About

Contact Now!​

For all inquiries, please get in touch at the following:

Email: Tbrennan@Icelandicnow.com

Did you know that we have a Discord? Follow the link below to join!

Link: https://discord.gg/gfbWd7uC

What is the Icelandic Now project?​

The Icelandic Now Project is my effort to make Icelandic more learnable so that you can save time, energy, and effort.

The Beginning​

I started the Icelandic Now Project shortly after I started learning Icelandic. My interest in the language came from my familial connection, but I never managed to learn more than a single word or two on my own.

Wanting to learn more, I bought two language books from a bookstore in downtown Reykjavík on my first trip to Iceland. What I remember most about the interaction was the way the bookseller, an Icelander, looked at me with a dismissive look that seemed to say, "Yeah, right. You're not going to learn anything."

I had heard that Icelandic was considered one of the hardest languages in the world for English natives to learn, but what I did not realize was just how difficult it can be. The grammar is hard, the words are long and unwieldy, and the pronunciation is not a walk in the park either. But, as I learned, above all, there is no good place or way to learn it short of living in Iceland. I tried a few online courses, but they all proved to be incomplete, confusing, and unhelpful. I found other things online, but they were often of lower quality and, more often than not, completely unhelpful. Even the textbooks that I bought only contained what I considered barely relevant information. I would find myself asking questions like, "Why is this book teaching me the word for mechanic if I can't even say my name yet?" The man was right; I was not going to learn anything.

Instead of giving up, I dug in. I found some other generous learners and natives who were graciously willing to teach me what they knew. Eventually, I was able to ask enough questions and look through enough academic papers, old internet articles, bad textbooks, and other material that I became good enough to learn more on my own. When I reached a point that I was happy with, I looked back and asked myself, "Why was that so difficult?" While the language is not easy by any means, the biggest issue was inaccessibility; When I had a question, as every learner does, often, I had no place to look for my answer.

At this point in my learning, I had created a good number of rudimentary guides and explanations to teach myself. To save others from the struggle, I started to share them with the newer and less-experienced members of my group, who encouraged me to keep going.

Today​

The project has taken several forms in the past, but today, it is hosted through this website, IcelandicNow.com. It hosts a free course, numerous articles on grammar and vocabulary, and more!

Currently, I am working on adding more material, reworking the course I created, and generally improving the user experience as much as I can.

The Future​

There was, and still is, a serious lack of good Icelandic learning resources to learn from. I plan to grow the project into the foreseeable future by adding more material and features as time goes on. As of today, I plan to add PowerPoints, videos, and, eventually, entirely new courses.

As of today, the project is a one-man operation. I do all the research, write the articles, and create all other materials myself. I always try to have others check over my work, but I only do so with short-term and project-specific volunteers. In the future, I would like to recruit some more semi-permanent aides, but this has not yet come to fruition. If you're interested in this opportunity, please get in touch using the information at the top of the page.

My goal is, as it always has been, to be the best place to learn Icelandic on the internet. This will never change.

-Tbrennan

Acknowledgments​

I owe a debt of gratitude to countless individuals worldwide for enabling me to learn as much as I have and, ultimately, share it on this platform. From dedicated natives patiently answering my endless barrage of questions to those who generously share Icelandic content on YouTube, to fellow learners, to creators of Icelandic TV and music, to those who have read over my content, to those who have supported me and challenged me, your contributions have been invaluable. Thank you.

Special thanks to Lilja Rut, Muna, Joseph Salazar, Max Schreifels , Mr Me, Vigmund, Kanína, and Anonymous.

Without them, this project wouldn't exist.