A practical way to say long Icelandic place names is to split them at compound boundaries, then stress the first syllable. Icelandic place names are often built by joining smaller words together, and the alphabet has 32 letters. That gives you a simple framework before you try any specific name aloud.
Why Icelandic place names look harder than they are
A lot of Icelandic place names are compound words. They are built by joining smaller Icelandic words together, so a long name is often easier to read once you stop treating it like one solid block.
The other useful rule is stress. In Icelandic, word stress falls on the first syllable of a word. If you keep that in mind from the start, many names become easier to say in a steady, predictable way.
The method: breaking a name at its compound boundaries
The most practical method is to split a long name at the boundaries between its compound root words before saying it aloud. That lets you work through the name in parts instead of guessing at the whole thing at once.
If you want to get familiar with the letters themselves, the Icelandic alphabet guide lists all 32 letters of the Icelandic alphabet with a plain-English pronunciation hint for each, including the letters that appear in these place names.
Eyjafjallajokull and Snaefellsjokull
Eyjafjallajokull is a good example of the compound approach. It breaks down as Eyja-fjalla-jokull. The plain-English approximation given by guidetoiceland.is is "AY-ya-fyat-la-yeu-kuhtl."
Snaefellsjokull is a glacier-topped volcano on the Snaefellsnes peninsula, protected within Snaefellsjokull National Park. Its plain-English approximation is "SNAI-fetls-yeuh-kuhtl."
South coast names: Vik i Myrdal, Seljalandsfoss, and Jokulsarlon
Vik i Myrdal is a village on Iceland's south coast. For the first word, guidetoiceland.is gives "VEEK."
Seljalandsfoss is a waterfall on Iceland's south coast. The plain-English approximation is "SEL-ya-lands-foss."
Jokulsarlon is a glacier lagoon on Iceland's south coast, beside the Ring Road, Route 1. The plain-English approximation is "YEUH-kuls-owr-lohn."
Thingvellir, Husavik, and Reykjavik itself
Thingvellir is the site of Iceland's historic open-air assembly, the Althingi. The pronunciation approximation given by guidetoiceland.is is "THING-vet-lir."
Husavik is given by guidetoiceland.is as "HOO-sa-veek."
Reykjavik is given by guidetoiceland.is as "RAYK-ya-veek."
Practicing more Icelandic words
Once you have the basic pattern in mind, compound boundaries first and first-syllable stress second, it helps to keep practicing with more everyday language. For that, see Icelandic language and phrases.
Comparing Reykjavik tours
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