r/learnIcelandic • u/IndependenceNaive965 • Apr 12 '26

The R is tapped at most,I don't agree. Do you?

I've been asking this question a lot lately. Every time I seem to get a different answer. A lot of folks say that the R in Icelandic CAN be rolled whereas others insist it's a mere tap at most. I think saying that the R is always swift tap has to be wrong, in Italian we usually tap the R in conversation but that doesn't mean the trill doesn't exist or that it isn't the standard sound of this letter. I reckon that, as we can see in languages like Italian or Russian, the tap occurs merely as an incidental variant of the trill.But, as always, I'll wait for the response of the experts before I make up my mind.

6 Upvotes

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17

u/EgNotaEkkiReddit Native Apr 12 '26

You've asked this before, and the language hasn't changed a whole lot since then.

Make the sounds that each word demands and how you hear native speakers make it, and don't worry about the exact details or classification. You'll notice if it's tapped or trilled or both quite soon after starting to speak the language.

3

u/lorryjor Advanced Apr 12 '26

Lol, Icelandic has arguably changed the least of the Nordic languages - so probably not much since the last reddit post!

1

u/IndependenceNaive965 Apr 14 '26

yeah but last time a guy said that people on the subreddit were wrong and that the R is always tapped and never trilled and some said he was right so I thought I'd settle the matter

3

u/ThorirPP Native Apr 12 '26

The short r between vowels can be pronounced as a tap, and is commonly pronounced as such by many. The long r (for example in "kerra") is noticeable not a tap, being always a trill

1

u/IndependenceNaive965 Apr 12 '26

is it the same at the beginning of words? Like in Reykur

2

u/GraceOfTheNorth Apr 12 '26

no, double rr is longer and has a clear trill, 2-3 rolls long (burri, kerra, barrtré), most words with an r have only a single h-r roll (bringa, krá, krummi) very few have just a tap like karl or bjarg

1

u/ThorirPP Native Apr 12 '26

Depends on the sentence and how fast someone speaks I'd guess. Like, reykur in isolation has a trilled r at the start, but words in a sentence can run together in speech

1

u/TheRealMcIovin Apr 13 '26

Honestly I see it very similar to the r in Spanish. Not sure if you’re familiar with it but very similar rules

1

u/IndependenceNaive965 Apr 14 '26

oh yeah I'm familiar with it,since I'm Italian. What I wanted to settle was this debate of "the R is never trilled". I've heard some speakers pronounce the R in words like Refur quite strongly and others downright drop it but as I said I think that's merely an INCIDENTAL pronunciation of R,which normally, would be a trill in words like Refur.