The Ultimate Shibboleth
If you are planning to apply for Icelandic citizenship, here is the naturalization test:
Eyjafjallajokull. You have to say it.
If you need a little help, here is the pronunciation guide:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eyjafjallaj%C3%B6kull.ogg
No, that doesn’t help either. I played it five times and I still can’t say the name of that damn volcano. I am renaming it “Smokull Jo.”
And let’s not forget the historic significance of this day:
https://finermanworks.com/your_rda_of_irony/2009/04/16/vanity-pharisee-2/
I don’t know what is tougher – Icelandic or Welsh, Either way you’re apt to sprain your tongue.
I don’t know if it’s the actual pronunciation so much as the dastardly attempt to represent it in letters that simply don’t fit the paradigm. Just LOOKING at that word gives me crampa lingua. I’m sure if I could get past the visual, the word itself isn’t NEARLY as bad . . . maybe.
So I’ll just call it “Heorot” and consider that about as outlandishly Icelandic as I’m capable.
Skol!
Icelandic is the Nordic language closest to what the Vikings actually spoke. No wonder it seems so terrifying.
Eugene
According to the New York Times, the pronunciation is vaguely like “Hey Ja Forgot Your Yogurt.”