Reykjavík Grapevine - 07.10.2011, Síða 26

26
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16 — 2011 here are many other crazy Icelandic words that the world has been
adopting (stealing) lately. Like Eyjafjallajökull. You can keep that
one!
We might wind up going berserk and erupting, geyser-style
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE KEEPS
STEALING OUR WORDS!
Language | How does it work?
Considering Iceland’s unique posi-
tion as a geological hotbed on the
mid-Atlantic ridge, it’s not sur-
prising that a couple of geological
terms have been borrowed from the
Icelandic language. These words
are “jökulhlaup,” a scientific term
used to describe the flood of water
resulting from a sub-glacial volca-
nic eruption, and “geyser,” a hot
spring that shoots a column of wa-
ter into the air.
The word “jökulhlaup” is made up of
the two Old Norse words, “jökull” and
“hlaup,” which translate to ‘glacier’
and ‘run’ and describes the same phe-
nomenon in both Icelandic and English
languages. “Geysir,” from which the
English word geyser is derived, on the
other hand, is actually the proper name
of Iceland’s most famous geyser. The
generic term in Icelandic is not geysir,
but “goshver.” In that sense, using the
term “geyser” to describe a goshver is
almost like calling all copy machines,
“xerox machines,” all colourful gela-
tines eaten by kids, “jello,” and all tis-
sue used to blow noses, “kleenex.”
Although it’s not really so conflated
because “geyser” comes from “Geysir,”
which comes from the Old Norse word,
“geysa,” which means to gush.
While jökulhlaup and geyser are
among the few words borrowed from
Icelandic, many English words are
derived directly from Old Norse, the
language spoken by Iceland’s Vi-
king ancestors a thousand years ago.
When the Vikings sailed to the English-
speaking world, they planted Old Norse
into the existing language, which has
resulted in the growth of a number of
cognates shared by the modern English
and Icelandic languages. Some of them,
including the word “berserk” also have
unique historical origins in Iceland.
Berserk – adj. marked by crazed or
frenzied behaviour suggestive of sud-
den mental imbalance—usually used in
the phrase, go berserk.”
- Merriam Webster dictionary
Perhaps it seems apt that the word
“berserk” has some history in a coun-
try full of people who supposedly be-
lieve in a hidden world of elves, ghosts
and fairies—at least to those who think
that’s totally bonkers, nuts, bananas,
crackers, whatever. But, the word ber-
serk has nothing to do with that. It ac-
tually refers to the “Berserkers,” who
were Vikings notorious for their fren-
zied battles.
Descriptions of the Berserkers can
be found in a number of Old Icelandic
Sagas, including Snorri Sturluson’s Yn-
glinga saga: “his [Odin's] men rushed
forward without armour, were as mad
as dogs or wolves, bit their shields, and
were as strong as bears or wild bulls,
and killed people at a blow, but neither
fire nor iron told upon themselves.”
One theory about why they ran wild
on the battlefield has these Vikings
consuming the psychoactive Amanita
Muscaria mushroom (known as the
Berserker mushroom in Iceland). In his
article, ‘On Going Berserk: A neuro-
chemical inquiry,’ psychiatrist Howard
Fabing finds that the consumption of
bufotenine, which is found in the Ama-
nita Muscaria mushroom, may play a
neurological role in causing schizo-
phrenia, supporting this theory of how
the already ferocious Vikings worked
themselves into a berserker rage on the
battlefield.
But fear not, the Berserkers are said
to have disappeared around 1100 AD
after being sentenced to outlawry, and
the modern day berserk usually doesn’t
travel in pillaging gangs.
ANNA ANDERSEN
LAURENT GAUTHIER
Eyrarbraut 3, 825 Stokkseyri, Iceland · Tel. +354 483 1550
Fax. +354 483 1545 · info@fjorubordid.is · www.fjorubordid.is
At the Restaurant Fjöruborðið in Stokkseyri
> Only 45 minutes drive from Reykjavík
By the
sea and
lobster
a delicios
In this new and fascinating book photographer
Vilhelm Gunnarsson takes us on a unique journey.
From the vast highlands to the lush lowlands, these
are truly the Top Ten Places in Iceland.
Top 10
in Iceland
www.salka.is
Gilsbakki
Finally—proof that IDM's not dead
Skurken has proudly upheld the name
of IDM or electronica (or whatever you
want to call that brand of music) for
over a decade. In an era governed by
guitar-based music this has surely been
a struggle, but Skurken has trudged
along and long time fans will receive
‘Gilsbakki’ warmly. Furthermore, the
moment for acquiring a new batch just
might have arrived.
His latest offering contains thirteen
dense compositions, most of which are
pretty upbeat and move fast between
chords and moods. Glitch is kept at a
minimum, and poppier moods prevail.
At times, the tracks are almost too co-
lourful, and one would prefer a subtler
approach and further development of
atmospheres over the unbroken string
of trebly notes and triads, which aren't
Skurken's strongest features. Take for
example ‘Kannski,’ a pleasant enough
track, well produced, but the melodies
reek of midi sequencing and múm.
But then there are beautifully con-
structed moments: the cathartic climax
of ‘Bistisbo’ and the rave-like synths
and DnB rhythms of ‘Arnþrúður’ are
clever, the 303/acid elements that pop
up in a handful of tracks are very origi-
nal in this context, and Skurken's ap-
propriation of synthesizers that evoke
the hazy world of Boards of Canada is
masterful, introducing a ray of sunshine
into their often melancholy take on nos-
talgia. Thankfully, such moments are
widely to be found, leaving ‘Gilsbakki’
at times on par with work by luminaries
such as Plaid, (Chris) Clark and Ulrich
Schnauss.
- ATLI BOLLASON
Skurken