Overview
(; ), also known as and , was an Icelandic-language sound change which was widespread in the first half of the 20th century in Iceland, especially in the West and the South. The vowels and (written or and respectively) were lowered so that (, ) was pronounced (as if written ) and (, a kind of yogurt) as (like ), while the vowels and were raised such that (, ) sounded like (as if ) and (, ) as (as if ). This sound change was thought to be very ugly and called (). It was prominent from 1940 in the speech of people from the Southwest and the Eastfjords, but also in the North and in Húnavatnssýsla. In 1929, 42% of children in Reykjavík spoke with , but by 1960 it had been eradicated among children.
See also
* Dialect * Linguistic purism * Sound change