Talk Now! Learn Icelandic: Beginners (PC/Mac)

Utilising visual and audio media, this package provides a very basic introduction to Icelandic. The outstanding point is all 252 (I believe this is the correct number) words and phrases are presented in audio, pictorial and type format: if you click on a picture, you will hear the word correctly pronounced; if you wish you can print a picture/word dictionary.

I rather enjoyed the game format: there are nine categories covering first words, food, colours, phrases, anatomy, numbers, time, shopping, countries. For each, you can practice the words by clicking on a picure and reproducing the word you hear with a microphone, play an easy game where you are shown 4 pictures and you hear each word, then you hear a word and click on the correct picture. Alternatively, play the hard game, which comprises memory of what is on each card and hearing each description, then clicking on the correct picture. For the first rounds, the tiles are turned over to make it more challenging.

What I didn't like was the overt mass production: the format is clearly designed to fit common situations in any language. There is a single set of words for the entire Talk Now series, I suspect. Producing an affordable learning tool for an obscure language like Icelandic is difficult and this firm has achieved it by producing the same set of words with the same pictures in over a hundred languages. Whilst this is commendable, the principal deleterious way this demonstrates itself is the animated characters, who clearly are not speaking Icelandic; it sounds good, but the lips just aren't moving right!
In addition, in a country with out trains, knowing the word for one is not particulary beneficial. Similarly, who wants to know the way to the beach in Iceland?
I think, "Does Hakarl tase nice?" Might be better than this is a mango, but then I've been there...

To summarise, it is very well done and commendable, but one should expect a certain economy feel about it; if you know no Icelandic and you wish to learn, buy this package. If you've been before and know a good few words, perhaps you should consider Daisy Neijmann's Colloquial Icelandic, or the intermediate World Talk package from the same people, which I have just bought but not yet received....

"Talk Now - Icelandic" is very easy to use and provides a very interactive approach to learning. There are 8 topics each with an easy and a hard quiz at the end to practice the words and phrases you are given.
When you click on a phrase or word it is spoken back to you by both your male and female electronic tutors in the interactive 'classroom'. The lessons are very basic and should allow a complete beginner to grasp the difficult Icelandic pronunciation in only a few days.

For Icelandic grammar this CD-ROM will not give you enough knowledge to build your own sentences or conjugate verbs, but you will be able to tell the time, count to 20, call for a taxi, speak simple phrases and have an appreciation of a beautiful language!