Pimsleur(R) equals success. Just one 30-minute lesson a day gets you
speaking and understanding like no other program.
This course includes Lessons 1-16 from the Icelandic Level 1 program - 8
hours of audio-only effective language learning with real-life spoken
practice sessions. Each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language
practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and
structures. Detailed instructions enable you to understand and
participate in the conversation. Practice for vocabulary introduced in
previous lessons is included in each lesson. Topics include: greetings,
numbers, meals, shopping, telling time, scheduling activities, and
asking and giving directions. The emphasis is on pronunciation and
comprehension, and on learning to speak Icelandic.
Reading lessons begin in Lesson 11 to provide you with an introduction
to reading Icelandic. These lessons are designed to teach you to sound
out words with correct pronunciation and accent. A Reading Booklet to be
used with the audio lessons in PDF format must be downloaded.
The Icelandic Language
Icelandic, the official language of Iceland, is spoken by the island
nation's entire population of just over 330,000. In addition,
approximately 8,000 speakers live in Denmark and 6,500 in North America.
Descended from Old Norse, Icelandic is one of the Nordic languages
belonging to a subgroup of Northern Germanic languages which also
includes Norwegian and Faroese (spoken in the remote Faroe Islands off
the coast of Denmark). The insular Icelandic language has not changed
significantly since the Middle Ages and is considered a part of the
country's national identity. The government's Icelandic Language
Committee, charged with maintaining linguistic purism, keeps foreign
words from influencing the language by coining new terms (usually
constructed by combining old words) to describe modern concepts. For
example, the word "computer" did not exist in Icelandic, so a new word,
tölva, was created. Tölva is a combination of two existing words, tala
(number) and völva (a prophetess or magical seer) or, literally, "number
prophet".
Tech Talk
- CDs are formatted for playing in all CD players, including car
players, and users can copy files for use in iTunes or Windows Media
Player.
