The authorative dictionary of Icelandic (Íslensk orðabók = ÍO) is the most comprehensive dictionary of the language, and the only dictionary that attempts to give fairly detailed definitions of Icelandic lexemes as they are used today. Comparing two recent editions, the second edition from 19834 and the third edition from 2002, reveals significant differences: the new edition is considerably more comprehensive, it places more emphasis on modern language use, and it takes a more liberal view of loan words and colloquial words.5 This edition also has an updated article on nú and núna.
Both editions gloss nú first as a temporal phrase referring to the ongoing moment:
á þessari stundu, á líðandi stundu ‘at this moment, in the present moment’ (ÍO 1983;
2002). This entry is very similar to the entry for núna, which in both editions is defined as nú, einmitt á þessari stundu ‘now, exactly at this moment’ (ÍO 1983; 2002).
In other words, núna is considered to be more precise than nú. However, unlike the entries for temporal nú, there are considerable differences between the entries in the two editions for non-temporal nú. In the second edition (ÍO 1983), the non-temporal use of nú is defined in the following way:6
4 The first edition, which was published in 1963, is very similar to the 1983 edition (ÍO 1963).
5 The two editions have different editors: the second edition is edited by Árni Böðvarsson and the third edition by Mörður Árnason.
6 The original entry can be found in Appendix C.
2. With a question: nú, er hann farinn? ‘NÚ, is he gone?’
3. For some kind of emphasis, without a specific meaning: […] það máttu nú ekki ‘you can’t NÚ do that.’
4. As a first word in conditional sentences, especially in judicial text: Nú gerir ríkisstjórnin aðrar ráðstafanir, og skal þá… ‘NÚ the government takes other measures, and then shall…’
5. As some kind of interjection, as an encouragement: nú nú, haltu áfram
‘NÚ NÚ continue!’; to show admiration: nú nú falleg eru gullin! ‘NÚ NÚ the gold/treasure is beautiful’; for assurance or emphasis: nú nú hættu þessu ‘NÚ NÚ stop this’; as a part of a sentence replacement: bitti nú ‘signalling a pleasant and sometimes ironic surprise,’ svona nú. ‘so NÚ.’
The entry in the 1983 edition of ÍO, cited above, combines contextual (2 and 4), functional (3), syntactical (4), and grammatical descriptions (5) of nú in contemporary Icelandic. This multi-level definition of the non-temporal functions of nú reflects a well-known problem that arises in defining particles (cf. Wierzbicka 1986; Foolen 1996).
Wierzbicka (1986: 521) describes particles as “‘illogical,’ non-truth-functional,
‘subjective,’ and generally rather messy,” and, as a result, dictionaries often have insufficient definitions. Phrases such as “without specific meaning” or “semantically bleached” are thus commonly seen in dictionaries (e.g. ÍO 2002; cf. also SAOB for definitions of Swedish particles). Another way in which dictionaries approach the problem of defining particles is to give examples of common phrases that have been established in the language and are therefore known to speakers (cf. Hakulinen and Saari 1995: 488; cf. also Wierzbicka 1986: 521–2). The examples bitti nú and svona nú in the definitions above are good examples of such common phrases (see 5 above).
In these cases, the function of nú itself is not explained.
The third edition of ÍO (2002) offers a more detailed description of the non-temporal functions of nú. In this edition, the entry on nú is divided into two main parts, on nú as an adverb and on nú as an interjection, on the basis of part-of-speech classification. The adverb nú is described as follows:7
7 These descriptions and the terminology used in this entry have some similarities to statements made in a talk I gave for the Icelandic Grammar Society in May 2002, just a few months before the dictionary was published.
2. A word inserted in [the sentence] which sometimes adds emphasis with some kind of appeal to the recipient, sometimes hedges an assertion or description among other things by giving it a tone of accepted truth, and sometimes suggesting a topical shift in conversation or a monologue […]
Það get ég nú varla sagt. ‘That I can NÚ hardly say.’ Það er nú svo.
‘That is NÚ so.’ […]
3. The first word in a sentence in a conversation in which a (true) assertion is presented on which a comment or a question is then based. Nú ert þú gamall Ísfirðingur, hvernig finnst þér … ‘NÚ you are an old Isafjordur inhabitant, what do you think…’ […]
4. (judicial texts) The first word in a conditional clause in which a potential incident is described before it is specified how to respond to it (the main clause usually involves þá ‘then’ and the verb skulu ‘shall’). […] Nú gerir ríkisstjórnin aðrar ráðstafanir, og skal þá… ‘NÚ the government takes other legal actions, and then shall…’
The entries above have been expanded considerably from the earlier edition, particularly in their attention to dialogical aspects of meaning and usage. The function that was characterized “as some kind of emphasis, without a specified meaning” in the 1983 edition is now explained in dialogical terms with notions such as recipient and topical shifts (see 2). The 2002 edition also contains a new entry which consists of a brief description of how nú is used in multi-unit questions8 (see 3). The description of nú in judicial texts has been left essentially unchanged from the previous edition, but it has been expanded upon (see 4).
The interjection nú has, according to ÍO (2002), three different functions. They are defined as follows:
1. Expresses surprise (often with a question), nú, er hann farinn? ‘NÚ, is he gone?’ […] expresses admiration, Nú, nú, falleg eru gullin. ‘NÚ NÚ, the gold/treasure is beautiful,’ as assurance or emphasis. nú, nú, hættu þessu. ‘NÚ NÚ, stop this.’ […]
2. Inserted word prompting an answer, encouraging the interlocutor or resuming a narrative after a digression: Nú, nú, hvað sagði hann? ‘NÚ NÚ, what did he say?,’ Nú, eftir þetta hélt ég svo áfram niðrí bæ…
‘NÚ, after this I continued downtown…’
3. A call to a horse to spur him on.
8 The term multi-unit questions will be discussed further in section 7.2.2.
As the list above shows, the entry on nú as an interjection has also been expanded and elaborated relative to the 1983 edition. Dialogical notions such as “prompting an answer” and “resuming a narrative after a digression” have appeared as new functions.
The first entry, however, is almost identical to the fourth entry in the second edition.
Comparing the entries in the two editions shows a shift from a simple example-of-use approach to an attempt to give a more detailed definition, somewhat based on dialogical concepts. The dictionary description of nú has therefore improved significantly. Yet, due to limited space and the demand that dictionary entries be concise and general, the description does not fully explain all the complex functions nú has in talk-in-interaction.