Flámæli

Slanted speech (Icelandic: Flámæli (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈflauːmailɪ]; also flámælgi and flámælska) was a sound change which was widespread in the first half of the 20th century in Iceland, especially in the West and South.^[1] The vowels /ɪ/ and /ʏ/ (written ⟨i⟩ or ⟨y⟩ and ⟨u⟩ respectively) were lowered so that vinur (/ˈvɪːnʏr/, transl. friend) was pronounced /ˈvɛːnœr/ (as if written ⟨venör⟩) and skyr (/scɪːr/, a kind of yogurt) as /scɛːr/ (like ⟨sker⟩), while the vowels e and ö were raised such that spölur (/spœːlʏr/, transl. a short distance) sounded like /spʏːlʏr/ (as if ⟨spulur⟩) and melur (/ˈmɛːlʏr/, transl. a gravel patch) as /ˈmɪːlʏr/ (as if ⟨milur⟩).^[2]

This sound change was thought to be very ugly and called hljóðvilla (transl. sound error).^[3] It was prominent from 1940 in the speech of people from the Southwest and the Eastfjords, but also in the North and in Húnavatnssýsla.^[1] A special campaign was carried out during 1940–1960 in primary schools to eliminate flámæli.^[3] RÚV and Þjóðleikhúsið enforced a policy that the so-called phonological error would not be allowed.^[4] In 1929 42% of children in Reykjavík spoke with flámæli but by 1960 it had been eradicated among children.