Hún talar við sjálfa sig þegar hún einbeitir sér.

she

Breakdown of Hún talar við sjálfa sig þegar hún einbeitir sér.

• þegar: when
• tala: to talk
• við: to

Questions & Answers about Hún talar við sjálfa sig þegar hún einbeitir sér.

Is við here the pronoun “we,” or a preposition?

It’s a preposition. tala við means “to talk to.” Don’t confuse this with við as the pronoun “we” (which is nominative and functions very differently).

Why do we need both sjálfa and sig?

• sig is the third‑person reflexive pronoun (object), meaning “herself/himself/themselves,” and it must be used to show the action reflects back on the subject.
• sjálfa is the agreeing form of the adjective sjálfur “self,” added for emphasis/idiom. In the phrase tala við (sjálfan) sig, adding sjálfa/sjálfan/sjálft is very common and idiomatic.
  So sjálfa sig ≈ “her own self.”

Why is it specifically sjálfa sig (and not sjálfan sig or sjálft sig)?

Because it agrees with the subject’s gender and case:

• Subject is feminine singular (hún), and the preposition við takes the accusative.
• Feminine accusative singular of sjálfur is sjálfa.
  Thus: sjálfa sig.
  If the subject were masculine: Hann talar við sjálfan sig.
  If neuter (e.g., a child): Barnið talar við sjálft sig.

Could I drop and just say ?