #Icelandic is the only #language which has its own version of #placenames. They also think of these names as translations. They usually aren't.
For instance #Kyiv is Kænugarður. The name comes from the Viking Age when some Norse (often Swedes) went east while the more famous ones went west.
Another example is the #Danish#Aarhus. The Icelandic Árósar retains the original meaning of "the river mouth" while the modern Danish name is a bit like "river house".
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#Icelandic has a few letters not found in English. My name is Óli Gneisti but it is usually rendered Oli in English. We also have the letter "ð" which tends to written as "d".
But #BBCNews has decided to go a different route, one that I don't remember seeing used during this century.
@juergen_hubert I'm posting pictures from my Icelandic Christmas Calendar of the "Yule Lads" - beings who come down from the mountains in Iceland around Christmas and cause trouble and mayhem (and latterly, bring gifts to good children - children who've been bad end up in Mother Gryla's pot or are eaten by The Yule Cat). Is there anything similar you've come across? #icelandic#yule_lads#folklore
Many Icelanders love tracing their family trees. I do. So when I went down ten generations and found a master of sorcery (galdrameistari) who is featured in a couple of #Icelandic#folktales it was inevitable that I would dedicate an episode of #StoriesOfIceland to this man while also covering his son and grandson (9th and 8th generation ancestors respectively).
Earlier this year, driving around Vík, Iceland and this song came on the
Rás 2 radio station and I was floored. From their bandcamp: "This song stems from the overturning of Roe v. Wade and talks about the patriarchy, the oppression of women, reproductive autonomy as well as women's rights."
Icelandic "skyrta" is almost the exact word as the English "shirt". Ignore the y/i and the simple rule of thumb is that "shi-" if English is "ski-" in Icelandic. You can use this information to understand the Icelandic word "skip".
In Icelandic we call excrement "skít(ur)". It is not considered a dirty word (except that it means dirty - a dirty dish is "skítugur diskur").
BTW. Through Norse influence the word "skyrta" was absorbed into English as "skirt".
Happy 2nd global-sun-setting-exactly-due-west day!
We often use the generic statement "the sun sets in the west", but that's only globally true on two days, the equinoxes. And one of those is today; though of course whether it's the vernal or the autumn one depends on whether you're in the southern or northern hemisphere respectively.
I think #Latin#equinox or #equinoctium is quite interesting on how it relates to night, while #German Tagundnachtgleiche and #Dutch dag-en-nachtevening literally describe that day and night are equal. I must admit the Dutch one is quite funny since, from a multilingual perspective, it seems to include three times of the day. 😉 #Norwegian jevndògn, #Danish jævndògn, #Icelandic jafndægur (equal day), and #Swedish dagjämning (day equalisation) do the opposite of Latin and relate to day instead; also mirrored in #Finnish päiväntasaus. #Arabic sees a different angle and calls it الاعتدال"alaietidal" (moderation). #etymology#language#linguistics#astronomy
Back when #Icelandic publishers were getting started with #ebooks I warned them that the only way to combat #Amazon was by selling their stuff without #DRM and thus be able to reach #Kindle owners.
They decided to go with #Adobe DRM which mostly served to confuse customers who came to the conclusion that buying Icelandic ebooks was just too complicated. A few years later they gave up on DRM but the damage was done.
#Moscow, #Russia ❗
The #Icelandic embassy in Moscow is closed from today. 🇮🇸
The flag was removed from the flagpole, the signboards were dismantled, the staff of the diplomatic mission removed things on Sunday. Earlier, the Icelandic authorities said that relations with Russia were at the "lowest level" and promised to leave on August 1.
"A volcano has erupted on the #Reykjanes peninsula in southwest #Iceland, near the capital #Reykjavik, following intense #earthquake activity in the area, the country's Meteorological Office (IMO) said on Monday.
"'At the moment, it's a very small eruption,' said Matthew Roberts of the service and research division at the IMO. He added there was no direct imminent hazard to people living within the region."
So #Kjós (my county) claims that I'll be able to name the new plot for my house on my recently divided land anything I want (I double checked, "Anything?")