Strategies

While the rest of this unit will be devoted to a fairly in-depth Icelandic phonetics guide, there are other perhaps more practical strategies that you can pursue as well. Below, find four strategies that have worked for myself and others.

Shadow Native Sources

This first strategy is not a single actionable item, but is rather a good general idea. While you can read about phonetics endlessly, the best true way to learn pronounciation is doing what babies do, listening and repeating. To this, try to find a source that you enjoy listening to, whether it be a friend, a podcast, A TV show, or a movie, and then try to speak the words in the way that they do. This tip may sound fairly basic, but it is very helpful.

Find A Native Conversation Partner

This is, without a doubt, the best strategy and one you should certainly use if possible. Unlike other strategies, a native conversation partner can provide immediate feedback and help you tailor your pronunciation to sound more natural. They can point out subtle differences in tone, stress, or intonation that are often difficult to grasp through self-study alone.

In addition, havinga native converstaion partner will build your confidence.

Record Yourself

One of the most effective ways to improve pronunciation is recording yourself speaking and then playing it back. Recording yourself allows you to hear your speech objectively and easily compare it to the native speaker sources you found persuant to the first tip. There are plenty of voice recorders for iPhone, Android, PC, and Mac that you can start today.

Try playing your recording back to back with the native one. Naturally, you should try to make yours match the native course as close as possible. This strategy is much more effective then just listning to yourself as you speak as your own brain and ears are likely to distor what you hear in real time.