The Icelandic Canadian - 01.04.2001, Blaðsíða 29

Vol. 56 #2
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
67
time to think about the next word s/he was
about to say. Allt \ lagi. OK, all right. And yet
I didn't hear other words until much later. For
instance, about seven months into my stay, I
began to notice people saying endilega.
Absolutely. Surely they had been saying endi-
lega since I arrived. But I hadn’t heard it
before. Sometimes I began hearing words after
I learned them for a class project in Talad mal
(Language Lab, Conversation and
Pronunciation). Gagnrynandi—critic, kure-
ki—cowboy, syning—show, as in art show,
fylki—state, landslag—landscape, kraftur—
power. I heard people use words that seemed
to emphasize what they were saying. I longed
to say those words as if I understood when to
say them and what they meant—seSislegt,
glaesilegt, hrasdilegt, rosalegt, rolsalega gott,
snidugt, flott. With the right emphasis. Then I
think I would sound like I belonged.
After my nine months were over, I won-
dered where I would/could go with what I had
learned. I could try writing. From Canada, let-
ters to my friends and relatives in Iceland,
always trying to use new words and construc-
tions, trying to expand my ability. But what
would I do without Sigga Porvaldsdottir, my
professor in Ritad mal, (Reading and Writing)
going over my writing and correcting my sen-
tence structure and word use.
Where would I get that feedback from an
expert. I could try reading. That would expand
my vocabulary. Before leaving Iceland I
was able to get the general meaning of a
book written for young people without
too much reference to a dictionary,
although I undoubtedly missed
nuances—I read Vestur \ blainn by
Kristin Steinsdottir for RitaS mal and
other books for Talac) mal. Adult litera-
ture was another thing. In class we read
several short stories, sophisticated, well
written short stories, which I would have
found very difficult to understand with-
out the aids prepared for us by the pro-
fessors. At home I listened while follow-
ing along with the text, to Grettir's Saga
and Bodvar Gudmundsson's Hfbyli vin-
danna on tape, which I borrowed from
the Public Library. And I read Einar Mar
Gudmundsson's Englar alheimsins aloud
with some of my classmates, and at the
end of each chapter, we went over the
text until we all understood it.
So there's no question that I can read,
given self discipline. Speaking is another
matter. With whom will I speak in
Canada. In Iceland people are very
patient with the person who is learning,
who speaks poorly, hesitatingly, ungram-
matically. They are prepared to encour-
age practice without criticism. They seem
delighted that you are making the effort
to learn their language. But would
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