Re: Modern Icelandic texts # 2 / Alan's Translation

From: Eysteinn Bjornsson
Message: 7352
Date: 2006-10-16

--- "AThompson" wrote:

> While you note that parts of the lyric are "non grammatical", I
wondered
> whether people would be likely to speak like that in everyday short-
hand
> speech; for example dropping ég at the start of a sentence, as
in `geng
> í hring', `lít á skýin', `læt mig dreyma.' We often do it in
English, eg
> `Drove to work, ate lunch, went for a run...'

Sure thing - "Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb
across my head ..."!

But I've never heard anybody actually speak like that.
You would be most likely to see this phenomenon in an
informal letter, on a postcard, in a diary, etc. It
would always be a very familiar style you would only
use with someone you know very well, and then only in
writing. Steinn Steinarr could never have said "Geng
í hring ...". Actually, for someone like me who is
rather old-fashioned in his language use, this kind of
shorthand in a lyric feels very odd and ungainly. I
suspect you would only find it in recent pop-songs
(influenced by English lyrics) - I doubt you would find
it in lyrics of, say, the 60s or 70s.

Regards,
Eysteinn

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