Reykjavík Grapevine - Jul 2022, Page 26

Words to live by
Karítas Hrundar Pálsdóttir brings Icelandic learner fiction up to
date with her new book “Dagatal.”
Words: Josie Anne Gaitens Photos: Ástráður Sigurðsson & Hrund Þórarins Ingudóttir
Learners of Icelandic have a noto-
riously rough time. Not only is
Icelandic supposedly one of the
hardest languages to master gram-
matically (although some language
experts have tried to debunk this
myth), but the ubiquity of English
across the western world means
that even for those who really
make the effort to learn, immer-
sion is nigh-on impossible. Pair
that with the fact that the avail-
able lessons are almost always
dry, academic and eye-wateringly
expensive, many foreigners who
live in Iceland feel that learning the
language is an unachievable goal.
It was partly this situation that
inspired author Karítas Hrundar
Pálsdóttir to write her first book of
short stories for learners of Icelan-
dic.
“I love learning languages and
in my studies I have read different
stories and texts in easy language
appropriate to my level many
times,” Karítas says. “When I was
doing a bachelor degree in Icelan-
dic I studied for one year in Japan
and did some teaching of Icelandic
as a second language. Being around
more people who were learning
Icelandic, it became apparent to
me that the same variety of stories
that I had been able to access as a
second language learner, weren’t
there for Icelandic learners.”
A new go-to
The resulting book, “Árstíðir”, was
published in 2020 and has quickly
become a go-to text for Icelan-
dic newbies. Now Karítas has
published a second collection of
stories, “Dagatal”, which is aimed
at slightly more advanced readers,
while still focused on straightfor-
ward grammar and accessible text.
Similar to Árstíðir, Dagatal is a
series of extremely short stories—
“flash fiction,” as Karítas calls
them. The stories sometimes take
on different or quirky forms, like
a text message conversation, or
a short play, making them very
engaging for the reader.
“In both of my collections I've
tried to be innovative and creative
in the presentation of the story.”
Karítas explains. “So there are
some that are set up as poems,
or dialogue, as a journal entry, or
email or messenger communica-
tion.
“But there's also a lot of diver-
sity in the content and the genre,”
she continues. “Some are more
exciting than others, some are
more melancholic, and there's a
lot of funny ones that have a play
on words and a punchline of some
sort.”
The stories’ length obviously
help with their readability for
those newly acquainted with read-
ing Icelandic fiction, but Karítas
also feels like she is able to express
her own creativity through this
style as well.
“It's about capturing a moment
in time, or just an emotion,” she
says. “Of course it is a strict form,
linguistically, and sometimes
creates limitations. But that's
also the beauty of the writing
process, of being creative within a
restrained form. Many writers do
that in different ways. For instance
in poetry and playwriting there's
a strict form, but then you get
creative within it.”
Icelandic life in context
As well as introducing learners to
the grammar and structure of the
language, it was important to Karí-
tas that her books give people some
context to Icelandic life, culture
and customs. To that end, the main
theme for Dagatal is around calen-
dar days and the special events that
only Iceland celebrates.
“There’s a lot of introduction
of main traditions and how they
might be different in Iceland than
elsewhere,” says Karítas. “Even
though we do celebrate the same
holidays as many countries, we also
have our own individual unique
things.”
“I hope that the books help
people advance their reading
competence, but I also hope that it
adds to cultural literacy and gives
people an insight into Icelandic
values, traditions, and views on
life,” she adds.
Design matters
It’s clear that a huge amount of care
and thought went into the over-
all design of the book to make it
appeal to readers. The presenta-
tion is sleek and stylish, steering
well clear of anything infantilis-
ing or that might feel textbook-y.
Karítas worked with cutting-edge
artists and designers Krot & Krass
to produce the look, including
creating individual icons which
indicate the language level of each
story, without being intrusive into
the experience of reading the book.
“How the stories are presented
is important,” Karítas confirms.
“It’s important to honour learn-
Karítas at the launch of her new book, "Dagatal"
Books