# How do you pronounce "Eyjafjallajkull"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 21, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870 "2010-04-21T16:28:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/21 "2010-04-22T19:26:58Z")
“I’ve a yacht, _La Yeckel_” ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2010, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/22 "2010-04-22T21:28:46Z")
In England its pronounced “Smith”. (The ‘P’ is silent) ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/23 "2010-04-23T04:21:30Z")
I heard some news channel just give up and call it E15 (for the 15 letters in the name) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/24 "2010-04-23T05:01:09Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > This word happens to be a compound of the three words _eyja_ (island), _fjalla_ (mountain), and _jökull_ (glacier), so you’ll stress the first syllable of each. Why don’t we just translate it and call it Island-mountain-glacier? ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/25 "2010-04-23T06:49:24Z")
[Here you go](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEEXY6HrQ6Y#t=1m50s). Sing along! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/26 "2010-04-23T07:10:58Z")
Ey-Ma-Splodey-Mount-N-Getoutta-heyah. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/27 "2010-04-23T07:13:14Z")
Isn’t the active Hawaiian volcano pronounced “kommayewannalaya”? ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/28 "2010-04-23T08:15:20Z")
Bigfukkinboom. ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/29 "2010-04-23T08:39:42Z")
Ia ia Cthulhu fhtagn! or alternatively [like this](http://www.yousaytoo.com/how-to-pronounce-eyjafjallajokull/254546). ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/30 "2010-04-23T11:27:31Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > I say it as /ˈeɪaˌfja **t** laˌjœkʏ **t** l̥/ (roughly “EY-ah-FYAT-lah-YEUH-kutl”). How did the superfluous 't’s get there? It’s _fell_, _fjell_, _fjäll_ and _jökel_, respectively, in other Germanic languages with no sight of a ‘t’ in neither spelling nor pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/31 "2010-04-23T11:42:23Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > How did the superfluous 't’s get there? It’s _fell_, _fjell_, _fjäll_ and _jökel_, respectively, in other Germanic languages with no sight of a ‘t’ in neither spelling nor pronunciation. I think the process is called Anticipatory dissimilation. In Icelandic, and in some Norwegian dialects, ll is pronounced either dl or tl. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/32 "2010-04-23T11:50:07Z")
Imafollicle ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Booker\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/71c47a/32.png) [@Happy\_Booker\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Booker_1)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/33 "2010-04-23T13:06:41Z")
According to “Morning Joe” today, “Roethlisberger” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/34 "2010-04-24T10:18:47Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > How did the superfluous 't’s get there? It’s _fell_, _fjell_, _fjäll_ and _jökel_, respectively, in other Germanic languages with no sight of a ‘t’ in neither spelling nor pronunciation. A bigger question is where the second and last syllable go in the Wikipedia pronunciation. (I can understand why the /j/ gets palatalized so that I thought it was a /v/ earlier.) I now hear AYY va DLUH jiK (/ˌeɪj vʲa ˈd͡lœ ɟəq/ for you IPA lovers.) ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/35 "2010-04-24T11:08:00Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > A bigger question is where the second and last syllable go in the Wikipedia pronunciation. (I can understand why the /j/ gets palatalized so that I thought it was a /v/ earlier.) > > I now hear AYY va DLUH jiK (/ˌeɪj vʲa ˈd͡lœ ɟəq/ for you IPA lovers.) OK, I’ve just listened to the pronunciation on Wikipedia. It seems to match the transcription I gave very well. I’m not sure how you arrived at yours, except possibly that the speaker was speaking too fast for you to make out all the sounds and syllables. If you play the sound clip in a program which can lower the speed while keeping the pitch the same, you can clearly hear all six syllables. For example, try with [MPlayer](http://mplayerhq.hu): ```auto mplayer -af scaletempo -speed 0.33 Eyjafjallajökull.ogg ``` The first \ is definitely /f/, not /v/ — voiced consonants in Icelandic are actually quite rare; the distinction between, say, \ and \, or \ and \, is usually one of aspiration rather than voicing. I’ll grant you the first \ does sound a bit like /dl/ rather than /tl/. The rest of your transcription is a complete mystery to me. (/q/? Really??) Again, I’d recommend trying again after listening to the clip slowed down. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/36 "2010-04-24T11:59:42Z")
Shar-day ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/37 "2010-04-24T15:19:26Z")
I say to-_may_-to, you say Eyjafjallajkull. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/38 "2010-04-24T15:34:49Z")
Now that we’ve got that settled, can we work on a pronunciation for H1N1? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/39 "2010-04-24T15:45:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Now that we’ve got that settled, can we work on a pronunciation for H1N1? Heinie? ---
**Author:** ![opmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9d8465/32.png) [@opmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opmike)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870/40 "2010-04-25T22:09:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Heinie? They make some damn good handgun sights. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-pronounce-eyjafjallajkull/536870.md?page=1)