Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Við sitjum í smástund og tölum saman. - We sit for a little while and talk together.

sitja → sitjum
This verb is a bit irregular, so it is best learned as part of its pattern.
tala → tölum
Here the a changes to ö because of a common vowel change before a u ending. This is very normal in Icelandic.

Does Icelandic have a separate form for we are sitting or we are talking, like English does?

Usually, no. Icelandic often uses the simple present where English uses either:

we sit
or we are sitting

So við sitjum can mean either we sit or we are sitting, depending on context.

Likewise:

við tölum = we talk or we are talking

In this sentence, the natural meaning is probably ongoing action: We sit for a little while and talk.

Does í smástund mean in a little while or for a little while?

Here it means for a little while, not soon.

That is important, because an English speaker might see í and think of in. But in this expression, í smástund is used for a short span of time:

Við sitjum í smástund = We sit for a little while

If you translated it as in a little while, it would sound like the action happens later, and that is not what this sentence means.

Why is there an í before smástund?

This is just how Icelandic commonly expresses a duration in this phrase.

So:

í smástund = for a little while

Even though í often means in, you should learn this whole expression as a unit. Icelandic prepositions do not always match English prepositions word for word.

If you try to translate each word too literally, it can be misleading.

Where is the word for a in a little while?

There is no separate word for a, because Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English does.

So where English says:

a little while

Icelandic can simply say:

smástund

That is completely normal. Icelandic often has no word corresponding to English a/an.

Why is smástund written as one word?

Because it is a compound word, and Icelandic makes compounds very freely.

smá = small / little
stund = moment / while

Together:

smástund = a short while / a little while

Writing it as one word is the normal Icelandic way. English often uses separate words where Icelandic prefers compounds.

What does saman mean here?

Saman means together, but with tala it often gives the sense of talking with each other.

So:

tölum saman can mean talk together
and very naturally talk to each other

It makes the action feel shared or mutual. Without saman, við tölum would still mean we talk, but saman emphasizes that the two or more people are engaged together in the conversation.

Why is við not repeated before tölum?

Because Icelandic, like English, often leaves out the repeated subject when two verbs share the same subject.

So:

Við sitjum í smástund og tölum saman

means:

We sit for a little while and talk together

The we applies to both verbs.

You could repeat við, but it would usually sound unnecessary unless you wanted special emphasis.

How is this sentence pronounced?

A rough learner-friendly guide would be:

Við ≈ vith with the th of this
sitjum ≈ SIT-yum
í ≈ ee
smástund ≈ smow-stund
(the á sounds roughly like ow in now)
og ≈ often something like ok or og, depending on speech
tölum ≈ something like TÖ-lum
(the ö does not have an exact English equivalent)
saman ≈ SA-man

A more important point than exact English-style spelling is to notice these sounds:

ð in við is like the th in this
á in smá is like ow
ö in tölum is a rounded front vowel that English does not really have

So if you want a very rough full approximation, you could think:

vith SIT-yum ee SMOW-stund og TÖ-lum SA-man

It will not be perfect, but it is a useful start.