Proximity of Scandinavian languages

Scandinavian languages are closely related. We know that Danish, Swedish and Norwegian are very similar when written and spoken. We wonder how close Icelandic is to this triptych. (Note that the notion of distance here merits a definition, which is another very interesting subject). Happy to now enjoy the generative AIs for everyone, we request the generation of ten Icelandic sentences with close counterparts in mainland Scandinavia.

1. Ég er frá Íslandi. Jag är från Island. Jeg er fra Island. Jeg er fra Island. 2. Hvað kostar þetta? Vad kostar detta? Hvad koster dette? Hva koster dette? 3. Ég tala ensku. Jag talar engelska. Jeg taler engelsk. Jeg snakker engelsk. 4. Við erum vinir. Vi är vänner. Vi er venner. Vi er venner. 5. Kaffið er heitt. Kaffet är varmt. Kaffen er varm. Kaffen er varm. 6. Ég elska þig. Jag älskar dig. Jeg elsker dig. Jeg elsker deg. 7. Þetta er gott. Detta är gott. Dette er godt. Dette er godt. 8. Hún er sterk. Hon är stark. Hun er stærk. Hun er sterk. 9. Hvernig hefur þú það? Hur mår du? Hvordan har du det? Hvordan har du det? 10. Ég vil fara heim. Jag vill gå hem. Jeg vil gå hjem. Jeg vil gå hjem.

The proximity is striking: all these Icelandic phrases would probably have been understood at first glance by any practitioner of one of the other three languages. Perhaps the most cryptic sentence here is the simple 9. Hvernig hefur þú það?, actually not so far though from its Norwegian translation Hvordan har du det? (How are you?). Then, Hvernig must be Hvordan, hefur the verb, to have or har, du makes þú and det, það. Another interesting one is 3. Ég tala ensku. where the verb tala (speak) would be immediately recognized by a Swedish (tala) or Danish (taler) speaker, while the Norwegian translation makes snakker. But Norwegian Bokmål also has the verb tale (to speak, to talk, to make a speech), as well the noun tale whose derivatives samtale (conversation) or talespråk (spoken language) are quite frequently used. In short, the Islandic tala seems to correspond to taler in Danish or Norwegian - All from the norrønt (old Norse) tala. Let's check these and a few other assumptions about Islandic that can be inferred from these simple examples. First, looking more closely, we notice that pronouns in 'þ' have a counterpart beginning in 'd' in Norwegian. Let's see if this trend continues.

hvernig -> hvordan (how)

hefur -> har (has)

þú -> du (you)

það -> det (it)

tala -> taler (speak, talk)

vinir -> venner (friends)

kaffið -> kaffen (the coffee)

elska -> elsker (love)

Þetta -> dette (this)

þig -> deg (you)

More generally, an initial 'þ' in Icelander seems to become a 'd' in Norwegian.

1. Þú þarft að þjálfa. Du trenger å trene. 2. Þetta er þungt. Dette er tungt. 3. Þau þekkja hver annan De kjenner hverandre. 4. Það er þokkalegt. Det er takknemlig. 5. Þegar þú ferð, þá skaltu þakka. Når du går, skal du takke. 6. Þau eru þreytt. De er trette. 7. Þú átt þrjá hunda. Du har tre hunder. 8. Þetta er þess virði. Dette er det verdt. 9. Þú þarft að þvo hendurnar. Du trenger å vaske hendene. 10. Þetta er það besta. Dette er det beste.

Clearly, the correspondence is not systematic. Þú makes du but þarft makes trenger, þjálfa, trene, þvo, vaske and þekkja, kjenner. In fact, it seems that an Islandic word starting with Þ often makes a Norwegian word starting with either d or t - and sometimes in something else, kj or v (maybe then, þv makes v).

Our assumptions seems largely confirmed:

Þú -> du (you)

Þetta -> dette (this)

Þar -> der (there)

Þakka -> takke (thank)

Þreyta -> trette (tire)

Þekkja -> kjenne (know)

Þyngd -> tyngde (weight)

Þroska -> utvikle (develop)

Þrír -> tre (three)

Þola -> tåle (endure)

Þrá -> lengte etter (long for)

Þjálfun -> trening (training)

Þreki -> utholdenhet (stamina)

Þrekra -> styrke (strengthen)

Þykkur -> tykk (thick)

Þungur -> tung (heavy)

Þunnur -> tynn (thin)

Þoka -> tåke (fog)

Þristur -> tørst (thirst)

Þokk -> takk (thanks)

Þruma -> torden (thunder)

Þverr -> tverr (crosswise, transverse)

Því -> fordi (because)

Þvotta -> vaske (wash)

Þveginn -> vasket (washed)

Þvæla -> skravle (babble)

Þvari -> vaskeklut (washcloth)

Þvottur -> vask (laundry)

Þvottahús -> vaskeri (laundry room)

Þvengur -> tvang (coercion)

Þvag -> urin (urine)

Þverra -> tørke (dry up)

Þorri -> torr (dry, a term in the Old Norse calendar)

Þjófur -> tyv (thief)

Þjóna -> tjene (serve)

Þegn -> tjener (servant)

Þegin -> tjent (served)

Þreytta -> trette (to tire)

Þvergur -> tverr (transverse)

Þaðan -> derfra (from there)

Þarna -> der (there)

Þadan -> derfra (from there)

Þangað -> dit (there, to that place)

Þessi -> denne (this)

Þannig -> sånn (like that, such)

Þessa -> denne (this)

Þeirra -> deres (their)

A few intruders appear, such as Þannig->sånn, Því->fordi, Þroska->utvikle, Þreki->utholdenhet. Does Þr regularly makes ut?

Something that the following examples might confirm.

Þreyta -> Uttømme (to exhaust)

Þrauka -> Tåle (to endure)

Þreka -> Utøve (to exercise or perform)

Þrengja -> Innsnevre (to narrow)

Þroska -> Utvikle (to develop)

Þróa -> Utvikle (to develop)

Þruma -> Tordne (to thunder)

Þrýsta -> Utøve Trykk (to exert pressure)

Þrífa -> Utrense (to cleanse)

Þrátt -> Til Tross (despite or although)

etc.

What does our generative AI think of this obvious pattern?

The Icelandic prefix 'Þr-' and the Norwegian prefix 'ut-' both sometimes convey a sense of "outward" or "extending" action, but this isn't a consistent rule across all words. The correspondence between 'Þr-' in Icelandic and 'ut-' in Norwegian is more of a historical linguistic pattern rather than a strict semantic one. For example, "Þreyta" (to tire out) in Icelandic corresponds to "uttrette" in Norwegian. Both imply a process to the point of completion or exhaustion, which aligns with the "outward" or "extending" sense. However, there are Icelandic words like "Þrír" (three) where 'Þr-' doesn’t hold this meaning, and the Norwegian equivalent "tre" also lacks the 'ut-' prefix.

We ask for a few Islandic words starting with Þr-' and conveying a sense of "outward" or "extending" action. We get a good list.

Þreyta - to tire out, exhaust

Þrjóta - to run out

Þróa - to develop, evolve

Þroska - to mature, develop

Þræða - to thread (as in a needle, extending it through)

Þreka - to expel, drive out

Þrengja - to narrow (pushing sides towards each other)

Þrýsta - to press, push

Þrjá - to persist, endure

Þrá - to yearn, long for

Þræla - to enslave

Þrátt - despite, notwithstanding

Þráttast - to resist, struggle

Þruma - to thunder (extend noise across the sky)

Þrífast - to thrive, prosper

Þrjásk - to insist, persevere

Þróttur - power, might

Þrífur - thrives, flourishes

Þrenna - to triple

Þrangur - crowded, narrow (implying pushing out)

Þrekkr - stamina, endurance

Þróun - development, evolution

Þríst - thrust, push

Þramma - to cram, stuff

Þrína - to divide into three (expanding one into three)

Þróast - to evolve, develop

Þrekra - to intensify, fortify

Þrunginn - burdened, loaded

Þraut - ordeal, hardship (something you have to work through, extending effort)

Þröstur - thrush (bird that spreads its wings outward)

Þrumufall - clap of thunder (sound expanding through the sky)

Þristill - thistle (a plant that spreads outward)

Þrjótur - erosion (gradually wearing away, extending the process)

Þræðir - threads (as in lines extending outward)

Þrautseigur - tenacious, persistent

Þrekki - courage (expanding one's limits)

Þróaður - evolved, developed

Þrista - to thrust, jab

Þræta - to argue, dispute (extend a disagreement)

Þrúður - strength, might (extend force)

Þreytandi - tiring, exhausting

Þrumaður - thunderous (extending sound)

Þroski - maturity, development

Þráhyggja - obstinacy (extending one's own thoughts)

Þríhyrndur - triangular (extending in three directions)

This gets interesting. An additional notion present among this vocabulary beginning with Þr is that of tenacity, endurance or resistance, processes that stretch over time or require an extension of forces or patience... Some examples are Þreytandi - tiring, exhausting, Þrjótur - erosion, Þrjá - to persist, endure, Þrá - to yearn, long for, or Þraut - ordeal, hardship. Maybe even Þorstur for thirst (longing for water) might be illustrative of this semantic derivation. These are our first steps in comparative Icelandic, not so far from other Nordic languages. We shall be back to our very first list of troubling matches shortly.