How similar are the Old Norse words to the Icelandic? If a vocabulary post is marked with both languages, should we read it as more of an etymology to a modern word, or something else? Thank you!
In short, Icelandic is similar to Old Norse with the exceptions of various, relatively minor differences in spelling, pronunciation, and grammar. Despite their similarity, though, they are definitely not the same language anymore; no language is able to go through time without experiencing some level of change. That being said, though, out of all the modern Scandinavian languages, Icelandic has remained the closest in familiarity with Old Norse.
Yet, I should mention that even Old Norse had many variations. The standard of Old Norse that is used today is based off of just one branch of Old Norse, called Old West Norse, which itself branched off into both Old Icelandic and Old Norwegian.
Anyway, whenever I use the #Icelandic tag on my Old Norse posts, it is meant to indicate that the word in question still appears the same in modern Icelandic (in terms of spelling and meaning, not pronunciation) as it did in Old Norse.
My purpose is to promote a sort of linguistic relationship between the two languages. In other words, I try to encourage that learners of Old Norse consider learning Icelandic as well, since many of the concepts learned in Old Norse can help in learning Icelandic; many words and grammatical cases can be transferred over directly. I tend to view Icelandic as a sort of ‘living’ form of Old Norse (it has, after all, developed from Old Norse on the island relatively untouched by outside linguistic influences). It is also for this reason that many people will pronounce Old Norse with modern Icelandic pronunciation, though, it should be noted that this would not be the ‘authentic’ way of speaking Old Norse.
If you have the time, here is an amazing video on this topic from someone way more qualified than me to talk about this (Dr. Jackson Crawford):
Otherwise, thank you for asking. I hope I was able to clear up you concerns without causing any additional confusion. Hopefully including the tag is not misleading, and, if it is, perhaps I should be more clear on my posts, or omit it in future posts.
Með vinsemd og virðingu, (With friendliness and respect,) Fjörn
Tasertrickslove 