The Faroese letters' pronounciations

[Mulder-21]

Since I'm unable to find all the letters pronounciations, I'm going to ask for your assistance:

The Faroese alphabet is as follows:

a, á, b, d, ð, e, f, g, h, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, o, ó, p, r, s, t, u, ú, v, y, ý, æ, ø (29 letters)

a: when short [a], when long [εa], and in some foreign words [a:].
á: when short [O], when long [Oa], and when {a} is right behind [o~]
b: bed
d: bed, dj however a soft j as in jail.
ð: Depends on context: you or vivid or silent. ðg: [g:], ðk: [k:]. ðr: sometimes red, sometimes [gr]
e: when short [ε], when long [e:]
f: father, ft: often [t:]
g: when infront of, a, á, í, o, ó, u, ú, ý, æ, ø, ei and oy: go, but when infront of e, i, y and ey: jail, when behind i/y, í/ý, ei, ey, oy or when infront of i and the letter behind isn't u, ú or ó: you when the letter behind is u, ú, ó or when the letter behind it u, but the letter infront isn't i/y, í/ý, ei, ey, oy: vivid.
h: hat. However, hj: [tS], closest is China but sometimes you. hv: [kv]
i: when short [ι], when long: feel.
í: [ωi]
j: you
k: infront of a, á, í, o, ó, u, ú, ú, æ, ø, ei and oy: can. Infront of e, i, y and ey [tS], the closest sound is China.
l: low. ll, however most often [dl] but also {l:}
m: man. In the ending -um however no.
n: no. nn: [dn] but also [n:]
o: when short [O], when long [o:]
ó: when short [œ], when long [Ou], infront og gv [ε]. Some dialects however, [εu] or [œu].
p: pea.
r: red. It's sometimes silent, rð: red. rn: [dn], [rn] and sometimes no.
s: so. sj: she. sk, when infront of e, i, y and ey: she. skj: she. stj: she, but also {stj}. ss: {s:}
t: toe. tj, in most dialects: [O], closest sound China. tt: [t:]
u: short: [ω], long: fool.
ú: short: [Y], long: [}u]. Infront of gv: [ι]
v: vivid.
y: see i
ý: see í
æ: see a, but never [a:].
ø: short: [œ], long: [ø:]

The three dipthongs:

ei: eye. From the village of Kaldbak and north and east (the island of Vágoy excluded]: groin,
ey: short: [ε], long: fate.
oy: groin. Sometimes when short: [O]

Whew! That was difficult. Any help will be much appreciated.

[Mulder-21]

Here's a thread I got dug up.

I hope it'll help, despite the fact it focuses on IPA/SAMPA symbols instead of words, which have similar pronunciations.

[Hunef]

Oh, this is an ancient thread you have excavated, Mulder!

[Mulder-21]

Tell me about it. I'd completely forgotten, that I had even written it.

[Hunef]

Would the exposure of the faroese pronunciation have been written in the same way today, you think?

[Mulder-21]

I'm not sure.

I've always thought, that [S] and [tS] probably would be written as š and č. At least, that's one way of doing it. [dZ] could then be written as ž in order to avoid di-/trigraphs.

But then again, I don't know. I guess, an etymological spelling would prevail in the end anyway, since it's the Faroese Language Committee http://www.fmn.fo, and not the public that decides who Faroese is spelt.

[Mulder-21]

Please note:

This table has most consonants as voiced. However, in reality Faroese is one of the most unvoiced languages in the world, probably, when it comes to consonants. So don't be surprised if you encounter consonants like: [n_0], [m_0], [J_0], [l_0], [L_0], etc. etc.

[Hunef]

I'm not sure.

I've always thought, that [S] and [tS] probably would be written as š and č. At least, that's one way of doing it. [dZ] could then be written as ž in order to avoid di-/trigraphs.

But then again, I don't know. I guess, an etymological spelling would prevail in the end anyway, since it's the Faroese Language Committee http://www.fmn.fo, and not the public that decides who Faroese is spelt.

I was referring to the exposure you wrote above years ago.

[Catharina]

About the r: I have a lot of trouble with this, since I keep using the Dutch guttural r which rolls in the back of your tongue.

Last weekend there was a hilarious scene which i am sure you would have enjoyed. Picture 1 native Føroyingur, two German girls and one Dutch girl (yours truly), all drinking mead and trying to make themselves heard over a metal band playing 40 meters away....and then the one Føroyingur trying to teach all three of us how to roll the rrrrrrrrrr in Faeroese!

It was so funny! He kept yelling it in our ears, putting his tongue against his teeth and looking into our mouths at turns to make sure we were doing it right and we all got it wrong again and again and again...so in the end I gave up and now I'm just try to speak Faerose with an American r, since that's the closest I can get for now.

I feel like Audrey Hepburn in my Fair Lady...right BEFORE the point where she suddenly gets the pronounciation of the a...the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain

I can't wait for the moment (which will occur on the Faeroes no doubt) that I suddenly get the r and will never say it wrong again...ahh dare to dream!

[EmperorOfTheUSA]

the r is or very close to English's r, i believe its a retroflex r, correct me if im wrong, if it is, then yes the r in english and faroese are the same sound

[Hunef]

the r is or very close to English's r, i believe its a retroflex r, correct me if im wrong, if it is, then yes the r in english and faroese are the same sound

As a non-native I can't hear the difference between a Faroese and an English r.

[Mulder-21]

If [r\] (IPA is an upside r) is a retroflex r, then yes, it's retroflex.

The easy explanation is to say, that we have an English R.

However, when I'm singing the kvæði, I tend to roll my Rs [r].

[Catharina]

The easy explanation is to say, that we have an English R.
However, when I'm singing the kvæði, I tend to roll my Rs [r].

Exactly. And therein lies the problem, since I learn my pronounciation partly from the kvæði and partly from Dagur og Vika, so now I sound like a combination of a 13th-century knight and Sigrun Brend.

[kuneli]

Since I'm unable to find all the letters pronounciations, I'm going to ask for your assistance:

The Faroese alphabet is as follows:

a, á, b, d, ð, e, f, g, h, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, o, ó, p, r, s, t, u, ú, v, y, ý, æ, ø (29 letters)

a: when short [a], when long [εa], and in some foreign words [a:].
á: when short [O], when long [Oa], and when {a} is right behind [o~]
b: bed
d: bed, dj however a soft j as in jail.
ð: Depends on context: you or vivid or silent. ðg: [g:], ðk: [k:]. ðr: sometimes red, sometimes [gr]
e: when short [ε], when long [e:]
f: father, ft: often [t:]
g: when infront of, a, á, í, o, ó, u, ú, ý, æ, ø, ei and oy: go, but when infront of e, i, y and ey: jail, when behind i/y, í/ý, ei, ey, oy or when infront of i and the letter behind isn't u, ú or ó: you when the letter behind is u, ú, ó or when the letter behind it u, but the letter infront isn't i/y, í/ý, ei, ey, oy: vivid.
h: hat. However, hj: [tS], closest is China but sometimes you. hv: [kv]
i: when short [ι], when long: feel.
í: [ωi]
j: you
k: infront of a, á, í, o, ó, u, ú, ú, æ, ø, ei and oy: can. Infront of e, i, y and ey [tS], the closest sound is China.
l: low. ll, however most often [dl] but also {l:}
m: man. In the ending -um however no.
n: no. nn: [dn] but also [n:]
o: when short [O], when long [o:]
ó: when short [œ], when long [Ou], infront og gv [ε]. Some dialects however, [εu] or [œu].
p: pea.
r: red. It's sometimes silent, rð: red. rn: [dn], [rn] and sometimes no.
s: so. sj: she. sk, when infront of e, i, y and ey: she. skj: she. stj: she, but also {stj}. ss: {s:}
t: toe. tj, in most dialects: [O], closest sound China. tt: [t:]
u: short: [ω], long: fool.
ú: short: [Y], long: [}u]. Infront of gv: [ι]
v: vivid.
y: see i
ý: see í
æ: see a, but never [a:].
ø: short: [œ], long: [ø:]

The three dipthongs:

ei: eye. From the village of Kaldbak and north and east (the island of Vágoy excluded]: groin,
ey: short: [ε], long: fate.
oy: groin. Sometimes when short: [O]

Whew! That was difficult. Any help will be much appreciated.

Hej på dig, Mulder.Endelig fandt jeg nogle ord om færøisk...Det ligner være interssant hvad du skriver her og jeg håber at det blir nogen hjælp for mig. Jeg har kun en bok for sproget og så forsøger jeg at finde vejen...Vær snil og sige mig, hvis du har lyst og tid naturligvis, hvornår er en vokal lang? Gælder der mer el. mindre samme regler , hvad vokalernes længde angår, som for de andre skandinaviske sprog?
-hvad b,g,d angår, udtales de som på dansk? På dansk har b,d,g ustemt manifestation, mens p,t,k er kraftigt aspirerede. Ved aspirationen som distinktiv factor opretholdes modsætning i tilfælder som krave-grave, tøs-døs osv. Er det også faldet på færøsk?
På forhånd takkkk!
PS: Sorry for mine fejl på dansk. Det er et sprog jeg aldrig har lært. Jeg lærte det gennom at læse bøger og skrive breve...egenlig var det svensk jeg lærte for mange år siden...Mine mundtlige dygtigheder på dansk...katastrofal. Jeg tør ikke udtale et ord og jeg forstår måske 30% af hvad der siges...forhåbentlig er færøske udtalelsen ikke så danskagtig...

[Catharina]

I can't wait for the moment (which will occur on the Faeroes no doubt) that I suddenly get the r and will never say it wrong again...

And it did occur in the Faroes...it took another night of drinking and sheltering from a storm in Klax and another Faroese guys yelling some words at me, but I finally get it and now pronounce it perfectly

[Mulder-21]

Hej kuneli,

Du må altså virkelig undskylde at det tog så lang tid at svare, men her er så svarene på dine sprøgsmål:

Hej på dig, Mulder.Endelig fandt jeg nogle ord om færøisk...Det ligner være interssant hvad du skriver her og jeg håber at det blir nogen hjælp for mig. Jeg har kun en bok for sproget og så forsøger jeg at finde vejen...Vær snil og sige mig, hvis du har lyst og tid naturligvis, hvornår er en vokal lang? Gælder der mer el. mindre samme regler , hvad vokalernes længde angår, som for de andre skandinaviske sprog?

Ja, reglerne er stortset de samme. Kort fortalt, så er en vokal lang, når den kun bliver fulgt af én konsonant, mens den er kort, når den blir fulgt af flere end en konsonant.

-hvad b,g,d angår, udtales de som på dansk? På dansk har b,d,g ustemt manifestation, mens p,t,k er kraftigt aspirerede. Ved aspirationen som distinktiv factor opretholdes modsætning i tilfælder som krave-grave, tøs-døs osv. Er det også faldet på færøsk?

Ja, det samme gælder for færøsk.

På forhånd takkkk!
PS: Sorry for mine fejl på dansk. Det er et sprog jeg aldrig har lært. Jeg lærte det gennom at læse bøger og skrive breve...egenlig var det svensk jeg lærte for mange år siden...Mine mundtlige dygtigheder på dansk...katastrofal. Jeg tør ikke udtale et ord og jeg forstår måske 30% af hvad der siges...forhåbentlig er færøske udtalelsen ikke så danskagtig...

Det var så lidt. Du skriver såmænd godt dansk, men jeg kan godt se, at svensk har inflydelse på, hvordan du skriver dansk.

And it did occur in the Faroes...it took another night of drinking and sheltering from a storm in Klax and another Faroese guys yelling some words at me, but I finally get it and now pronounce it perfectly

Excellent. Congrats.