Letter from Iceland #76
The Little Book of Icelandic—Meaningless and ubiquitous
Blessuð!
If you are new here, every week I post a section from The Little Book of Icelandic* and include an audio file of me reading, so you can hear the pronunciation of the words. This week’s installment is on words that are are ubiquitous in Icelandic, and that have a very specific meaning—or not!
Meaningless and ubiquitous
If you are around Icelandic speakers for a while you’ll probably start to pick up words that they say all the time and you struggle to make sense of. Words that seem to have a rather nebulous meaning - or sometimes no meaning at all. Every language has them, of course - the English word “well”, the German word “also” and the French word “alors” spring to mind. Here are three such examples that are very common in the beloved and gentle.
Jæja
A highly versatile word that can be tricky for those not well versed in the cultural nuances of Icelandic. It can be used to herald in a conversation, as in: Jæja, það er blessuð blíðan í dag - “Jæja, the weather sure is nice today”. It can also be used as a standalone when a silence becomes uncomfortable - you know, when you don’t really know what to say but aren’t comfortable saying nothing. The other person would then likely respond já - “yes”, which would mean nothing except that they heard your jæja and they, too, are feeling kind of awkward.
Jæja can also denote your mood or feeling, depending on the intonation. If the inflection goes up at the end you are probably feeling buoyant and would like to start a conversation in that vein. If the inflection drops at the end you are probably feeling downhearted and pessimistic, and the other person will pick up on this instantly.
Jæja can also be a response to someone who has just told you something fascinating - as in jæja já! It can also signal that you want to bring a conversation or exchange to an end. In such an instance you might rise from your seat with a jæ-ja that is slightly elongated on the second syllable, and the tone of that jæja would absolutely tell the other person that you think it’s time to go.
If you would like to hear me read the above passage about jæja, click on the audio below. The full post and audio file are available to paid subscribers
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